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SNAPSHOT OF VACCA EVENTS HELD IN 2010
Above: A Link Up activity day at Corranderrk
Above: Our Carers and Kids Christmas Party
Above: Our Certificate of Registration for successfully meeting
all 53 standards of Agency Registration
Right:
Thelma
(as Dolly
Parton)
and Karina
at our
Christmas
function
Right: Emma, Samara,Amanda and Bev as the Sapphires
at our Christmas function
Victorian AboriginalChild Care Agency
Co-operative Limited
AnnualReport
2009
Our Vision
A community that is strong in culture,
values their children and young people and
recognises the importance of the whole
community in raising children and keeping
families together.
CONTENTS
Our Purpose 2
Our Programs and Services 2
Our Strategic Priorities 3
Our Board of Directors 4
Our Staff 4
Our Structure 9
Agenda 10
AGM Minutes 11
REPORTS
Chairperson 14
Chief Executive Officer 15
Business Unit 22
Human Resources 24
New Programs and Initiatives 28
Policy, Research and Communication 36
Lakidjeka ACSASS 40
Placement and Support 51
Southern 62
Early Intervention and Family Support 66
Link-Up 75
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 1
VACCA is a statewide Aboriginal community controlled
organisation whose purpose/mission is to advocate on
behalf of and provide services for Aboriginal children,
young people and families premised on human rights, self-
determination, cultural respect and safety.
OUR PURPOSE
OUR PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Placement & Support
• Extended Care
• Residential Care
• Aboriginal Therapeutic Residential Care
• Permanent Care
• Educational Support
• Koorie Cultural Placement Support
• Indigenous Leaving Care
• Kurnai Youth Homelessness
• Integrated Family Violence Program
Early Intervention & Family Support
• Family Support
• Innovations
• Family Counsellor
• Supported Playgroups
• Emergency Relief
• Aboriginal Family Restorations
• Aboriginal Family Decision Making
• Child FIRST
• Southern Aboriginal Child and Family Service
• Parenting
• Family Violence and Community Support
Program Development & New Initiatives
• Project Management
• Program Review & Evaluation
• Training
• Program Development
• Strategic Planning
• Koorie FACES
Policy, Research & Communication
• Public voice
• Research
• Advocacy
Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice and Support
Service
• Lakidjeka ACSASS Program
Stolen Generations
• Link-Up Victoria
Corporate Services
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Administration
• Asset & Property Management
• Contract Management
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 20102
To respond to changing patterns of demand and need our strategic priorities now and into the future are:
1. Further VACCA’s lead agency capacity
2. Enhance VACCA’s continuous quality approach to our service delivery
3. Build the cultural competence of the mainstream service children and family welfare sector, government bodies and
the broader community
4. Enhance VACCA’s capacity to be a robust Aboriginal organisation
5. Grow our service offerings
6. Drive VACCA’s capacity to be self determining through taking on the Aboriginal reform agenda as articulated in the
new Child,Youth and Family Act
7. Enhance VACCA’s workforce to build a strong and effective Aboriginal child and family welfare service
8. Demonstrate VACCA’s capacity to achieve program performance outcomes in line with Aboriginal child welfare best
practice
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 3
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Muriel Bamblett
Executive Assistant Teresa Hoffman
CORPORATEBusiness Manager Bernard Ferre
Human Resources Manager Con Lambros
Human Resources Officer Paula Crilly
Finance Accountant Hemantha
Angampitiya
Accounts/Payroll Officer Truc Pham
Accounts/Administration Officer Manal El-Kheir
Fleet Co-ordinator Vacant
Administration/Fleet Officer Melinda Brown
Administration Officer Jacinta Smith
Receptionist Toni McLaughlin
IT Communications Officer Alan Johnson
IT Communications Officer (p/t) Paul Giannelis
Cleaner Peter Kelly
Cleaner Steve Martin
NEW PROGRAMS & INITIATIVESProgram Manager Connie Salamone
Training Manager Chrisie Warren
Project Manager Bev Murray
Unit Coordinator Vacant
Project Officer Sarah Diplock
Project Officer (p/t) Gabrielle Bourke
Project Officer (p/t) Nigel D’Souza
Project Officer (p/t) Robin Trotter
Project Officer Vacant
Project Officer (p/t) John Wayne
Parsons
Project Officer (p/t) Alli-Jade Briggs
Administration Assistant (p/t) Kylie Duggan
Administration Assistant (p/t) Alli-Jade Briggs
Senior Training Officer (p/t) Megan Cadd
Learning & Development Officer (p/t) Martine Lynch
Learning & Development Officer (p/t) Yolanda Glenn
Senior QAS Project Officer Maureen Hogarty
POLICY, RESEARCH & COMMUNICATIONProgram Manager Peter Lewis
Research Coordinator Richard Frankland
Project Officer (p/t) Vacant
LINK-UP VICTORIAProgram Manager Sue Anne Hunter
Coordinator,Administration Irene Sazdov
Administration Support (p/t) Jarred Harrison
Coordinator, Casework,
Supervision & Group work Angela Swindle
Project Officer (p/t) Vacant
Caseworker/Counsellor Tim Church
Caseworker/Counsellor Walter Harrison
4 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OUR STAFF
Chairperson: Deidre King
Vice Chairperson: Rodney Monohan
Treasurer: Ralph Bamblett
Secretary: Marg Stewart
Director: James Atkinson
Director: Pam Aplin
Director: Daniel Kelly
Caseworker/Counsellor Kooramyee
Cooper
Caseworker/Counsellor Samara Ahmat
Cleaner Susan Harrison
LAKIDJEKA ACSASSBrunswick Office
Executive Manager Suzanne Cleary
Assistant Manager Lucy Romano
Senior Administrator Samantha Brown
Intake/After Hours Supervisor Donna Love
Case Administrator (p/t) Jacinta Scott
Case Administrator (p/t) Carl Burke
NW Metro (Footscray office)
Supervisor/Caseworker NW Metro Leeandra Aitken
Caseworker Vacant
Caseworker Vacant
Case Administrator Jodie Harding
SE Metro (Dandenong Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Sue Barclay
Case Administrator (p/t) Vacant
Case Administrator (p/t) Vanessa Murdoch
Caseworker Vacant
Caseworker Vacant
Gippsland (Bairnsdale Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Jeff Cooper
Caseworker May Pearce
(Morwell Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Tiffany Hood (a/g)
Caseworker Alexis Mobourne
Admin Assistant Karen Boon
Loddon Mallee (Echuca Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Teresa Kerr
Case Administrator Candice Duggan
Caseworker Aaron Taylor
(Swan Hill Office)
Caseworker Vacant
Hume (Wodonga Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Hume Kim Murray
Case Administrator Stacey Lappin
(Shepparton Office)
Caseworker Brian McGee
Caseworker Vacant
Barwon/Grampians (Geelong Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Sue Lovett (leave)
Caseworker Belinda Foley
Caseworker Vacant
Case Administrator Natalie Karipis
(Ballarat Office)
Caseworker Vacant
(Heywood Office)
Supervisor/Caseworker Wendy Lovett (a/g)
PLACEMENT & SUPPORTExecutive Manager Gwen Rogers
Administration Officer Shelena Bourke
Extended Care
Program Manager Julie Toohey
Administration Officer Thelma Norris
Team Leader – Community (p/t) Yolanda Glenn
Team Leader – Casework Liz Munt
Caseworker James Stubbs
Caseworker Kellie Auranaune
Caseworker Tamasin Krakouer
Caseworker Michael Cadd
Caseworker (.5) Vacant
Caseworker (.5) Rebecca Boss
Caseworker (Geelong) Pauline Fennell
Education Support Worker (p/t) Vacant
Education Support Worker (p/t) Jodie Cadd
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 5
Koori Cultural Placement
Support Worker Bissette Morgan
Leaving Care Youth Worker Hannah Pugh-Uren
Leaving Care Project Officer (p/t) Vacant
Kinship Care
Program Manager Vanessa Halge
Team Leader Margaret Triffitt
Caseworker Emma Bamblett
Caseworker Bronwyn McBryde
Caseworker Cassie Batten
Caseworker Arthur Ellis
Adolescent Community Placement House
Carer Pauline Cassady
Senior Case Manager (p/t) Rebecca Boss
Support Worker Gabrielle Cassady
Permanent Care
Co-ordinator Gemma Morgan
Therapeutic Residential Care
Program Manager Robbie Merrigan
Administration Officer Shelena Bourke
Therapeutic Case Coordinator Mika Akune
House Supervisor Hayley Jones
House Supervisor Christine Mayberry
Education Support Worker Vacant
Therapeutic Cultural
Support Worker Namatjira Morgan
Therapeutic Care Worker Debbie Learhinan
Therapeutic Care Worker Marie Jones
Therapeutic Care Worker Jerome Phillips
Therapeutic Care Worker Rebecca Mayberry
Therapeutic Care Worker Violet Arden
Therapeutic Care Worker Darren Gobbey
Therapeutic Care Worker Vacant
Therapeutic Care Worker Vacant
Therapeutic Care Worker Vacant
Reliever Shane Potter
Reliever Robert Falden
Reliever Shannon Andy
Reliever Troy Brickell
MORWELLKurnai Youth Homelessness Service
Program Manager Marion McNeill
Team Leader Lorena Thompson
Initial Assessment
Planning/Youth Worker Rehana Naidu
Community Development
Worker (p/t) Esme Thompson
Youth Worker Tareena Maynard
Indigenous Family Violence Program
Integrated Family Violence
Caseworker Donna Hood
Integrated Family Violence
Caseworker Rachel Carter
EARLY INTERVENTION & FAMILY SUPPORTExecutive Manager Kerry Crawford
Acting Operational Manager Belinda Fry
Program Manager Denise Kaur
Manager Nyoka
Morgan-Briggs
Manager Renessa Nelson
Family Support Team Leader Kim Wood
Community Support Services Karina Thorpe
Coordinator
Administration Officer Judith Stephens
Administration Officer (p/t) Narelle Slater
Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison
Officer Michelle Tilmouth
Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison
Officer Ben McKenzie
Case Coordinator, Restorations
Program Vacant
Family Decision Making Convenor
(NW) Kane Cooper
Family Decision Making Convenor Paul Ferris
Family Support Team Leader Rhiannan Mudie
Family Support Caseworker Jennifer Garrison
Family Support Caseworker Kate Unwin
Family Support Caseworker Vacant
Family Support Caseworker Vacant
Family Support Caseworker Dominique
Spagnolo
6 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Therapeutic Counsellor Natasha Cordisac
Early Childhood Development
Worker Brittany Palmer
Early Childhood Development
Worker Sally-Anne Lowden
Family Violence Caseworker Vacant
IAFP&R Team Leader Helen Lewkowicz
IAFP&R Snr Caseworker Troy Johnson
IAFP&R Caseworker Vacant
IAFP&R Child Wellbeing worker Vacant
SOUTHERN VACCAProgram Manager Nathan Fenelon
Administration/Reception Dishni
Wanigasekera
Coordinator Julie Pearson
Out of Home Care Coordinator Vacant
Family Coaching Victoria
Co-ordinator Georgina Sullivan
Kinship & Extended Care Worker Machelle Walker
Senior Caseworker Elizabeth Brown
AFPP Caseworker Fazilla McKerrow
AFPP Caseworker Vacant
Koori Cultural Placement
& Support/Carer Recruitment Sharon Blow
Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison
Worker Vacant
Community Support Coordinator David Owen
Playgroup Coordinator Cindy-Lee Harper
Playgroup Worker Belinda Swindle
Playgroup Worker Elana Coetzer
Playgroup Worker (p/t) Vanessa Murdoch
Family Coaching Victoria Amy Gunning
Family Coaching Victoria Vacant
Family Coaching Victoria Vacant
EASTERN ABORIGINAL CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICEFamily Services Team Leader Vacant
Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison
Worker Vicky Peters
Staff currently on maternity leave
Brenda Young
Renee Howell
Rene Sephton
Kylie Bell
Angela Chittem
Christine Lovett
Nikita Rotumah
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 7
WE FAREWELL THE FOLLOWING STAFF WHO HAVE LEFT VACCA SINCE THE LAST AGM:
EARLY INTERVENTION & FAMILY SUPPORT LAKIDJEKA ACSASS
Sepi Weerasinghe Jodie Jackson
Rebecca O’Dowd Jenna Bamblett
Shara Graham Temara Blackwood
George Briggs Sara Frederiksen
Natalie O’Connor Colleen Howell
Amanda Firebrace Caroline McGee
Laura Campbell Peter Shane Rotumah
Anne Brown Kevin Walker
Joy Kerr Sara Flottl
Jedda Charles
Lace Curphey SOUTHERN OFFICE
Daniel Smith Jill Owen
Dimi Kandris Julie MacDougall
NEW PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES PLACEMENT & SUPPORT
Fiona Roberts Rebecca Crawford
Nayuka Hood Theresa McNally
Joanne Clarke Sandra Young
Sue Molnar Tenille Abell
Corporate Services Peter Shepherd
Julieanne James Kiri Herekuiha
Sylvia Choate Illana Atkinson
Dot Dwyer Phil Ah Wang
Peter Harrison Arif Gray
Thomas Golden-Brown
Ben Clark
Jan Muller
Casey Atkinson
Meriki Hood
Robert McCubbin
8 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
LINK UP
Lance James
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 9
ST
RU
CT
UR
E O
F T
HE
VIC
TO
RIA
N A
BO
RIG
INA
L C
HIL
D C
AR
E A
GE
NC
Y
VICTO
RIAN A
BORIG
INAL C
OMMU
NITY
BOAR
D OF D
IRECT
ORS
CHIEF
EXEC
UTIVE
OFFIC
ER
EARL
Y INT
ERVE
NTION
AND
FAMI
LY SU
PPOR
T
Fam
ily
Su
pp
ort
(N
ort
h/W
est
So
uth
ern
& S
wan
Hil
l)
Inn
ova
tio
ns
(No
rth
ern
, In
ner
Eas
t, S
ou
ther
n M
idd
le)
Ch
ild
FIR
ST
(N
ort
h/W
est
& E
MR
)
Em
erg
ency
Re
lief
(N
ort
h/W
est
& S
wan
Hil
l)
Ab
ori
gin
al F
amil
y R
esto
rati
on
(No
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Reg
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Ab
ori
gin
al F
amil
y D
ecis
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Ma
kin
g(N
ort
h/W
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Ind
igen
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no
vati
on
s(N
ort
h/W
est)
Su
pp
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ed P
layg
rou
ps
NEW
PROG
RAMS
AND I
NITIAT
IVES
CORP
ORAT
E SER
VICES
/HR
LINK U
P VICT
ORIA
PLAC
EMEN
T AND
SUPP
ORT
Fam
ily
Vio
len
ce P
rog
ram
Ext
end
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are
(Sta
tew
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Per
man
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Car
e(S
tate
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Res
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Mo
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Me
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insh
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are
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om
mu
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lace
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(N/W
)
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Ext
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LAKID
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A ACS
ASS
Sta
tew
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exce
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LG
A o
f M
ild
ura
Co
mm
un
ity
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pp
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Off
ice
loca
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Eas
t B
run
swic
kFo
ots
cray
,D
and
eno
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,G
ee
lon
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od
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air
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Sh
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Ba
llar
at
POLIC
Y,RE
SEAR
CH AN
D COM
MUNIC
ATION
S
VICTORIAN ABORIGINAL CHILD CARE AGENCY
AGENDA
1. Welcome,Acknowledgement of Country,Attendance,Apologies
2. Confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
3. Receive and consider reports from the Chairperson, Chief Executive Officer, other staff of the
Co-operative and the Auditor
4. In accordance with s238 of the Co-operatives Act 1996 and the Regulations, appoint an Auditor
5. Elect and determine the remuneration of Directors
6. Carry out other business that may be lawfully brought forward
10 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Present: As per attendance sheet attached.
Apologies: Deidre King, Pam Aplin,Thelma Canavan,Alf
Bamblett, Sue Barclay, Sue Lovett, Monty Muckenberger,
Stacy Lappin, Melinda Brown, Leeandra Atkins, Jan Muir,
Sharon Blow,Arthur Ellis, Kylie Bell,Yolanda Glenn, Ben
Clark, Sara Frederikson, Liz Munt.
The meeting commenced at 1.25pm.
As the Chairperson, Deidre King, was unable to attend
the meeting Rodney Monohan (Board Member) acted as
Chairperson. Rodney paid his respects to the traditional
owners of the land and welcomed everyone to the
meeting. Members were asked to stand for one minute’s
silence to acknowledge community members who had
passed away.
NEW MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONSThe Directors were unable to endorse the new
membership applications as they did not have a quorum.
The following membership applications will be endorsed
at the next VACCA Board Meeting:
• Jedda Charles, Rebecca Crawford, Johannah Maza,
Sharlene Johnson, Kelvin Onus-King,Thelma Norris,
Alli-Jade Briggs, Samara Ahmat, Brian McGee, Linda
Bamblett, Georgia Bamblett, Kaelun Brown,Temara
Blackwood, Belinda Foley, David Owen, Nyoka
Morgan-Briggs,Vicki Peters, Karen Boon,Alexis
Mobourne,Tareena Maynard and Cassie Batten
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGMMembers read through the minutes of the previous AGM.
MOTION: “That the minutes of the previous AGM be
accepted.”
Moved: Sylvia Choate
Seconded: Alan Johnson
CARRIED
There was no business arising from the minutes.
CHAIRPERSON’S REPORTRodney read through Deidre King’s Chairperson’s report.
MOTION: “That the Chairperson’s report be accepted.”
Moved: Marg Stewart
Seconded: Jarred Harrison
CARRIED
STAFF REPORTThe CEO, Muriel Bamblett, presented a powerpoint
presentation on VACCA’s new initiatives for 2009. It has
been an exciting year for the development of a range of
initiatives across many of VACCA’s programs:
Corporate Services Unit:
• The development of a dedicated HR Department
and Business Unit
• Document management control project
Statewide Initiatives for the sector and DHS:
• The roll out of the Aboriginal Cultural Competency
Framework
• VACCA facilitated 16 workshops between July
and August
• Involvement in the Certificate and Diploma in Child
and Family Welfare which is in partnership with
LaTrobe Uni, Bouverie, Melbourne Uni,Take Two and
VACCA
• The cultural elements of Therapeutic Residential Care
• This is a trauma informed therapeutic approach
for Aboriginal children under 12 years of age
requiring residential care
Aboriginal Kinship Care Model
• VACCA has developed a culturally appropriate
kinship care model to be rolled out across Victoria
Development of Statewide Therapeutic Foster Care
Model
• Developed a discussion paper to inform the
development of Aboriginal therapeutic foster care
across the state
• Currently the model is being costed and strategies
for implementation are being considered
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 11
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held at the AAL on 27th November 2009
Community Engagement Programs:
• Koorie FACES Program – a family strengthening
program aimed at building resilience against drug and
alcohol in families
• This was the first family strengthening program
run in Australian prisons
• This year it was rolled out twice at Fulham
Prison and is being rolled out at Dhurringle
Prison
• Linking In – a cultural healing program for members
of the Stolen Generation
• This was a group based program run over 10
weeks
• Koorie Women Yarning Together – strengthening
Koorie women and their families through cultural and
learning based activities that incorporate yarning up
• This was a group based program run over 8
weeks
Community Support Services:
• Aims to build on successful elements of the former
CDEP program by linking Indigenous people and
their families to other services and support in their
regions
• Intensive Case Management – Provision of intensive
case management for Aboriginal women and children
experiencing family violence in the NWM and
LaTrobe Valley region
Cultural strengthening activities for Aboriginal children
and young people:
• Wominjeka – Our Culture Our Future – VACCA
Culture and Arts Festival for Aboriginal children and
young people
• Boys cultural camp
• Girls cultural camp
MOTION: “That the CEO and Manager’s reports be
accepted.”
Moved: Theresa McNally
Seconded: George Briggs
CARRIED
AUDIT REPORTEric Townsend (Auditor) and Hemantha Angampitiya
(Accountant) presented the financial report for the year
ending 30th June 2009. Eric declared it an unqualified
report and reported that VACCA is in a sound financial
position, with a net surplus of $77,996 for the financial
year.
MOTION: “That the financial report be accepted.”
Moved: Phil Cooper
Seconded: Theresa McNally
CARRIED
MOTION: “That Eric Townsend be appointed as the
Auditor for the 2009/10 financial period.”
Moved: Marg Stewart
Seconded: Alan Johnson
CARRIED
ELECTIONSThere are five Directors due to stand down – Deidre
King,Trish Williams, Daniel Kelly, Pam Aplin and Andrew
Gardiner. VACCA received five nominations – Deidre
King, Daniel Kelly, Pam Aplin, Marg Stewart and Ralph
Bamblett.They were automatically elected onto the new
Board.The outgoing Directors,Trish Williams and Andrew
Gardiner, were thanked for their contributions to
VACCA.
REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORSMOTION: “That subject to finances, legalities and
funding arrangements, Directors be
reimbursed for all reasonable expenses
incurred whilst on official Co-op business,
further that they be reimbursed for lost
wages incurred whilst on VACCA business.”
Moved: Phil Cooper
Seconded: Nayuka Hood
CARRIED
12 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
GENERAL BUSINESSThere was discussion regarding the Moondani Family
Centre. VACCA is looking at creating a family services
centre, with VACCA being a part of it.The Agency’s
building in Brunswick is becoming too small to
accommodate staff. VACCA has secured the services of a
full-time worker to undertake the fundraising for a
building for Moondani.A challenge will be finding a big
enough block of land in the north-west region.An update
on Moondani will be provided at the next AGM.
In closing, the Acting Chairperson thanked Muriel and
staff for their hard work during the year.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at
2.20pm.
ATTENDANCE SHEETMuriel Bamblett Wendy Lovett
Phil Cooper Rodney Monohan
Kiri Herekuiha Bronwyn McBride
Rebecca O’Dowd Theresa McNally
Jill Owen Temara Blackwood
Belinda Fry Kim Wood
Rhiannan Mudie Joy Kerr
Belinda Foley Wendy Rich
Sandie Mitchell Natalie O’Connor
Marg Stewart Jan Muller
Kevin Walker Alan Johnson
David Owen Mika Akune
Gabrielle Burke Vicky Peters
Nyoka Morgan-Briggs Angela Chittem
Karen Boon Lorena Thompson
Marion McNeill Alexis Mobourne
Maureen Hogarty Suzanne Cleary
Gemma Morgan Laura Campbell
Dimi Kandris Michael Cadd
Mary Roberts Bev Murray
Emma Bamblett Koora Cooper
Rebecca Crawford Candice Duggan
Jerome Phillips Paula Crilly
Alli-Jade Briggs Hemantha Angampitiya
Eric Townsend Cassie Batten
Ralph Bamblett Lance James
Truc Pham Chrisie Warren
Amanda Firebrace Samara Ahmat
Jodie Cadd Julie Toohey
Sylvia Choate Jarred Harrison
Nayuka Hood Teresa Hoffman
Please note that some people who attended the AGM did
not sign the attendance book.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 13
As Chairperson of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care
Agency I am pleased to be able to present the 2009–10
Annual General report to the Aboriginal community and
the membership of VACCA.
This report provides an opportunity for me as
Chairperson of the Board to report back to the
community and membership on actions undertaken to
fulfil our responsibilities and accountabilities to the
community in governing the operations and functions of
VACCA over the past twelve months.The contents of
the CEO, of the programs and services reports provide
an opportunity for staff to share with the community and
membership some of VACCA’s fine accomplishments
over the past twelve months. It also fulfils our reporting
responsibilities in reporting on performance outcomes
achieved by the different programs and services offered
to our community and of how the funds have been
administered.
Importantly I want to acknowledge the work of all the
staff within VACCA.The issues impacting on children
involved in the child protection system are becoming
much more complex and there is a lot of media attention
on the child protection system.The nature of the work
means that the Agency is constantly managing risk.
Therefore the Board acknowledges the work undertaken
by staff and want to congratulate everyone for their
contributions over the past 12 months.
In service delivery we now operate 20 programs with an
increased focus this year on better integration both
internally between our own programs and externally with
other services.We have enjoyed significant gains in the
Agency’s commitment to the wellbeing of staff.We have
strengthened our corporate operations with improved
services to our staff.Through the Department of Human
Services Agency Registration process we have a
framework against which to identify and address agency
risks and ensure the quality of services with an ongoing
action plan to ensure VACCA’s ongoing compliance.
VACCA’s work with staff on their training and
development and in delivering sector specific training is
well regarded.The Agencies community role also in
promoting Aboriginal children and families is
demonstrated through activities such as NAIDOC,
National Aboriginal Children’s Day, through camps and
resources such as VACCA’s diaries, posters and videos,
all of which are well received.
VACCA’s policy and advocacy work are well known
within the sector and this work will continue to be a key
focus with funding from ANZ Trustees for us to
undertake policy, research and communication.
There are obviously a number of challenges ahead for
VACCA which include the Departments ongoing reform
of Out of Home Care and its implications on Aboriginal
children across the state. Most significant however will be
the implementation of Aboriginal Cultural Competency
framework for the Child and Family Welfare Sector.
VACCA believes this will put additional pressure on
Aboriginal services to resource this work with no
additional funding, if not funded mainstream Community
Sector Organisations will not be able to meet the
Aboriginal competencies.This we believe can be alleviated
by working with the sector to plan the resource
implications and have an appropriate strategy in place.
In closing I want to thank the staff of VACCA for their
work over the past twelve months particularly in
actioning and working towards the achievement of
VACCA’s strategic plan.With the development of the
Agencies Business Plan we have been able to drive the
directions towards achieving our strategic plan.All
programs have recently completed their annual
operational planning within the objectives of the agencies
strategic plan.These plans demonstrate a commitment
from across the Agency to the broader strategic direction
and clearly indicate a shared vision to achieve better
outcomes for our most vulnerable and at risk.
I trust you enjoy reading the contents of this report and
again congratulations to staff and to Muriel and her
leadership team for their management over the past
twelve months and to my fellow Board members I also
thank you for your efforts over the past twelve months
as well.
Deidre King – Chairperson
14 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
CHAIRPERSON – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
1. INTRODUCTIONThe following report is presented to the Victorian
Aboriginal Child Care Agency’s Annual General Meeting.
This year I have spent a huge amount of time out of the
office working on the Northern Territory’s Inquiry into
the child protection system.This was to place enormous
stress and additional work on all the senior managers. So
it is important that I acknowledge and thank them
formally.
This year we were to successfully hand back the child and
family services we ran in Swan Hill to the Swan Hill and
District Aboriginal Health Service. We were also
successful in securing funding from the National
Indigenous Land Corporation for our Moondani building
subject to our raising the additional money required for
the building.
The governmental policy context still offers its own
challenges and opportunities both from the
Commonwealth and State Government, with the
Commonwealth investing additional funding into family
services and with the introduction of new National Child
Protection standards.With more public scrutiny on the
Victorian Child Protection system with the release of the
Ombudsman’s report and with heightened media
attention there is enormous pressure on the state
government of address issues such as workforce,
assessment of carers and supporting grandparents. With
the elections pending there is also an air of uncertainty,
however there has been strong commitment shown by
both sides of government to addressing child protection
issues.
2. EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENTAfter many years of stability at VACCA’s executive level
the VACCA senior management were to lose some long
term staff with the resignation of Rebecca O’Dowd and
of long term staff member Sepi Weerasinghe.We have
however been able to secure the services of Kerry
Crawford who has ably fitted in to the position of Early
Intervention and Family Services Executive Manager.
VACCA is currently struggling as are with other child
welfare services to attract staff. Our current staffing is
179 with our vacancies at 37. Given the workforce
challenges experienced by VACCA we have this year
employed a Human Resources Manager, Con Lambros,
with the position of Corporate Manager now a
combination of finance and resource management with a
new title of Business Manager, Bernard Ferre has been
overseeing finance, contract management, information
technology and fleet management.
The senior management team reporting to me as CEO
now includes:
Teresa Hoffman – Executive Support
Connie Salamone – New Programs and Initiatives
Bernard Ferre – Business Unit
Con Lambros – Human Resources
Sue-Ann Hunter – Link Up Program
Peter Lewis – Policy and Research
Kerry Crawford – Early Intervention and Family Services
Suzanne Cleary – Lakidjeka ACSASS
Gwen Rogers – Placement & Support
3. ANALYSIS OF CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM The following data provides for the membership and
community an understanding of how the child protection
system is performing in Victoria.
Reports, investigations, substantiations and new
orders – Aboriginal children
Data from the Department of Human Services indicate
that reports for Aboriginal children are up 5% on 2008-
09 and that reports on unborn children are up 24% to
84.Whilst VACCA’s figures from the Lakidjeka ACSASS
program vary slightly, the data indicates that the figures
are continuing to rise.
Aboriginal children:
Investigations: 1,367 (up 6%)
Substantiations: 814 (up 5%)
New orders: 609 (up 15%)
The following two graphs provide data across all child
protection interventions for Aboriginal children.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 15
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
Out of home Care
The rate of Aboriginal children in out of home care has
been increasing at a far greater proportion as compared
to non Aboriginal children as demonstrated in the graph
above.
The placement of children in Kinship Care continues to
be the dominant type of out of home care in 2010.With
stronger compliance with the Aboriginal child placement
principle this trend with continue.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 17
Source: AIHW at June each year ** Figure subject to change with updated population projections.
Diagram 3.
Source:AIHW at June each year ** Figure subject to change with updated population projections.
Diagram 4.
Compliance with the Aboriginal
Child Placement Principle
The rate of compliance with the Aboriginal child
placement principle for Victoria is relatively poor.
Currently 42% of Aboriginal children in OOHC are
placed outside of the Aboriginal community.
State of Victoria’s children
Given the above statistics the following three graphs from
the Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development which describe the proportions of the
Aboriginal population in Victoria as a young population
we in the child protection system need to act to stem
the flow of over representation of Aboriginal children in
child protection.
The information contained within the State of Victoria’s
children 2009:Aboriginal children and young people in
Victoria is very rich and I encourage everyone to read or
check it out on the web. Key findings from this document
include:
• 50% of Victorian Aboriginal families are one-parent
families
• 47% have had relatives removed from their natural
family
• 1 in 5 aged 12 to 17 years identify as belonging to
the Stolen Generations
• 79% of adults experienced life stressors in the
previous 12 months
• 75% of children aged 4-14 experienced life stressors
in the previous 12 months
• In regional Victoria, 32% of Aboriginal children aged
4-14 had experienced the death of a close
friend/family member in the last 12 months
The above data demonstrates that as a sector we have
significant challenges ahead and access to good data is
critical to Aboriginal services.We thank the Department
of Human Services and Department Education and Early
Childhood Development for the provision of the above
data.
18 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Diagram 5.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 19
Source: State of Victoriaʼs Aboriginal children – DEECD 2009
Source: State of Victoriaʼs Aboriginal children – DEECD 2009
Diagram 6.
4. FUNDING VACCA receives funding from the Department of Human
Services (82%), Office of Torres Strait Islander Health
(8%), Families, Housing, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs (8%),ANZ trust (1%) and interest (1%).
VACCA is in the last of our three years of funding from
the ANZ Trustees for our Policy, Research and
Communications Unit managed by Peter Lewis, we thank
them for their support.
5. AGENCY PLANNING AND PROGRAM REVIEWS VACCA has a strong planning framework in place with
programs undertaking an annual planning process with
the Executive building onto this process with bi-annual
planning to develop the agencies Executive plan.
Currently VACCA is reviewing its management structure
given the growth in the number and range of services
now provided. Gabrielle Burke is undertaking this project.
Broadly with regards to staffing we are finding that as the
organisation grows our structure needs to be continually
reviewed which is common when there is an organisation
is in a constant environment of change. In researching
structures across similar sized service providers it was
found that a number of community service organisations
are also reviewing their structures as a response to
similar issues faced by VACCA.
Last year VACCA was to review its services to the
Southern Metropolitan region with the review
necessitating that the Agency to address the specific
issues identified in the review.Therefore an Executive
Officer for the Eastern Region, Southern and Morwell
region will been established with Gwen Rogers acting in
this position for a period of time to provide stability and
to implement recommendations contained within the
review.
6. COMPLIANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENTLast year VACCA successfully met our legislative
requirements through meeting all of the Agency
Registration standards set by the Department of Human
Services.We know that the child welfare sector is an
environment where risk is a constant particularly when
you are working with the most vulnerable and at risk
within our community.Therefore we have developed and
introduced systems, processes and procedures to
monitor and address both operational and management
risks.
7. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTAs CEO I represent VACCA at numerous forums and
undertake guest speaking on behalf of the agency.This
role is critical to ensure that the issues for Aboriginal
children and families stay prominent in the governments
planning.This has been again a busy year with the Agency
doing presentations at conferences, workshops and
community events.
Our NAIDOC Children’s Day and National Aboriginal
Children’s Day were very successful and well attended
with great support from VACCA staff.
20 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Source: State of Victoriaʼs Aboriginal children – DEECD 2009
8. FUTURE DIRECTIONSThe future directions of VACCA are heavily influenced by
the broader policy directions of government. However,
there is now more pressing imperatives that are driving
us and they include growing our workforce, fulfilling our
requirements to meet guardianship, strengthening
VACCA’s internal systems and processes, advocating for
appropriate resources and addressing gaps in services for
vulnerable and at risk children, young people and their
families. Furthermore, the importance of trauma informed
case work practice with vulnerable and at risk children
and families has been confirmed by evidence based
research. In the next year, there will be a significant focus
on ensuring that our practice across the agency is in line
with this approach.A challenge in the coming year will be
fulfilling the cultural commitments that will emanate from
the new cultural competency framework for child and
family service providers.
Above all will be our ability to secure the additional
funding required for Moondani so as VACCA can have an
appropriate facility to run our programs and services
from; to have a place where families can come to hold
family days and that is culturally responsive and engaging
of Aboriginal children, young people and families.
CONCLUSIONI would like to close by thanking Teresa for the wonderful
work that she does over the year in providing
administrative support to myself, the Executive team and
the Board of Directors and in organizing the Annual
General Meeting.
I would also like to thank the Executive and Leadership
Group within VACCA for their guidance and support
over the past 12 months.A special thanks to Connie
Salamone and Peter Lewis for their executive support of
my position. I want to thank the Board of Directors and
our chairperson Deidre King for their attention to the
work of the Agency and in delivering on their governance
responsibilities with a professional and dedicated
approach. Finally I want to thank all the staff of VACCA
for a very strong year, so personally I want to thank them
for their contributions.
Muriel Bamblett – Chief Executive Officer
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 21
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING YEARThe Corporate Services Manager’s function has ceased to
exist with all HR functions transferred to a discrete HR
administration.With the Business Unit 2010 can be
considered to be a consolidation year that will lead to the
implementation of various strategies in the business plan.
FINANCE & ACCOUNTINGFinancial results for the year are noted in the audited
financial statements. Legacy from the past resulted in 3
accounting systems being used to run the accounting
systems, payroll and the assets register. It is intended to
develop a strategy that will lead to the acquisition of
financial software, the implementation of which will
greatly assist the function in producing more accurate
analysis and monthly figures in a more expeditious way.
Concurrent with the above a standard chart of accounts
as used by various government agencies will be
implemented.The benefit in adopting the above will be
the ability to transact with these agencies via the use of
standard reporting mechanisms.
The Business Unit continues to review cost competitive-
ness and value for money. Major functions for re-
evaluation include reducing the cost of our suppliers and
contractors, overseeing the procurement process for the
acquisition of goods and services and leasing assets
particularly in the areas of fleet, information technology
and telephony.
FLEET OPERATIONSThe search for a new Fleet Coordinator has commenced.
New strategies were developed to establish layers of
control on the assets that include monitoring the
servicing of vehicles as required by the service register,
monthly checks on petrol usage and electronic tags, and
review of infringements. Drivers that continue to be
involved in at risk behaviour will be sent to a driving
course.
Another cost-cutting strategy revolves around the
reduction of motor vehicle providers from four finance
companies to one. Other benefits will accrue as
streamlining will also result in shifting from large 6-
cylinder cars to a mix of medium sized 4-cylinder vehicles
and smaller vehicles for use in metropolitan areas.
Safety features for cars continue to be a focus of Fleet
with special attention to regular servicing.
Use of mobile phones and I-pods: programs continue to
be reminded of VACCA’s policy on the restricted use of
mobiles. Only voice activated devices are authorized.
A motor vehicle handbook is in draft stage.The
handbook will be made available to all drivers to assist
with their responsibilities. It encapsulates discrete parts of
the policies and procedures manual and will assist with
issues surrounding risk management and Fringe Benefits
Tax.
22 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
BUSINESS UNIT – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
INTRODUCTION The Business Manager oversees finance, fleet, legal and compliance, IT and facilities. Principal activities comprise of the
following areas:
Finance and accounting functions Financial Accountant
Payroll Support 3 FTE
Finance Support
Fleet operations Fleet Coordinator 2 FTE
Fleet Support
Legal, compliance & taxation Business Manager 1 FTE
IT services IT Support Officer 1 FTE
Facilities Office Cleaning Team 0.26
(2 staff)
LEGAL, COMPLIANCE & TAXATIONVACCA has succeeded in obtaining exemption from land
tax from the State Revenue Office.An application has
been made for the refund of all taxes paid on the basis
that the organization is a provident benevolent
institution.This will result in a refund of all taxes paid
over 6 years.
VACCA is currently applying to various councils for
exemption from rates. Responses were recently received
from the City of Greater Dandenong that rating
exemption will be granted, however there will be no
claw-back.This is a fastidious exercise as applications
must be made to each council where VACCA conducts
business.
VACCA is exempt from income tax. However all other
Federal taxes apply to the organisation.The Fringe
Benefits Tax report was lodged within the time limit with
the ATO. PAYG and BAS reporting continue to be lodged
on time. I am investigating the implementation of an ATO
process so that tax-related data is lodged on-line.This
step will streamline the reporting mechanism and reduce
manual intervention.
Difficult legal issues continue to be referred to lawyers
Blake Dawson for assistance.
The organisation was subject to 3 break-ins since the
beginning of the calendar year and claims for
reinstatement are with the underwriters.Additional
measures were introduced to limit access to the
buildings.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYIT is assessing the pathway leading to the replacement of
file servers. In IT terms the servers have reached the
term of their obsolescence and will need to be replaced.
A business case must be developed and approval sought
from the Board. In essence the new file server must be
able to cope with growth over the next 4 years and
include sufficient flexibility to accommodate other
locations and new technology, for example a
comprehensive accounting and reporting software.
Document management will become a feature of
VACCA’s IT operations.The way in which the
organization will manage electronic documentation will
be more secure and accessible to store and maintain
confidential organizational information.
Some of the challenges yet to be resolved within the
Document Management and Control proposal are ways
in which regional sites will be able to access generic
organization information.The Corporate Services team is
working closely with our IT providers to seek a solution
to this issue.
File server replacement and IT requirements will be
paramount in 2010/2011 budget discussions.This may
require resources additional to those noted in the
preamble above.
The overall costs may be distributed to programs on the
basis of the number of computers used by each program
as being the most equitable way of sharing the load.This
will be a one-off cost.
FACILITIES The Wurruk Avenue property in Preston currently is the
home of the Link-Up program.All insurance covers were
reviewed with the underwriters. Property insurances
were adjusted as necessary to reflect current values of
computer equipment and chattels in the process of risk
management.
Regular discussions are held with the occupiers of
Southern VACCA and Morwell to assist with matters that
affect the use of their property, for example issues with
safety and air conditioners.
CONCLUSIONCorporate Services will need to have a more public
profile in coming years. One such initiative will be regular
meetings between administration staff from East
Brunswick and those from Dandenong & Morwell offices
to re-inforce lines of communication, ie who does what
and build in an understanding the dynamics of running an
organisation. It is proposed that meetings will be IT
driven to reduce travelling time and costs.
Bernard Ferre’ – Business Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 23
INTRODUCTIONThe Human Resources Program within VACCA continues
to evolve and progress throughout 2010.The employment
of a Human Resources Manager in early 2010 enabled the
organisation to focus on strategic priorities whilst also
consolidating on the day-to-day operational requirements
of the organisation via its established HR Coordinator.
Policy development in light of legislative change (Fair Work
Act and The National Employment Standards), process
improvement and a move towards strategic priorities has
been some of the highlights of the year. Major pay parity
(Equal Pay) endorsed by our sector, organisation and the
federal government, may assist in addressing the
challenges the Agency and the sector faces.
Occupational Health and Safety continues to be a strong
focus for the Agency.The recent legislative changes have
put greater onus on the organisation to mitigate work
place injury and illness and to report on any near miss
and all incidents. Paula Crilly, the Agency’s HR
Coordinator has been taking the lead in ensuring that all
incidents are investigated and reported on.
The Human Resources Program focuses on continuous
improvement in all aspects of the work it has undertaken.
The following represents the initiatives it has undertaken:
1. Establishing a strong operational HR function that is
responsive and informative and supportive to
manager and staff needs in relevant people related
areas. Example – employee relations, industrial
relations, recruitment, agency registration, occupa-
tional health and safety and policy interpretation.
2. Attraction and Retention – Further implementing
the priorities from the Workforce Development
Strategy.
3. Developing comprehensive policies and procedures
that ensure that the Agency complies with legislative
changes brought upon by the Fair Work Act 2009.
4. Assisting with the Agency’s focus on Records
Management and Document Control.
5. Supporting the Agency’s implementation of Risk
Management processes including the drafting of the
Agency Risk Management plan.
6. Driving the Agency’s OH&S processes.
7. Supporting the Southern and Morwell offices.
8. Ensuring that Agency registration needs from a
Human Resources perspective remain at the
forefront.
9. Providing sound advice regarding change as a result
of program review or restructure.
10. CEO and Executive support.
Operational Focal points this year have included:
• Fair Work Act Policy changes and implementation
• Equal Pay action
• Fit 4 Work
• The Koorie job fair and the establishment of regular
recruitment forums
• Review of Residential Care staff contracts and
remuneration
• Continual promotion of Salary packaging
• Provision of prompt support to managers and staff
regarding queries, investigations and legal advice
1. STAFFINGThe Human Resources team is made up of the Manager,
the HR Coordinator and the receptionist.The Human
Resources team works closely with the Finance, Fleet and
the NP&I team.
2. PROGRAM OVERVIEWIn working closely with internal stakeholders the Human
Resources team was able to focus on identified objectives
and priorities aligned to the organisation’s strategic
priorities, operational requirements and the Workforce
Development Strategy.
The following represent the milestones and achievements:
2.1 Accreditation
The Accreditation process in March, identified specific
continued areas of focus for the Human Resources team
regarding personnel file recording and upkeep,
compulsory pre-screening (Police and Working With
Children Check) and training record keeping.
Since accreditation, the Human Resources Coordinator,
Paula Crilly and our administrative assistant, Jacinta Smith
developed a personnel database tool.This will allow the
Agency to address personnel file (key document)
anomalies in a proactive manner.
24 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
HUMAN RESOURCES UNIT – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
2.2 Attraction and Recruitment
The organisation has continued to experience challenges
regarding turnover in some of the operational programs
of the Agency. During this time the human resources unit
has diversified its approach to attraction and recruitment
by looking to different mechanisms to attract and recruit
staff. Importantly, the review of remuneration, the focus on
bridging the competitive gap between the Agency and the
mainstream organisations and the continual focus on fair-
ness, flexibility and staff wellbeing remain at the forefront.
Participation in job fairs, the updated Agency career
webpage, the use of alternative job boards and the focus
on tailored campaigns for particular programs have
allowed the Agency to maintain its commitment to
fulfilling its workforce requirements.
The emergence of a regular cross Agency discussion
forum focussing on recruitment enables managers to
share their recruitment positives, promote candidates for
roles and outline other tactical strategies.
Continual process improvement in the area of induction
and orientation for all new staff members has been a
priority for the HR Coordinator. Ensuring that all new
staff members receive all relevant information as part of
their first day with the Agency has become the norm.An
example of this is the introduction of the ‘Fit to Work’
online pre-screening tool.This has allowed new and
existing staff members to apply for a Police Check online
and receive a response within a short time.
2.3 Staff Retention (Workforce Capability
Framework)
Addressing key elements of The Workforce Development
Strategy has been another imperative throughout the
year.The establishment of the Office of the Community
Sector,Workforce Capability Reference group and the
development of the Workforce Capability Framework is
seen as a beneficial tool that can be customised
accordingly.The Agency has established a Workforce
Capability Reference group made up of members
representing all programs.
The outcomes of the Agency having a Workforce
Capability framework are to define competencies and
career paths for staff, to systematically address training
needs, progression and remuneration challenges. In late
2010 the Agency will implement its second Staff
Satisfaction survey.
Opportunities in 2011 will include the development and
implementation of the VACCA Workforce Capability
Framework, remuneration (pay parity) review across
programs and the development of various tools.
2.4 Policy changes and implementation
Due to the introduction of the Fair Work Act and the
accompanying National Employment Standards,VACCA
reviewed, amended and implemented Human Resource
Policies addressing leave entitlements, flexible working
arrangements and other areas. Policies reviewed include,
Annual Leave, Personal Leave, Compassionate Leave and
Special Leave.This has continued with the introduction of
the new Parental Leave entitlements.
I’d like to thank Paula Crilly, the HR Coordinator in her
role in assisting staff in regards to these policy changes.
Paula advocates positively for staff member needs by
balancing the Agency imperatives with the needs of
individual staff members.
2.5 Employee and Industrial Relations
The new Modern Awards cover approximately 90% of the
Agency’s workforce.Transitioning to these awards has
occurred via consultation with management and staff.
In regards to employee relations, the Human Resources
unit has been able to respond promptly to all relevant
incidents and make appropriate recommendations that
assist managers to take appropriate action.The Human
Resources unit has worked closely with industry
providers in SIAG and with our pro bono legal team.A
strong positive has been the eagerness of staff across
different programs to engage and work with HR across
different issues and projects.
This is a reflection of the commitment that people such
as Paula Crilly and Brenda Young, from the NP&I unit have
had at the ground level and that the Executive has
displayed in its promotion of the HR function.
2.6 Records Management
This year the Agency has continued to invest in ensuring
that its Records Management reflects the past and
adheres to current best practice principles.
Due to the extensive work completed by Brenda Young
regarding Document Control and in addition a positive
partnership with The One Umbrella Group,VACCA has
drafted a Records Management framework that will guide
it in ensuring that its Records Management actions
(Archiving, record keeping, document control) are met
over the next year.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 25
3. STAFF WELLBEINGDue to the fantastic work of the NP&I team in
establishing this program the Agency was recognised by
the Victorian government as a Fair and Flexible employer.
This will remain part of our attraction branding on our
advertisements and within our website.
The Staff Wellbeing program has been the domain of the
NP&I team however this year the Human Resources
team has taken on responsibility for certain aspects of
this.This includes all components that are linked to
Human Resources such as the staff review and
recognition process, Executive wellbeing, study leave,
higher duties and secondments.
An opportunity for the organisation in 2011 will be the
establishment of a tailored Employee Assistance Program.
Ideally, this program will promote the usage of debriefing
and counselling services and will provide these services
to staff in a confidential and prompt manner.
4. RISK MANAGEMENT AND PLANNINGAs part of the Accreditation process, Human Resources
worked in partnership with members of the NP&I team
to meet the Agency Registration requirements regarding
risk management.This meant that the Agency had an
organisational risk management plan in place and each
program had its own risk management plan in place.
Brenda Young has worked diligently in assisting the
programs to develop their risk management plans with
the Executive taking responsibility for ensuring they are
implemented.
Over the next year a structured planning process will be
developed allowing the agency to plan activities in
advance and to ensure all of its business, strategic
operational and risk management planning requirements
are met.
5. EXECUTIVE WELLBEINGIn June, the Executive as part of a retreat identified
Executive Wellbeing as a key risk for the organisation.A
plan was put forward to review the Executive structure.
The impacts and ramifications of this review will require
the hands on assistance of HR in regards to managing the
change.
Another key decision from the retreat was to put actions
into place to support Executive wellbeing including work
life balance initiatives and support mechanisms.
6. ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIESAs a small team, the challenges that HR faces are
balancing the day-to-day operational requirements with
the ongoing strategic priorities. Some of our issues and
opportunities are to work closer with the finance team
(payroll) in developing meaningful leave, turnover and
headcount reports.An ongoing challenge is with the
Payroll system and its capabilities.
To date the finance team and in particular Truc Pham and
Hemantha Angampitiya have provided excellent support
and assistance regarding reporting requirements.A real
solution for the organisation is to consider a Human
Resources Management Information system that will
provide HR, Managers and staff with data and meaningful
reports.
Due to the restructuring of the Corporate Services
program there has not been a dedicated Corporate
Administration Officer.This has meant that certain tasks
are spread across Finance and HR. In April we welcomed
the commencement of Toni McLaughlin as our
receptionist.Toni has been a positive and productive
inclusion to the Agency.
Future Directions
A key direction for the Human Resources unit will be to
assist the Agency in addressing its succession planning and
leadership needs over the next few years.The
organisation has demonstrated that it is committed to
providing appropriate and value-driven training, coaching
and support for its current and future leaders.
Leveraging from the capability framework and the positive
work completed to date by the Learning and
Development team will allow HR to make key
recommendations regarding the Learning and
Development needs in regards to managerial and
leadership competency building.
The Human Resources unit will continue to support and
provide advice to all management and staff regarding
people related questions or issues.Additionally, the unit
will provide Executive support and advice to the CEO
and Executive Team regarding Risk Management, OH&S,
Employee/Industrial Relations and Organisational
Development.
As the Executive Manager of the Human Resources team
I would like to acknowledge and thank Paula Crilly,Toni
McLaughlin, Brenda Young and Jacinta Smith for the work
they do. Paula has continued her strong focus on process
improvement and OH&S. Highlights this year have been
her strong relationship with our Insurance provider
26 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
CGU, the Koorie Job Fair, her recruitment links within
the community and her promotion and advocacy of staff
matters.
Brenda has provided excellent administration support
regarding Risk Management, Records Management and
Property services.Toni has developed positively as a new
staff member and has become a reliable, friendly and
positive face for the Agency on reception. Jacinta has
provided efficient and positive administration and
reception support as required. Importantly the entire HR
team has continued to meet the requirements of its
customers and looks forward to the opportunities of the
upcoming year.
Finally I’d like to thank the Board, Muriel, the Executive
and staff across the Agency for welcoming me into the
VACCA workforce and for appreciating the hard work
and commitment of the HR unit demonstrated via the
development of positive working relationships.
Con Lambros – Executive Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 27
INTRODUCTIONThe capacity to adapt to the many new challenges that
face the child and family welfare sector, responding to the
demands on the agency and assist its staff and most
importantly striving to meet the needs of the Aboriginal
community have been evident in the work that the unit
has undertaken this past year.
The program seeks to make a positive contribution
through a range of diverse activities such as:
• Undertaking project based initiatives
• Cultural strengthening activities
• Group based community engagement programs
• Promoting staff wellbeing
• Lead responsibility for VACCA’s compliance to
agency registration requirements
• Advocating and promoting the public voice of
VACCA
• Strong involvement in VACCA’s lead agency
functions
• Community education and publicity
• Training and learning development for both VACCA
staff and the child and family welfare sector
• Policy and planning development for both VACCA
and the broader Indigenous child and family welfare
sector.
• Executive support to the CEO.
This year the unit has also been involved in overseeing a
number of VACCA’s operational programs.
STAFFThe Unit has traditionally employed people to undertake
specific projects and activities as well as having a small
core group of very dedicated permanent staff.The
demands placed on the unit are such that now the
employment of more permanent staff, including
permanent part time staff is common.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
1. PROMOTING STAFF WELLBEINGOver the past 12 months the training unit has been
involved in the development and delivery of a range of
staff well being and training programs.
Particular achievements include:
Cultural Wellbeing and Self Care
Regular events to support and build our cultural
wellbeing and staff self care have been held.A monthly
calendar is produced that includes monthly staff meetings,
key national and international dates and anniversaries,
dates of our staff wellbeing lunches and cultural films as
well as any monthly staff training opportunities.
VACCA’s two-day Induction program
This is a two-day program for all new staff in the agency
to provide staff with a broad understanding of the work
of VACCA.
Over the past 12 months we have conducted 4 Induction
programs, with a total of 63 staff completing the course.
Feedback continues to be positive through evaluations
staff state that they gain a greater understanding and
knowledge of the work of VACCA and of their role in
making a positive difference to the lives of Aboriginal
children and their families.
Study Leave
One of the programs of our staff wellbeing policy is to
support staff in gaining nationally recognised minimum
qualifications relevant to the child and family welfare
sector.
This year VACCA has supported staff members to attend
various courses including those held at Kangan TAFE to
study Certificate 4 in Protective Care. In additional to the
TAFE course, 3 staff members have been supported to
study the Graduate Diploma and the Graduate
Certificate in Child and Family Practice at La Trobe
University.There are also regular support group meetings
and direct outreach support for students.
28 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
NEW PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES UNIT– AGM REPORT 2009/2010
Certificate 11 in First Aid
The Certificate II in First Aid was held at the Link Up
office.The Indigenous Education Centre from Kangan
TAFE delivered the course and reported that 20 staff
members completed the course.
Certificate I and II in Information Technology
There are currently 12 staff enrolled in Certificate II and
5 who have commenced training and completed a
number of units; 22 staff enrolled in Certificate I in IT and
11 have completed the course.This year there has been a
focus on reaching our non Brunswick based staff.
Mental Health First Aid Training
VACCA, in partnership with VACCHO, have provided
Mental Health First Aid training.The training provides
staff with the confidence to recognise the early signs of
mental health problems, and apply the appropriate
intervention strategies.
Supervision Training Program – Making the
Most of Supervision
It was hoped that VACCA’s revised supervision program
with updated guidelines and training for staff and
supervisors would be rolled out in 2010. Unfortunately
due to other pressures, this work is still in progress and
will now be completed in 2011.
Introduction to Case Work Practice
A 3 day workshop was developed to support new staff
employed at VACCA in case work practices.The training
is called:Tjamara’s Story – How Deadly VACCA Case
Workers Make a Difference.
This training covers the foundations of case work
practice, the importance of documentation and particular
program requirements. For example, the Placement and
Support Program requires case workers to understand
and complete the Looking After Children (LAC)
documents.This training is yet to be rolled out.
All Staff In-service:What Staff Wellbeing Means
For Us at VACCA
This was a very successful in-service with 96 staff in
attendance.The in-service focus was staff wellbeing.
2. EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
The Training Unit also provides external development and
training such as:
One Day Workshop: Introduction to Working
with Aboriginal Children, Families and Workers
in the Child and Family Welfare Sector
This one-day workshop is based on our 2006 publication:
Working with Aboriginal Children and Families:A Guide
for Child Protection and Child and Family Welfare
Workers. Over the past year the training team have
conducted 11 workshops.A total of 270 people attended
the training from a range of organizations such as Care
Connections, DHS, Relationships Australia, mainstream
child and family welfare providers including residential
staff. Feedback continues to be very positive.
‘Nikara’s Journey’ – Caring for Aboriginal
Children in Out of Home Care
This two day training program developed for non-
Aboriginal carers in Victoria who are currently caring for
an Aboriginal child in out of home care is based on the
VACCA/DHS 2005 publication: Caring for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Children in out of Home Care.
Over the past year this training has been delivered on 4
occasions to 33 non-Aboriginal carers who requested via
their foster care agencies to attend this training. Feedback
continues to be very positive.
Aboriginal Cultural Competence Training
VACCA has delivered this training on 16 occasions across
Victoria throughout 2010.The training was based on
VACCA’s Aboriginal Cultural Competence Framework.A
total of 410 people attended the workshops.
Dr Bruce Perry
Bruce D Perry, MD, PhD, is an internationally-recognized
authority on children in crisis. Dr Perry is the Provincial
Medical Director in Children’s Mental Health for the
Alberta Mental Health Board. In addition, he is the Senior
Fellow of the Child Trauma Academy, a Houston-based
organization dedicated to research and education on
child maltreatment.
VACCA and Berry Street’s Take Two Program hosted a
morning session with Dr Perry for Aboriginal
organizations’ staff, focusing on the impact of trauma for
Indigenous communities.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 29
Introduction to Family Violence Training
A one day training package was delivered to VACCA’s
Morwell team, which was well received.
A further one day training package was delivered to
workers in the Gippsland region for which 25 workers
attended from agencies such as Anglicare, Salvation Army,
Police and Aboriginal community workers.The training
also included a cross cultural awareness component.
The evaluation outcomes indicated that it was highly
successful.A further workshop is planned later this year
as an additional 30 workers have registered their interest
in attending the family violence training.
GEGAC Supervision training
The unit was involved in the delivery of a 2 day
workshop on Supervision to GEGAC staff and VACCA
Morwell program.
3. STATE-WIDE PROGRAM DEVELOPMENTINITIATIVES
VACCA has been commissioned by DHS to develop the
following state-wide program resources:
Case contracting guidelines for Aboriginal services - this
guide is to assist Aboriginal services assume contracted
case management for Aboriginal children in a range of
home based care options
Kinship Care Guide for DHS – this guide is for Child
Protection Practitioners to assist them make culturally
informed assessments of kinship care placements for
Aboriginal children.
4. COMMUNICATION/MARKETING PROJECTSThe Unit also has responsibility for the Agencies
communication and marketing and have coordinated:
Agency Newsletter/Staff Bulletin
Staff bulletins are now being distributed to staff on a bi-
monthly basis and based on feedback, the bulletins are
very popular throughout the organisation.The bulletin
plays a key role in assisting staff to stay abreast of
activities at VACCA.
Website Development
VACCA’s website redevelopment was completed in early
2010 and on average has recorded approximately 400 hits
a week.There has been a steady flow of resource
requests, job applications, carer enquiries and general
requests for assistance.
General VACCA Information Brochure
An information brochure has been developed to
complement the website.The website provides general
advice about VACCA’s history, identity and services.
5. CULTURAL RESOURCES The Unit as part of its ongoing role has developed
cultural resources such as:
Cultural Diary
Cultural diaries for Aboriginal children in care were
produced for the 2010 year. New diaries are currently
being finalized for the 2011 year.The diaries have been
extremely popular with a range of age groups and by
both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal services.As in
previous years the diaries will provide both cultural and
useful school information.
Cultural Rights project
VACCA has been commissioned by DHS to work with
Berry St and th Create Foundation to develop resources
to promote the rights of children in care.A range of
products specifically for Aboriginal children and young
people have been developed.While some products are
finished, others are in the final stages of completion -
these include: a bedtime story book for young children,
posters for both girls and boys and a book for teenagers.
Foster Carer DVD
Work has commenced on the development of a Foster
Carer DVD which will be used in community workshops
with potential foster carers.Award winning filmmaker
Richard Frankland has agreed to produce the film which
will aim to encourage more people to become foster
carers.
Including Children Project
VACCA is involved in the “Including Children Project”, an
initiative of the Department of Human Services that aims
to widely promote the Charter of Rights for Children in
Out of Home Care and assist in ensuring that the
Charter is being embedded into the policy and practice
of community service organisations in the sector. VACCA
will produce:
30 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
• An Entry to Care Overnight Bag with both
practical and cultural resources for our young
people who are new to care.
• Two Posters that promote the rights of children
and young people in Out of Home Care, one aimed
at Aboriginal boys and one aimed at Aboriginal girls.
• Four Postcards promoting the rights of children
and young people in care, providing contact details
for VACCA and other ACCO’s.These postcards will
be widely circulated throughout Aboriginal and
mainstream services.
• A Booklet that will be developed by VACCA with a
group of Aboriginal young people currently in care
that will promote the rights of children and young
people in Out of Home Care in the language of our
young people.This will be aimed at 12+ year olds.
• Night time Children’s Storybook aimed at
children under 12 years of age.
• Board game based on the Children’s Storybook
aimed at children under 12 years of age.
The Create Foundation and Berry Street are also
involved in this initiative and will be producing additional
resources for children, young people and services.These
resources will be circulated early next year.
Parenting Posters and Postcards
VACCA partnered with SNAICC to develop 2 posters
and 4 postcards for the Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development and these are expected to
be circulated later this year.
6. PROGRAM SUPPORT This year the Unit has been more involved in the
operations of the Agency through:
Residential Care
The NPI unit has been heavily involved in the ongoing
development of VACCA’s Residential Care program by
monitoring Residential Care for a 2 month period.
Currently unit staff are also assisting the program to
enhance its service in a few key domains.
Swan Hill Transfer
In February 2010 VACCA’s Swan Hill Child and Family
Services transferred to the Swan Hill Aboriginal Health
Service.The unit project managed the transfer. Currently
VACCA provides funds to the Health Service to run a
local Swan Hill playgroup.
Link Up
Since mid year the unit has also been directly involved in
a number of tasks with the Link Up program.
Family Services and Early Intervention
Since mid year the unit has monitored the Family
Services and Early Intervention programs and has been
involved in a number of tasks, in particular the
establishment of the Family Coaching Victoria pilot for
both the North West and Southern region pilots.
Morwell office
Since mid year the unit has been involved in assisting the
Morwell Office undertake community consultation
regarding the establishment of a family violence facility for
women and children in the La Trobe Valley.
Kinship Care Program
Since mid year the unit has participated in reviewing
the best structural arrangements for the program, in
preparation for the complete kinship care program
roll out.
Community Services Organization/HASS
registration standards
The Community Service Organisation Agency
Registration audit was conducted by QICSA on behalf of
DHS and took place between 9-12 March 2010. One of
the most significant achievements of the year was that
VACCA fully met all community services organization
standards, as well as the HASS standards.The Unit took a
lead role in this activity.
Transfer of Guardianship and Case Contracting
The program has been heavily involved in progressing
VACCA’s capacity to take on case contracting in the
North West and Southern regions.The unit also has
agency responsibility for progressing the transfer of
guardianship at a central and regional level.A regional
action plan has been developed in conjunction with DHS
in the North West region to progress this activity.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 31
7. MAJOR PROJECTS The Unit has a number of major projects for which is has
responsibility for:
Kurnai Youth Homelessness
A Kurnai Youth Homelessness program manual is
currently being finalized.This will be followed by the
development of an Indigenous Family Violence program
manual.
Moondani
An application to the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)
was completed this year. Consequently VACCA was
advised that the ILC had approved an “in-principle” grant
of $3 million for the Moondani project.The ILC stipulated
that the grant would be provided on the condition that
the balance of funding for Moondani’s construction would
be raised by VACCA within 2 years.A Plan to meet this
target is in preparation and will be presented to the
VACCA Board at their next meeting in October 2010.
Induction package for Residential staff
The unit is currently developing a computer based
induction package for new residential staff.
Aboriginal Adolescent Community Placement
House
The unit was involved in the establishment of the
Aboriginal Adolescent Community Placement House and
assisted staff with the development of the program
manual, a program budget and other practicalities such as
buying furniture.
Induction package for Board of Directors
The unit annually with the CEO delivers induction to new
Board of Directors.
Organizational restructure
The unit has been responsible for developing a new
organizational structure to better accommodate service
expansion whilst maintaining a strong commitment to
providing accessible and appropriate services for
Aboriginal children and families.A draft structure for the
Board to consider should be completed by the end of
November 2010.
Closing the Gap
VACCA was successful in receiving the Closing the
Health Gap funding as one of six priority projects in the
North & West Metropolitan Region in May 2010. Our
project, entitled Culturally Strong Koorie Kids Having
Fun, is a series of programs run throughout the year and
involves working with children and families connected to
VACCA and the broader community of the North West
Region in Melbourne.
The Project consists of:
• Recreation Program in collaboration with
MAYSAR and VAHS – This is an 8 week program
including a physical activity component, nutrition
component and song writing component where the
students write jingles to promote healthy life styles.
The songs will be recorded to play on 3KND.The
program is run in schools.
• Cooking and Life Skills Program – This is a 6
week program run at MAYSAR which will include
cooking sessions, budgeting, physical fitness, nutrition
and holistic health.The aim is to support families and
young people in learning about ways to live a healthy
lifestyle and support them with ideas and networks.
• Cultural Camps – VACCA collaborated with
Edmund Rice Camps to run a camp in the
September holidays with 12 children from Extended
Care and Residential Care.The camp was held at
Camp Manyung in Mt Eliza and the cultural program
was run by Carolyn Briggs and Jacob Boehme.
• Cultural Arts Program with Stan Dryden –
Stan Dryden is running painting and didgeridoo
making and decorating sessions with children in the
schools in conjunction with VACCA, who will run
the Recreation program.Art is seen as a healing
activity and integral part of a holistic approach to
health.
• Healthy Eating Circus Program with Westside
Circus – VACCA is collaborating with Westside
Circus and Victorian Aboriginal Health Service to run
two 8 week healthy eating programs.The first
program ran successfully with children referred from
the Family Support Program.The children were
engaged in circus training as well as learning more
about themselves.
Child Wise Sexual Assault Booklet
VACCA contracted a consultant to assist in the
development of a booklet for Aboriginal parents and
carers in relation to sexual assault of children.
32 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
VACCA Data Base – Professional Development
and Qualifications
The VACCA data base has now been developed to
include the names of all staff.The data base will also
register professional development and workshops
attended, as well as other academic achievements staff
may have acquired.All staff must now produce of copy of
their qualifications for their achievements to be entered
on the data base.
The data base is now the responsibility of HR to update
as staff members join VACCA and current staff complete
workshops or gain qualifications.
8. PARTNERSHIPSVACCA has a number of partnerships across the Agency.
The Unit has a number of strong partnerships:
Building Respectful Partnerships project
A practice guide on enhancing the cultural competency of
mainstream agencies has now been printed.This project
was undertaken in partnership with Berry Street and
MacKillop Family Services.A launch of the guide will
occur later this year.
Take Two
The unit continues to represent VACCA on the
governance body of Take Two and provides input into the
program to enhance its services to Aboriginal children,
young people and their families.
The development of Child and Family Practice
Grad Cert/Diploma
The unit, in conjunction with the Policy, Research and
Communication unit, continues to represent VACCA on
the governance body of the consortium.
Small Talk
In conjunction with the Policy, Research and
Communication team, the unit continues to represent
VACCA on the governance body of the Take Two, La
Trobe and VACCA consortium.The consortium aims to
develop and pilot a screening tool for assessing language
concerns that can be administrated by non-speech
therapists.
Pro Bono Partnerships
Blake Dawson Legal Services and Support
Program
Blake Dawson has assisted VACCA through the
provision of legal advice in areas as diverse as contract
preparation, court skills training, property leases and
industrial advice.
NAB Simon Wilson
NAB has assisted VACCA with the preparation of a
Business Case in support of our Indigenous Land
Corporation application for Moondani.
Nelson Alexander Real Estate
Nelson Alexander has provided us with real estate advice,
particularly for our Indigenous Land Corporation
application for Moondani.
9. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GROUP PROGRAMSBuilding on the success of the Koorie FACES program
which has been run in previous years, we have attracted
funding for the following community group programs:
Koorie FACES Facilitators Training
This year the training team had planned to run 2 Koorie
FACES programs at the Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-
operative and the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-
operative. However, the programs have been delayed due
to these agencies having other commitments. It is hoped
the roll out of the training will take place during this
calendar year.
Linking In
This group program was completed by the end of the last
calendar year.The evaluation report indicated that it was
a highly successful and popular program. Linking In
focuses on cultural healing for members of the Stolen
Generations and enables participants to explore issues
such as the impact of colonization on the Aboriginal
community and related issues of grief, loss and trauma.
The Program also encourages participants to become
involved in a range of cultural activities from arts and
crafts to smoking ceremonies and visiting culturally
important sites. Participants are also involved in health
and well being activities such as learning basic relaxation
techniques.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 33
Koorie Women Know Best
This pilot program was developed and facilitated for women
involved in family violence situations.The program sensitively
informs women on what constitutes family violence, and
improving family communication.The program also
encourages participation in cultural activities such as
weaving and painting.The program was implemented late
last year and evaluation reports indicated that it was very
successful.With modifications, it is intended to roll out
this program again early next year in the Gippsland region.
10. CULTURAL STRENGTHENING ACTIVITIES FOR ABORIGINAL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
This year the Unit assumed responsibility for organising
this year’s National Aboriginal and Islander Children’s Day
Event to celebrate National Aboriginal and Islander
Children’s Day held on the 4th of August each year.The
feedback received indicated that the event was a great
success and was extremely well attended.
11. PUBLIC VOICE ACTIVITIESThe unit has taken a lead role in facilitating VACCA’s
public voice activities. Our staff have been involved in
many forums.A selection of the diversity of activities is
highlighted below:
• Presentations on VACCA’s staff wellbeing policy
• Cross Cultural Awareness training highlighting the
differences between mainstream CSO’s and VACCA
• Presentations on the cross cultural competence
framework that VACCA developed
• Delivery of the cultural competence framework
across region
• Facilitated discussion at the VPS Indigenous Network
Conference with participants on – The Place I Want
to Work – Inclusive Workplaces’.The staff wellbeing
and cultural competence framework were presented
to participants.
12. SUBMISSIONSThe unit was responsible for or had significant input into
the following submissions:
• Aboriginal Placement Prevention and Family
Reunification program for both the North West and
Southern region.
• Prepared Funding Applications to the National
Australia Bank and to the Commonwealth
Government on behalf of Link-Up.
13. EXECUTIVE SUPPORT TO THE CEOThe program continues to be involved in providing high
level policy and program advice to the CEO across a
broad range of areas:
• Organizational structure – the development of a
new organizational structure whilst timely and
needed will be unsettling for the unit staff as it is likely
that the unit will be absorbed into larger programs.
• Funding – the program often struggles to attract
funding for innovative projects or for the
development of cultural resources.
• Demand management – the program often
struggles to meet all demands from its key
stakeholders and must prioritize the activities it can
undertake.
• Statewide program development – there is on-
going uncertainty as to whether VACCA will continue
to be asked to undertake statewide work as our
relationship with government is ad hoc and episodic.
• Cultural competence and cultural awareness
training – there has been significant interest in
VACCA’s training by mainstream services and
government.A more comprehensive approach,
including a suite of tools, is required that will require
significant agency resources without any assurance
that funding will be gained for the activity.
14. FUNDINGThe program is largely funded by VACCA’s corporate
levy.We do not have a fixed program budget and we fund
projects through the levy and through attracting specific
project funds.
In the 2009-10 year we received funding from the
following sources:
• The Federal Department of Environment,Water
Heritage and the Arts provided partial funding to
host a North West Children and Young Peoples
Cultural festival
• DHS North West Aboriginal Family Violence Funds –
the funds contributed to meeting the costs of the
Cultural Festival
• DHS Child Protection – the funds contributed to
meeting the costs of the Cultural Festival
• DHS Child Protection – VACCA received funding to
develop the case contracting guidelines and the
guide to assist Child Protection to undertake
assessments of kinship care placements for
Aboriginal children
34 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
• Berry Street and MacKillop provide funding for the
Building Respectful Partnerships Project
• VACCA receives a partnership funding contribution
from Take Two Berry Street as part of discharging
our governance responsibilities towards the program
• Link Up program funding to undertake a number of
tasks
• DHS funding for the development of Child and
Family Practice Grad Cert/Dip (cultural component
only)
• DHS funding to develop cultural resources for
children in care
• DEECD funding to produce pro family posters and
postcards
• FAHCSIA for Closing the Gap initiative
• DHS ACP establishment funding.
• Grant application to Leith Trust for Cultural Camps
• FAHCSIA funding for Koorie FACES
15. FUTURE DIRECTIONSAs the report highlights, this year has seen the unit
involved in many complex activities.
As this is likely to be the last New Programs and
Initiatives annual report, I would like to personally thank
all the current and past staff for their hard work, passion
and commitment.The current staff I would like to thank
are: Bev Murray, Brenda Young, Chrisie Warren, Megan
Cadd-Van Den Berg, Martine Lynch, Nigel D’Souza, Kylie
Duggan,Alli-Jade Briggs, Maureen Hogarty, Gabrielle
Burke, Sarah Diplock and Rene Sephton. I would also like
to acknowledge all the great work of past staff and in
particular thank Emma Bamblett and Sue Anne Hunter.
As a manager I have been extremely fortunate to work
with many talented and committed staff. I have also been
fortunate in being able to work closely with Muriel who
has played a key role in the unit’s success.
Connie Salamone – Executive Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 35
INTRODUCTIONThe Policy, Research and Communication Unit was
formally established in July 2008 after VACCA received
three year funding of $450 000 from the ANZ Bank
Trustees’ Victorian Aboriginal Granting Program,
specifically the Ella and Mitchell Brazier Fund, the Sir John
Minoque, Leigh and Marjorie Bronwen Murray Trusts, and
the GT and L Potter Charitable Trust.
The staff in the unit are:
• Peter Lewis – Manager
• Richard Frankland – Aboriginal Research
Development Co-ordinator (0.8 EFT)
• Robin Trotter – Project Officer
The aims of the unit include:
• Expanding and maintaining policy, research and
communication capacity for VACCA
• Enabling VACCA to undergo research projects
according to its strategic objectives
• Enabling VACCA to develop an approach to research
which is informed by Aboriginal cultural norms and
academic standards
• Developing and disseminating research findings
which promote Aboriginal cultural resilience and
therefore have a positive impact on government
policy formation
The key unit achievements include:
• Successful completion of a major project on cultural
safety including Victoria wide Aboriginal community
consultations to create a framework for future
advocacy and research
• Ongoing participation in research partnerships with
La Trobe University and Melbourne University
• Policy submissions to Federal and State
Governments
• Research and community consultations into the
cultural dimensions of Aboriginal Guardianship
(Section 18) funded by DHS due for completion
next year
POLICYThe unit provides ongoing policy advice and
conference/speech presentation and policy submission
drafting to the CEO.The
submissions/conferences/workshops include:
• Submission to the Victorian Law Commission Inquiry
into Child Protection
• Submission to Ombudsman Inquiries into Child
Protection and Out-of –Home Care
• Submission into DEECD Health and Wellbeing
Framework.
• Ongoing participation in Futures Exercise Working
group with DHS,AAV, OATSIH
• Participating in Victorian State of Children Report
development which this year is focused on Aboriginal
children.
• AIDA Healing OUR Way Keynote in October 09
• VPS Indigenous Network Conference in October 09
• Magistrates Conference in October 09
• Lecture at Melbourne University in November 09
• APPCAN Conference Master Class Presentation in
Perth in November 09 (Presented by Richard
Frankland and myself)
• Family Violence Forum in November 09
• NSW Aboriginal Secretariat on Child and Family
Welfare Conference in November 09
• 2009 Human Rights Oration in December
• Lecture for Social Work students at LaTrobe
University April 10
• Lecture for Speech Therapists (Presented by Sue
Anne Hunter) April 10
• Lectures for Graduate Diploma/Graduate Certificate
in Child and Family Welfare
• AIFS Conference in Melbourne July 10
• SNAICC Conference in Alice Springs July 10
• NAIDOC Week speeches July 10
36 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
POLICY, RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS UNIT – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
RESEARCHThe unit undertook a major research project on cultural
safety with Richard Frankland and Robin Trotter and is
now involved in research and consultations into the
cultural dimensions of Aboriginal Guardianship.
A summary of our findings on cultural safety is in the
separate section below. It is envisaged that in 2011 the
unit will undertake research into intergenerational trauma.
Our partnership with Take Two and La Trobe University is
being continued to further develop cultural wellbeing
assessment indicators which we have called the Cultural
Yarn and will be trailed at VACCA and Take Two.The
Social and Emotional Wellbeing Indigenous Network
Group (SEWING) Circle will be the key reference group
for VACCA’s research unit. With La Trobe we hope to
co-employ one researcher for the new year. We are
waiting on recruitment via the Indigenous Employment
Program at La Trobe University.
The unit provides ongoing participation in the Who Am I?
ARC Linkage Grant with Melbourne University, the
Centre for Excellence, DHS and others, which is focused
on creating a web-based archive, archive practices
assistance and record keeping practices assistance to
enable out-of-home care services to provide a sense of
identity for former clients.The unit participated in Take
Two/La Trobe University’s Small Talk Project on the
speech/auditory needs of children in care.
The unit participated in the development and governance
of the Certificate and Diploma in Child and Family
Welfare with La Trobe University, Bouverie, Melbourne
University and Take Two, including work on a unit we are
co-delivering with Take Two in 2011. A presentation on
Aboriginal issues to the Certificate class in August.The
unit assists the CEO with presentations to the Diploma
and Certificate classes for each subject unit.The unit has
an ongoing role of facilitating cultural input into course
material with the CEO.
The unit participated on consortium looking at an ARC
Linkage Grant in October 2010 on Respite Care with La
Trobe University, Good Shepherd, Berry Street, MacKillop
Family Services and Anglicare.
Major Project – Cultural Safety Project
This is Forever Business:A Framework for Maintaining
and Restoring Cultural Safety in Aboriginal Victoria is a
major policy and research report of the Victorian
Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) and builds on
two previous projects – the development of the
Aboriginal Cultural Competence Framework for the
Department of Human Services (DHS) in Victoria and
Pringhael Thookanyat (Spirit of Children) The Victorian
Aboriginal Child Care Agency Aboriginal Youth Well Being
Project Report.
In line with VACCA’s commitment to the safety of
Aboriginal children and youth and vision for an Aboriginal
community “that is strong in culture, values their children
and young people and recognises the importance of the
whole community in raising children and keeping families
together”, the purpose of this report is to provide a
framework for:
a) understanding the current situation of Aboriginal
communities in Victoria
b) empowering Aboriginal communities to develop
processes and services which promote cultural
safety and
c) governments/departments to work as respectful
partners with Aboriginal communities in Victoria in
the creation of a culturally safe service system and
environment for Aboriginal children, youth, families
and communities.
For us, the key problem which needs to be addressed is
that of the partial removal of traditional forms of cultural
safety in Aboriginal communities and the processes which
disempower Aboriginal peoples and disable their voice
and ability to practice self-determination.This diminishing
of cultural safety occurs through a lack of respect and
recognition of the positive aspects of Aboriginal culture
and its centrality in creating a sense of meaning and
purpose for Aboriginal peoples. For all peoples culture is
essential for spiritual, emotional and social growth and
maintenance. For the Aboriginal peoples of Victoria,
culture is our spear and shield; our resistance and our
resilience.
To this end, the report:
a) outlines the situation of Aboriginal communities by
analysing colonisation from a historical/personal
Aboriginal perspective,
b) reviews the current literature on the situation of
Aboriginal communities and provides analysis based
on the positives of Aboriginal resilience and
resistance and the negatives of the ongoing impact of
colonisation,
c) provides data and highlighted comments from 131
interviews and consultations conducted state-wide
by VACCA’s research team,
d) analyses the data from our consultation with
reference to the recently released State of Victoria’s
Children 2009:Aboriginal children and young people
in Victoria report using the four keys (explained
below) as our analysis tool,
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 37
e) provides and explains a cultural safety framework for
addressing the issues and includes recommendations
for the consideration of governments/departments,
the generic human services sector and Aboriginal
communities and organisations.
It is our contention that the cultural safety framework
can be used as an Aboriginal culturally-informed tool for
policy and service development for the Aboriginal human
services sector.
In summary we suggest:
a) That in understanding and considering the situation
of Aboriginal communities today there are two key
historically-conditioned and contradictory social
forces – that of the cultural resilience and resistance
of Aboriginal communities and that of the ongoing
processes of colonisation.These social forces exist
today in a different shape to that of the past. In many
respects the social engineering of the colonisers of
the past still resonate in aspects of
government/departmental policy formation and
implementation today, if not directly then at least at
a ‘subconscious’ level as a result of cultural blindness.
This creates both policy confusion at the
governmental/departmental level and socio-
economic disempowerment at the community level.
One of the symptoms of this disempowerment can be
seen in the prevalence of lateral violence in some
Aboriginal communities, organizations and government
departments. Cultural resilience and resistance also
resonates in our current situation and can be seen in
some of the excellent work of Aboriginal Community
Controlled Organisations and pockets of cultural and
creative renaissance in Aboriginal communities. However,
until there is clarity around how the right of self-
determination is recognised by governments/departments
and actualised in Aboriginal communities, cultural
resilience and resistance will remain marginal and
underutilised.This is to the detriment of all Victorians.
b) To understand the relationship of the contrary
forces of cultural resilience and resistance and the
colonially embedded forces of disempowerment, we
use four countervailing research keys. Building on
the observations of the late anthropologist and
author of After the Dreaming,W.E. Stanner, our
research keys look at the interplay between the
positive and negative contextual forces of
• Re-membering – in other words, seeing the
past as a means to, in a sense,Aboriginal
peoples re-joining and becoming members of
both their own particular Aboriginal
communities and societies through their
remembered narratives and ensuring those
formerly silenced narratives are re-membered
in broader society. Re-membering in this way is
closely related to issues of spirituality and
belonging. Re-membering can counteract what
Stanner identified as a sense of homelessness;
• Empowering voice – in other words, helping
our people access ‘wealth and power’ and
therefore empowered in relation to broader
society. Having an effective, self-determining
voice therefore can counteract what Stanner
identified as a sense of powerlessness;
• Re-sourcing – in other words, creating a map
to find locations/situations/relationships where
our people feel culturally secure in our
communities, through the resources of land and
culture. In this way communities can build on
their cultural strengths to counteract what
Stanner identified as a sense of poverty; and
• Re-creation of cultural products through
various forms of creative activity such as music,
film, theatre, craft and art. Reclamation of
language, cultural structures, symbols and
images and fusing that with contemporary
culture to create new forms of cultural
expression can enable Aboriginal peoples to
navigate the dominant culture and maintain
their own, whilst counteracting what Stanner
identified as a sense of confusion and we have
further defined as disorientation. (Stanner
2009, pp. 206-211)
c) According to the results of the state-wide qualitative
and quantitative interviews undertaken by our
research team and our analysis of both our data and
the data provided in the State of Victoria’s Aboriginal
Children and Youth Report, it is clear that the impact
of colonisation and its echoes in society today
continues to disconnect and disempower Aboriginal
communities. However, despite these echoes there is
a depth of cultural resilience which drives these
communities.While much of traditional culture has
been diminished,Aboriginal community leaders and
members constantly find new ways of cultural
expression and systems of cultural respect.The
dissonance caused by historical and contemporary
Australian society and governmental policies has
created and further encouraged lateral violence in
communities.There is an urgent need to encourage
new, culturally attuned means of strengthening
Aboriginal communities so that they can mitigate
against the effects of lateral violence and the toxic
colonial environment.There is overwhelming support
in Victoria’s Aboriginal communities for new process
38 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
of engagement within and outside their communities
to re-member, empower, re-source and re-create
places and process that encourage cultural safety.
d) Having tested the four keys and taken into account
reports on indigenous youth and children, the
current State of Victoria’s Aboriginal Children and
Youth report and our recent research on this report
lead to the following cultural safety framework.
Recognising the key historically-conditioned and
contradictory social forces of the cultural resilience and
resistance of Aboriginal communities and that of the on-
going processes of colonisation our service sector needs
to embed a cultural safety framework in order to benefit
Aboriginal communities and have a positive impact on the
lives of Aboriginal children, youth and families.This
involves promoting cross-cultural competence in the
sector by following the key components of the Aboriginal
Cultural Competence Framework
• Self-determination and Respectful Partnerships
• Cultural Respect
• Cultural Responsiveness
• Cultural Safety
It also involves enabling Aboriginal communities to
restore processes and programs which promote cultural
safety through the aforementioned
• Re-membering
• Empowering Voice
• Re-sourcing
• Re-creation
Finally, the framework moves toward wider
governmental/specific human services policies which
enable a positive treatment of the problem faced by
disadvantaged and disempowered vulnerable Aboriginal
people.We suggest that the treatment of this problem
takes three shapes:
• Renegotiating the social contract and establishing
appropriate ways in which we treat each other in
terms of a proper foundational relationship between
our peoples and the promotion of cultural respect.
• Treatment as healing and tackling the impact of
trans-generational trauma and trans-generational
racism.
• Creating a new shared narrative between our
peoples as a means of ensuring mutual respect and
self-understanding. Ensuring that a dialogue respects
and engages Aboriginal peoples as stakeholders and
not as problems to be solved.
We are therefore suggesting a partnership between
Aboriginal organisations, governments and their
departments and the community services sector to
engage in a ten year strategic plan driven by Aboriginal
communities to embed cultural safety for Aboriginal
Victorians.
The unit plans to work with the CEO to undertake
advocacy on the framework.
I would like to thank my team Richard Frankland, Robin
Trotter. I would also like to thank the Executive team and
Muriel for their ongoing support.
Peter Lewis – Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 39
INTRODUCTIONThe Lakidjeka Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice Support
Service (ACSASS) continues to hold the responsibility
within VACCA to implement the Protocol between DHS
Child Protection and VACCA.
The protocol and legislation require that Child Protection
consult with ACSASS before making any key significant
decisions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
and young people.This includes decisions around
investigation of reports, decision to refer to services,
potential placement and placement changes, reunification
and general case planning.There is provision for
secondary consultation even if the parent or young
person does not consent to ACSASS involvement.
ACSASS is now eight years in its current form and has
been recognised around Australia as a Best Practice
model and New South Wales is working to implement a
very similar model.The program within the Victorian
context however, is still struggling with resourcing,
structural and interface issues.This year has been a
particular challenging one with a number of ongoing staff
vacancies and workload issues continuing to have an
impact on the planning and delivery of the service.
Despite these challenges,ACSASS workers still continue
to work extremely hard and work within a framework of
Aboriginal children’s rights to being safe and unharmed.
Workers are passionate about everyone taking a
responsibility to protect children and partnering Child
Protection to understand the importance and uniqueness
of Aboriginal families and culture.
1. STAFFINGOver the financial year there have been some staff
movements within the program. Leeandra Aitkin was
seconded to the North West Supervisor/Caseworker
role from Shepparton and Wendy Lovett is acting in the
Barwon Supervisor/Caseworker role while Sue Lovett is
leave for 6 months. In addition, we have seen Angela
Chittem Supervisor/Caseworker from Morwell take 12
months maternity leave and her position filled by Tiffany
Hood.All of these workers have taken on the
responsibilities in a professional and dedicated manner
and need to be commended.
Departures from the program have included Sara
Frederiksen, Kevin (Bricky) Walker,Tamara Blackwood,
Sara Flottl, Jenna Bamblett and Cassie Batten.Thank you
to each of those people who contributed in their own
way to the important work of ACSASS.
While we had employed some new staff to the program
including four case administration workers (two job
sharing), two caseworkers and an Assistant Program
Manager, one caseworker unfortunately was dismissed
following a serious breach of VACCA’s code of conduct.
2. PROGRAM OVERVIEWThe Lakidjeka ACSASS is a statewide program which
provides the service of consultation and advice through
three areas:
• Intake
• Regional Case work
• After Hours
2.1 Intake
ACSASS Intake Data
No. of reports Children Unborn Families
Quarterly Day Service reports
July – Sept 2009 632 7 300
Oct – Dec 2009 600 7 283
Jan – March 2010 573 8 298
April – June 2010 632 8 341
Total 2437 30 1222
According to the ACSASS data base, throughout the
period of July 2009 to the end of June 2010, Lakidjeka
ACSASS received a total of 2,437 reports (notifications)
across the state (excluding LGA Mildura). In addition to
2,437 reports received during the day 130 new reports
were received after hours. Given that ACSASS provides
an after hours service for Mildura some of those reports
are Mildura Aboriginal Corporation’s
This total of 2,437 during the day compares with a total
of 2,190 reports received last year. Every year the
number of reports on Aboriginal Children and young
people to Child Protection (and ACSASS) has increased
and this year is no exception.
The Intake service deals mainly with the key decision as
to whether a report (notification) should be investigated
40 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
LAKIDJEKA ACSASS – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
by Child Protection or closed and not investigated.The
decision to further investigate means that there appears
to be a level of risk or concern that cannot be managed
by support services.A closure can mean no additional
support services are required or that consideration
needs to be given to further service involvement.
Intake considers whether other support services such as
those provided through Child FIRST, general mainstream
and Aboriginal services can help assist families address
the issues raised. Some are closed very quickly as there is
not a role for Child Protection.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 41
Most regional intake teams within Child Protection are
very familiar with the process of connecting with ACSASS
at the point of intake; however, with DHS staff turnover
being quite high, the need to continue to educate
workers on this continues to remain a priority within
Intake.Thanks to both Sara and Donna and those who
have assisted intake over the last financial year.
According to DHS data of those 2009-10 reports
received, 42.98% of reports were further actioned across
for investigation.This has been slight increase in further
actioned cases where last year this was 41% of all
reports. Please note the Southern ACSASS team covers
Southern and Eastern regions, and Barwon covers
Barwon and Grampians.
2.2 Analysis of Data
From an ACSASS viewpoint there does not appear to
have been any real impact from the Child FIRST system
which sought to take on more wellbeing reports and
allow the more serious reports go to Child Protection.
The number of reports on Aboriginal children still
continues to increase and the percentage of reports going
over for investigation continues to remain consistent at
approximately 40%.
We are unable to access our own information of what
percentage of cases are substantiated (that children are at
risk), however DHS data demonstrates that this continues
to be at a much higher rate than non-Aboriginal children.
42 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Ages of ATSI children that were Further Actioned at Intake during period 1 July to June 30 2010
0–1 1–3 4–5 6–7 7–10 11–12 13–15 16–18
211 189 146 132 160 101 174 68
The key factors as to why Aboriginal children come
under the notice of Child Protection continue to be
family violence, drug and alcohol and mental health issues.
In relation to family violence we continue to have a
steady number of reports made directly from police who
are being called out to family violence incidents – both at
Intake and After Hours intake.
It appears that there are fewer reports around
environmental neglect coming through to Child
Protection and ACSASS and go through as ‘wellbeing
reports’ to Child FIRST. However, it appears that Intake
also sees a percentage of reports returning to Child
Protection because families are reluctant to engage with
services once they know it is their choice to do so.
Too often cases are seen where there is a need for
support rather than Child Protection involvement,
however once CP are no longer involved and all links
with support services are voluntary with some families
no longer following through.There needs to be some
further funds and service provision built into the system
that continues to promote and educate the value and
importance in raising children in a culturally strong and
safe family rather than being told to.
2.3 After Hours
ACSASS provides an After Hours Service to Child
Protection on existing regional cases and new reports.
This service is shared between most of the senior staff of
ACSASS who partake in a weekly AHS roster.The service
is limited in that consultation and advice is primarily phone
based and outreach visits no longer take place.The addi-
tional stress that would fall on workers based in Melbourne
would only compromise worker safety and wellbeing.
Workers provided the Child Protection Emergency After
Hours Service with advice on approximately 257 children
and young people and 130 of those were new reports,
the rest were on current open cases. Unfortunately, there
were a number of cases where the Child Protection
Emergency After Hours Service did not make contact
with ACSASS.
Thanks to the ACSASS senior staff who participated in
providing the After Hours service – Angela Chittem,
Donna Love, Suzanne Cleary,Teresa Kerr, Jeff Cooper,
Wendy Lovett, Leeandra Aitken and Sue Barclay.
2.4 Regional Open Cases
It is difficult to get exact figures on the number of cases
open at any one time. However, based on CRISS and
ACSASS data there were approximately 1,469* open ATSI
child protection cases in Victoria at the end of June 2010
(not including Mildura LGA).This is therefore the number
of cases that Lakidjeka ACSASS has opened across the
state. In addition to these approximately 119 are sitting
with the Intake team.
The regions open cases are a combination of new reports
through to those on court orders and long term plans.
ACSASS is expected to be involved in the life of an open
Child Protection case and provide advice on any
significant decision.
The following is an approximate break down of cases
(children & young people) per region:
Please note that for the purposes of Lakidjeka ACSASS, the
Barwon South West team covers both Barwon & Grampians
and Southern covers Southern and Eastern. Intake reports sit
with East Brunswick until they are closed or actioned. For
three regions (highlighted in blue) their numbers are not based
on updated CRISS data and are not as accurate as the others.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 43
Region Open Cases Intake Only Total Regional ACSASS Total
Barwon South West 126 14 140
Grampians 61 10 71 187
Gippsland 171 20 191 171
Hume 135 10 145 135
Lodden Mallee 240 20 260 240
North West 392 21 413 392
Southern 240 16 256
Eastern 104 8 112 344
1469 119 1588 1469
No accurate statistics
* These statistics change almost daily
3. OPERATIONAL /STRATEGIC PLANNINGThe Lakidjeka program like other programs across
VACCA undertake an annual operational planning day.
Lakidjeka ACSASS continues to have six key priorities in
its operational plan:
1. Build and retain a stable and skilled workforce
2. Implement the recommendations of the internal
ACSASS Review related to:
• Program Management
• Program Resourcing
• Workforce and Recruitment
• Program Performance
• Funding Position
• Partnerships and Communication
3. Ensure Agency Registration Standards are suitable
for ACSASS and develop a continuous quality
improvement approach
4. Provide a quality service and meet program targets
5. Improve communication, interaction and
partnerships with:
• local Aboriginal Communities
• DHS Child Protection
• other Aboriginal Community Controlled
Organisations
• Non-government organizations
The progress against the strategic plan over the last
financial year continues to be slow paced given the
competing demands of the day to day operational tasks
and the current vacancies at both the management and
caseworker levels.
3.1 Building and retaining a stable and skilled
workforce
The first priority to build and maintain a stable and skilled
workforce includes strengthening the management
structure of ACSASS and allowing the Executive Manager
of the program to drive the strategic priorities.There
continues to be a need for assistant managers who can
provide case expertise to workers particularly given the
complexity of cases, the increase in involvement in Out of
Home Quality of Care Concerns, the case support
needed in working with high risk clients and participation
in Child Death Reviews.
In addition there is also a need to fill and increase
caseworker positions on the ground. On average the
program has carried 4-5 vacancies throughout the last
financial year with most of these being in the Melbourne
metropolitan area.
Lakidjeka ACSASS continued to have regular recruitment
processes for the vacant caseworker and administration
positions.These include caseworkers in Lodden Mallee
(Echuca), Southern (Dandenong), Grampians (Ballarat)
and Case Administrators in Southern (Dandenong) and
Gippsland (Bairnsdale).
The issue of recruitment and retention is a major issue
for the program as the work requires strong Aboriginal
workers who are comfortable working with “at risk”
children and families and who can work in partnership
with Child Protection.
The program has worked closely with Con and Paula
from VACCA’s Human Resources to try to be more
creative in our approach to recruiting staff.ACSASS,
through Lucy Romano and Samantha Brown, also attend
the fortnightly VACCA recruitment meetings where
program representatives and HR can discuss the
recruitment processes and discuss what other strategies
can be undertaken.This meeting also helps to enhance
cross program discussions around recruitment.
ACSASS staff including Lucy, Samantha and Jeff Cooper
were also involved in the VACCA workshop looking at
addressing recruitment and retaining staff. Consistency of
employment processes and parity of pay continue to be
areas which the program is particularly interested in
addressing.With the assistance of HR,ACSASS is
currently undertaking work on this and is proposing a
restructure and increase in the wage rates for ACSASS
workers.The key issues that impact on ACSASS’s ability
to attract staff include the nature of the work, the
extremely high workload and the fact that workers
wages, particularly caseworkers, are low. It is not
surprising that potential applicants do not consider
working in ACSASS when there are other more attractive
and better paid positions.
There needs to be consideration given to someone
within the agency who can promote and market the idea
of working within VACCA including for ACSASS.Word of
mouth appears still to be the best way to find potential
Aboriginal workers.
3.2 Implementation of ACSASS review
The implementation of the ACSASS review has been
minimal and there is a need to address the tasks
associated with program management, program
resourcing and general funding has stalled.At the end of
2009, representatives from VACCA including the CEO,
met with DHS Child Protection Executive to move
44 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
forward on the review. It was acknowledged that it was
timely for a review of funding arrangements and that a
Price Indexation Review of ACSASS would take place.
It was agreed that the review would be undertaken by an
independent reviewer who will begin the process once
the DHS tendering process is finalized. DHS in the
interim provided some one off funds to assist help with
infrastructure/case support and prepare for the review.
This resulted in the employment of Lucy Romano to
ACSASS.
In order to demonstrate the unique tasks undertaken
within ACSASS as well as demonstrating information on
the time taken to achieve the work of ACSASS, all staff
have been undertaking a “matrix” exercise whereby they
recorded all work done throughout the day including all
formal activities eg meetings, visits, phone calls and those
informal discussions, calls and tasks.
Lucy, Sam and Jodie Harding have been extracting the
information from the staff which is now being collated
and analysed.The initial cut of the information
demonstrates that a large part of ACSASS’s day is spent
in the areas it is expected to deliver on – Best Interest
Planning, case consultation and visits with Child
Protection to families.The information also demonstrates
that in the rural areas in particular a large percentage of
time is spent travelling.
3.3 Agency Registration Standards
ACSASS is currently not within the scope of current
agency registration as the specific ACSASS program
standards are yet to be developed with DHS.There has
been little move forward to plan and ensure that Agency
Registration Standards are suitable for ACSASS. It is
understood that work from DHS head office on this has
been minimal. On a practical day to day level however, the
program continues to be mindful of the need to meet
general governance and program specific standards
although these are currently not under formal review.
The major areas of concern for ACSASS in meeting
registration standards would be in the areas of case
notes/case recordings, supervision and meeting additional
standards around confidentiality including having adequate
private space when co locating with other VACCA
programs.
ACSASS has agreed to coordinate and develop the
registration of client files until a more permanent system
can be developed.This has meant that a master list of
current VACCA client files now exists and a further list
of those closed since early 2009.This list does not
include Link Up and ACSASS client files are kept on a
separate data base.The master list is only a tip of what
needs to be done in the area of client files and archiving
of files.As acknowledged within the executive and
leadership group, VACCA needs to prioritise its recording
and management of client files.
4. PROGRAM ISSUESThe ACSASS Program manages a number of risks both at
a casework and program level which include:
4.1 High Risk Clients
Child Deaths Inquiries and Case Reviews
Along side Child Protection,ACSASS continues to
manage a number of high risk clients across the state.
Over the last financial year,ACSASS was involved in three
Child Death Inquiries of a young boy and two young
infants.
ACSASS’s involvement in one of the inquiries was limited
as the service was not actively involved in the case. It is
hoped that issues of DHS not complying with the
DHS/VACCA protocol were raised with the region
involved by the Child Safety Commissioner.
ACSASS had also been asked to participate and co
ordinate VACCA’s response to a DHS Ministerial case
practice review in Southern region and was also involved
in another case review which had been raised with the
Ombudsman’s office.
An ongoing issue that has emerged for ACSASS and
VACCA in those inquiries is the accurate recording of
case information. It is disappointing to review files where
major events and discussions are not recorded on client
files. Even when staff have left the organization knowing
that there will be an inquiry into the case, important
notes and documents have not been included.
4.2 High Risk Adolescents & Secure Welfare
placements
A number of adolescents are deemed to be at high risk
to themselves and are as a result placed for short periods
of time in Secure Welfare Unit.The SWU is where young
people are contained for their own safety and
authorisation must be given by DHS and approved by the
Children’s Court. Consultation with ASASS must be
sought where placement in Secure Welfare is being is
being considered for any Aboriginal young person.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 45
According to ACSASS data 37 young Aboriginal people
were placed in Secure Welfare over the last financial year,
with 26 being placed only the one time.This has
increased from the previous year where 28 young people
were placed in Secure Welfare and 16 were placed only
once.
The other young people were placed on more than one
occasion with every admission still needing careful
consideration from the care team. Given the level of risk
that some young people have, secure welfare provides a
chance for young people to be safe from harm for a
short period of time and provides a chance for
assessments including health, mental health and substance
use to take place.
A number of these young people are also involved with
the Juvenile Justice system and are at risk of being placed
on community based orders and/or receiving a sentence.
4.3 Worker stress and burnout
Workers within the ACSASS program deal with a number
of difficult, complex tasks and stressful situations.
Significant decisions such as whether a case should
proceed for investigation, whether a protective
application needs to be issued, or whether children
should be placed away from home are decisions which
are never taken lightly.The pressure on workers comes
from all directions- from Child Protection, Courts, other
Aboriginal and mainstream services and from within
VACCA.
The additional strain to be responsive to everyone and
the pressures from community to be “all things to
everyone” puts additional strain on workers.This is
further compounded by the fact that some workers and
some members of the community do not understand the
specialist role of ACSASS and its limitations.
This means that further work needs to be done to
actively promote the role of ACSASS, both internally and
externally to VACCA.This is another area of the strategic
plan which has been prioritised – improve communication,
interaction and partnerships with local Aboriginal
Communities, DHS Child Protection, non-government
organisations and other Aboriginal Community
Controlled Organisations
Previous Human Resources work undertaken around the
usage of sick leave demonstrated that ACSASS workers
are one of the more frequent users of sick leave.They
also traditionally carry a large amount of Time In Lieu,
though there has been a concentrated effort to keep this
to a minimum.The program experienced one Work cover
claim over the twelve months but was unable to
negotiate a successful return to work plan for that
worker.
The expectations and high caseloads resting with ACSASS
was hoped to be assessed through the proposed Price
Index Review. Until this time the workers continue to
have extremely high numbers of cases.The work that
ACSASS does is not one of traditional casework, and
does not case manage, however, the involvement in key
significant decision making for each child is time
consuming and relies on the development of good
partnerships and information sharing.
The following provides an approximate breakdown of the
open cases and the ratio to regional workers across the
state.These ratios are based on the number of cases to
the number of funded positions, these ratios become
even higher when there are staff vacancies.
46 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
ACSASS data on ATSI Secure Welfare placements
No of Young people Male Female Total Admissions Single Admission
July 08–June 09 28 12 16 47 16
July 09–June 10 37 19 18 58 26
North/West Eastern Hume Gippsland Grampians Southern Barwon Loddon Mallee
2009 to 17 8 6 7 6 8 3 8
2010
ACSASS workers and case administrators have
responsibility for a large number of cases. Caseworkers
are expected to be involved in significant decision making,
whereas case administrators are expected to provide
office support and data information on cases on a
quarterly basis to head office.
All workers feel the pressure and stain of being unable to
meet the demand, none more so than Supervisor Sue
Barclay and administration workers,Vanessa Murdoch and
Jodie Jackson at Southern and Leeandra and Jodie
Harding (admin) at Northern. Some rural workers also
have to contend with a large amount of travel particularly
workers in the Lodden Mallee region and the south/west
end of Barwon region.
4.4 Lack of service delivery
The biggest risk that ACSASS faces at present is that it
will be unable to provide a service in the metropolitan
regions – both North West and Southern/Eastern teams
have only a Supervisor/Caseworker and Administration
worker each. Both teams are without any caseworkers
and Leeandra Aitkin who is acting Supervisor/Caseworker
will be returning to her position in Shepparton in
October 2010.
Between these three regions there are over 600
children/young people on open child protection cases –
most of who are living at home with family but are still
deemed to be “at risk”.
The inability to attract staff will result in more pressure
from Child Protection to the other VACCA programs to
participate in investigations both with initial reports
(notifications) and quality of care concerns. More
concerning is that without having ACSASS workers on
the ground Child Protection will by default be making
significant decisions on our children without any advice
and consultation from specialist Aboriginal workers.
5. BUDGETAt the end of the financial year ACSASS reported a
surplus of funds which was due to staff savings. On
average there were at least 5-6 vacancies across the state
throughout that year.
While there was a surplus this year, the budget for
ACSASS continues to be an ongoing concern. Should
there be success in increasing workers wages (in order to
attract staff) and the filling of every position the budget
would blow out significantly.At present less than 60% of
the budget is spent on staff and payroll expenses as
administration costs within the agency and for the
regional out posted offices remain high.The program
currently operates 11 office sites.
In line with the Strategic plan further work needs to be
done in relation to the long term ACSASS funding and
budget.Without some resourcing there is little room to
shift more of the budget towards payroll and therefore
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 47
Average Caseloads
Region Open Cases Intake Only Total Regional ACSASS Funded Case Funded Case
Total Workers Ratio
Barwon /South West 126 14 140
Grampians 61 10 71 187 4 46.75
Gippsland 171 20 191 171 4 42.75
Hume 135 10 145 135 3 45
Lodden Mallee 240 20 260 240 3 80
North West 392 21 413 392 3 130.6
Southern Region 240 16 256
Eastern Region 104 8 112 344 3 114.6
119 1469
Case Administrators 5
Total Staff 25
little room to attract staff, pay more equitable wages and
restructure the program.
6. TARGETSThe ACSASS program is expected to provide quarterly
reporting to DHS on five key areas of its service delivery:
1. Referrals to ACSASS (Intake)
2. Investigations / First Home visits
3. Attendance at Best Interest Planning Meetings
4. Attendances at Best Interest Review Meetings.
5. Case Closures
Generally ACSASS is expected to meet a target of 85-
90% on these key areas.There is an expectation that
Child Protection will also comply and report on its
consultations with ACSASS at these key points within a
case.The yearly statistics are still to be finalized with
Child Protection but it would appear that most ACSASS
regions have worked hard to meet the targets, taking into
account the level of staffing available.
There appears to be some issues in one region where it
is unlikely that targets will be met. It is unclear at this
stage as to what are the barriers to this and it is hoped
that this will be clearer once the final analysis is done.
7. PROGRAM SPECIFIC THEMES
7.1 Staff Wellbeing
Supporting staff in their workplace, particular given the
identified issues they face, is a constant challenge for
ACSASS. Each year unit and supervisor meetings are held
where workers across the state can meet together to
discuss issues, share ideas and support one another.
In addition to these regular meetings,ACSASS staff
attended a three day staff wellbeing/team building retreat
in Echuca/Moama in June 2009.The aim of this was to
combine some fun and relaxation with team planning.
That night staff met up for dinner together which was a
nice way to finish off the day.
The second day was a little more serious where the team
planning day was held.As well as working through general
ACSASS business a gripe session was held where people
could anonymously raise their concerns and issues.The
group then tried to find solutions and actions to address
these.This was not an easy exercise and the process
raised some issues about the team’s strengths and
tensions.The messages again from workers were clear – a
need for clear and regular communication, more
supervision and support to prevent isolation and a need
for all workers to be proactive rather than reactive in
their work.The final few hours were spent working on
regional and team work plans.
On the final day workers went on a cultural tour with
Richard Kerr in the Barmah forest and then met Uncle
Kevin Atkinson at Cummeragunja Mission where the
school was opened up for us and we not only looked at
the memorabilia but listened to the stories about life on
Cummeragunja.This was a really memorable morning and
thanks to both Uncle Kevin and Richard for sharing their
stories and wisdom.
7.2 ACSASS Links and Partnerships
7.2.1 Cultural Support Plans
ACSASS workers were involved in forums across the
state in 2009 with the Aboriginal Children’s and Families
Unit on Cultural Support Plans (CSP). Given that only
20% of CSP’s had been developed across the state at that
stage, the forums or information sessions were aimed to
restate the importance of CSP’s and the process of how
the Department can ensure that CSP’s are in place for all
Aboriginal children and young people (particularly those
in non- Aboriginal Care).
Across the state pressure had been put on each region to
put an action plan in place for each of those
children/young people. Regional ACSASS workers have
been working along side of Child Protection and relevant
Aboriginal organizations to have the CSP’s completed.
ACSASS workers are funded to assist Child Protection in
the development of Cultural Support Plans.
Each region was asked to develop plans of actions on
how they would complete the plans. Lakidjeka was
actively involved in the processes in the North/West,
Gippsland, Barwon, Hume, Eastern and Southern
processes.There has been far less contact in the other
two regions, however it needs to be acknowledged that
in the Grampians region there was limited ACSASS
contact due to staff vacancies.
7.2.2 Family Decision Making
The links to the Family Decision Making Program
continue to be extremely important and ACSASS
continues to be a part of the Aboriginal Family Decision
Making Program/Cultural Support Program Statewide
Reference group. Having clear understanding of worker
roles and responsibilities help assist in the day to day
operations and links between programs.
While AFDM workers now have responsibility for driving
both AFDM’s and Cultural Support Plans, it is
48 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
acknowledged that ACSASS need to be included in the
pre-planning and consultation process of both.
7.2.3 VACCA Cross Program Links
In an attempt to improve communication between
ACSASS and other VACCA programs, North West
ACSASS workers and Manager have attended at both
Extended Care and Family Support and Early Intervention
staff meetings. Meetings have also been held with
Permanent Care to look at what children and young
people are deemed to be in need of permanent care and
how the two programs can share information and
knowledge.
Formal Cross Program meetings are held in which
representatives of Extended and Residential Care, Family
Support and Early Intervention and ACSASS staff meet in
order to share information and develop better working
relationships across programs.While it is acknowledges
that at a manager level this interaction has improved a
great deal, more work needs to be done at the
caseworker and team leader level.
7.2.4 Family Division of Children’s Court
VACCA, including ACSASS, has membership on the
Steering Group for the Children’s Koorie Court (Family
Division) project.The project is undertaken by the
Courts and Tribunals Unit, Department of Justice.The
project is seeking to canvas potential options to make the
Family Division of the Children’s Court more culturally
responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children and families.
A report to Parliament by the Victorian Ombudsmen into
the Department of Human Services Child Protection
System resulted in a number of recommendations,
including consideration of reform within the Children’s
Court Family Division.At the end of June 2009, the
Victorian Law Reform Commission released Protection
Applications in the Children’s Court Final Report which
outlined a number of options.
Representation from VACCA, including ACSASS, was
involved in the Commission’s consultation regarding the
potential reforms. Given the strong link that ACSASS has
with the Children’s Court and decision making within the
court process it was important that ACSASS’s voice was
considered.
7.2.5 Regional and Central liaison with Child
Protection
Liaison with DHS both at a regional and statewide level is
critical to exchange information, maintain good working
relationships and address issues that may arise.
Throughout the last year a number of formal liaisons have
been held between Child Protection and Lakidjeka.These
have included meetings held with North /West, Eastern,
Barwon, Gippsland and Hume and Grampians. Liaison
with Southern, Lodden Mallee and After Hours
Emergency Service has not really happened and need to
be reactivated.
It should be noted, that Teresa Kerr, Supervisor from
Lodden Mallee, has worked tirelessly to improve the
partnership relationships with DHS, through both formal
and informal means and hopefully some of the hard work
will pay off.The work that she and her team have
undertaken, particularly in reconnecting with Swan Hill
and Mildura DHS, has been admirable.
There needs to be acknowledgement for people such as
Cindy Grant our liaison contact in the East, Nicole
Fleming from Barwon and Lorraine Robinson from
Gippsland region who continue to not only work in a
respectful manner but support and promote the
importance of ACSASS.As always Sandy Mitchell’s
program advice and support is always highly valued and
appreciated as is her willingness to advocate passionately
for the program.
Liaison with the Aboriginal Child and Family Support Unit
continues to be strong and meetings are held regularly.
Thanks go to Mary Roberts and Trish Berry for their
support and willingness to raise issues when needed.The
workshop in August 2009 where the ACSASS program
and regional Child Protection representatives met and
showcased how ACSASS could make a difference was a
positive day and it is hoped that there are more of these.
7.2.6 Child Protection Beginning Practice
Throughout the financial year ACSASS has continued to
provide input to the Child Protection Beginning Practice
Training for new child protection workers.This has been
provided by Leeandra and Samantha, who continue to
receive very positive feedback from both the trainers and
workers.Thanks to Leeandra and Sam for undertaking
this work.
A number of meetings have been held with the Child
Protection Training Unit and the Aboriginal Child and
Family Support Service to review the ACSASS input and
to consider other ways to increase the profile of how CP
can engage and work with Aboriginal children and
families.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 49
7.2.7 Interstate Links with Aboriginal Child
Family and Community Care Secretariat
(AbSec)
At the end of 2009,ACSASS were visited by two project
workers from AbSec in NSW who have the responsibility
to oversee the implementation of “ACSASS pilot
programs” into NSW.This program will be known as
Parenting and Community Together (PACT).The two
workers spent time at East Brunswick, Footscray as well
as in the Gippsland area to spend time with caseworkers
and case administrators undertaking their day to day
work.
There has been ongoing dialogue with the relevant AbSec
project workers who want to maintain some of the
integral parts of ACSASS in the new pilot programs.What
has become clear in some of our discussions is that with
vacancies and funding issues some of the work practices
that are aspired to are not being delivered at present. For
example, our connection to the Children’s Court is
limited at present and workers, particularly in Melbourne,
are unable to attend court.
What has also been interesting is that the funding
provided to the NSW pilots is much more generous and
realistic than the funds provided by our own state
government.
7.2.8 Data and Client Relationship Information
System for Service Providers (CRISSP)
The use of the CRISSP Data system has slowed down
rather than enhanced ACSASS workers ability to put case
notes on the system.The volume of reports that come
through the program which need to be on CRISSP has
placed additional pressure on the ACSASS administration
staff – particularly at the East Brunswick Office.All
reports whether actioned or closed need to be placed on
the system. (2,427 reports 2009 -2010).
Casual staff have previously been employed to address
the back log and this is something that the program will
have to reconsider to keep up with CRISSP entries.
Thanks need to be made to Melinda Brown who
developed “How To Guides” for staff and has supported
staff and entered the majority of reports.
8. CONCLUSIONDespite the challenges that have been seen over the last
twelve months, Supervisor/caseworkers, caseworkers,
case administrators and managers all contribute to the
difficult work of ACSASS.All staff work to ensure that
Aboriginal children, young people and their families and
their cultural needs are understood and protected within
the decision making of Child Protection. Supervisors and
caseworkers in particular establish relationships with
regional Child Protection workers to ensure that the
decisions made take into account a cultural perspective
of safety and risk.
The staff in both regional and head office sites have to
contend with high volume of reports which impacts on
staffs ability to respond and the administration systems to
keep up to date. For regional staff there is the added
stress of having high numbers of complex casework with
at times limited support.The wellbeing and support of
staff is a core component which has to remain a priority
for the program.The other key priority now has to be to
attract workers by offering better working conditions
including equitable wages and realistic caseloads.
The program will continue to remain vulnerable unless
the price indexation review becomes a reality and the
real costs of providing the service and supporting staff
are acknowledged by DHS. It is hoped that the next year
will be a more positive one and that the issues will be
addressed. It is hoped that the outcomes from this review
will also result in a better understanding of the day to day
work undertaken and the worker support, training and
development needs.
Thanks are given to the wonderful staff of ACSASS for
their commitment and hard work.The workers have an
ability to keep bringing us back to the real reason why we
work for VACCA in ACSASS – better outcomes for
Aboriginal children and young people.Acknowledgement
also needs to be made to those staff who have left during
the year and to those people who continue to support
and work with us in a respectful partnership.
On a personal note, thanks go to the senior ACSASS
team for not only their support but their ability to
keeping me grounded.Thanks also to the East Brunswick
team, particularly to Samantha, who at times has the
ability to almost read my mind, and to Muriel and the
executive for their support and wisdom.
Suzanne Cleary – Executive Manager ACSASS
50 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
INTRODUCTIONThe Placement and Support Unit delivers programs to
Aboriginal children who are unable to live with their
parents and who are placed in Out of Home Care
(OOHC).There are five main types of care: Home Based
Care (also known as foster care or Extended Care),
Koorie Cultural Placement and Support program,
Education Support Program,Aboriginal Therapeutic
Residential Care, Kinship Care, Permanent Care and
Leaving Care.
The Unit also delivers the Kurnai Youth Homelessness
Program based in Morwell, the Integrated Family Violence
Program which covers the Latrobe Valley and Baw Baw
Shires.The Placement and Support Unit now consists of
nine programs which are:
• Extended Care Program (delivered at three sites)
• Koorie Cultural Placement and Support Program
(NW and SMR regions)
• Aboriginal Therapeutic Residential Care Program
• Permanent Care Program.
• Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care Program
(Contracted Cases)
• Aboriginal Adolescent Community Placement House
• Leaving Care ( Brunswick, Bendigo and Morwell)
• Kurnai Youth Homelessness Program (Morwell)
• Indigenous Family Violence Program (Morwell)
The agency has one other OOHC program which is the
Kinship Care Program delivered by Southern VACCA.
Julie Toohey has continued to take on broader
responsibilities in the Placement and Support unit whilst I
have focused on the implementation of the Aboriginal
Therapeutic Residential Care Program, the new
Metropolitan Kinship Care Program (Contracted Cases)
and the Adolescent Community Placement House.
With the development of the Metropolitan Kinship Care
Program we have welcomed Vanessa Halge as Program
Manager and Margaret Triffit as Team Leader to the senior
team.
1. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN OUT OF HOME CARE
1.1 OOHC Reforms
Arising from the 2009 allocation of funding of $135
million, DHS Placement and Support branch are
implementing reforms some of which are:
• Supporting children to remain at home with
their families: A placement prevention and
reunification program called Family Coaching Victoria
is in the process of being implemented. VACCA have
received funding to pilot this program in one
catchment in each of the North West and Southern
regions.The program is called the Integrated
Aboriginal Family Preservation and Restoration
Service (IAFPAR).This involves working intensively
with 10 families for a period of 12 weeks to either
prevent a child coming into care or where a child
has entered care for the first time, to enable that
child to return to their parents.
A funded Respite Care program is also being investigated.
VACCA believe that a Respite Program is an essential
part of any family strengthening strategy.
• Create more and better targeted placements
to meet the individual needs of children and
young people. In the North West region there has
been a re-allocation of funds, and VACCA have been
given funds for:
• An Aboriginal Adolescent Community
Placement House which provides placements
for three adolescents.
• Placements to cater for the needs of pregnant
young women and young parents is another
focus.
• A Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care
Program (Contracted Cases) is a new program
for agencies.
• Individualized Packages (target of 10) are
available to fund special needs placements.
• Improve the education of children in care. A
long overdue review of the CIRC funding is being
conducted. It is overdue as agencies have not had a
recurring increase in funding for educational support.
The DHS/DEECD Partnering Agreement has been
strengthened.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 51
PLACEMENT AND SUPPORT – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
• Develop effective and culturally appropriate
responses for the high numbers of Aboriginal
children in care. Cultural Support Plans (CSP) are
an essential tool to improve the well being of
Aboriginal children in care.The Aboriginal Family
Decision Making Programs have been funded to
develop CSPs for Aboriginal children in care. Funds
were made available to VACCA for the state-wide
roll out of training of the DHS Cultural Competency
Framework. Despite VACCA having done a lot of
the program development work, the Aboriginal
Therapeutic Foster Care program has not been
implemented.
• Prepare young people better for leaving care
and making the transition to independent
living. DHS have been working on the development
of an Aboriginal Leaving Care program.We have
advocated for an Intensive Case Management Service
(ICMS) for Aboriginal young people aged 14 years
and up.
1.2 Aboriginal Kinship Care Programs
Unbeknown to Aboriginal agencies, mainstream
Community Service Organizations (CSOs) were funded
in December 2009 to provide a suite of services on a
continuum in relation to Kinship Care.These services are:
Information and Advice Service, Family Services (also
supporting voluntary families), Placement Establishment
Service, Case Contracting Transition Cases and Case
Contracting Long Term cases.
Despite VACCA having provided a Proposal for an
Aboriginal Kinship Care Program in October 2009, the
Aboriginal organizations were funded to provide only the
Case Contracting components as of March 2010, as the
funds had been re-directed to mainstream agencies.
Due to intense lobbying by VACCA, $4.1 million over
four years was allocated in the May 2010 state budget for
Aboriginal agencies to implement the other components
of Aboriginal Kinship Care.
1.3 Aboriginal Therapeutic Foster Care
Despite VACCA having provided a Discussion Paper
entitled;“Aboriginal Therapeutic Foster Care for
Aboriginal Children” in September 2009, this work has
not progressed.
2. FUNDINGAll programs in Out of Home Care are funded by the
Department of Human Services Community Care
Branch.The Southern VACCA Programs are funded by
the Southern DHS region.The Leaving Care Program,
Kurnai Youth Homelessness Program, Integrated
Indigenous Family Violence Program,A Place to Call Home
and development work for an Indigenous Family Violence
Refuge is funded by the Commonwealth under the
Supported Accommodation and Assistance Program (SAAP).
VACCA have two Education Support positions.The full-
time Education Support Worker for Extended Care
children is funded by VACCA without any contribution
from DHS or the Department of Education.The
Education Support Worker attached to the residential
unit known as the CIRC (Children In Residential Care)
position is funded by the Commonwealth Government,
but is administered by the North and West DHS Region.
We are funded for a worker for two days a week.
The Permanent Care Program is chronically underfunded
in that we are funded for one position to cover the
whole state.
New funding for Aboriginal Out of Home Care Services
is as follows:
• $270,000 to continue our Aboriginal Therapeutic
Residential Care Pilot
• $244,000 to pilot an Aboriginal Adolescent
Community Placement House
• $330,000 to contract 42 Kinship Care cases in the
Metropolitan DHS regions
• $50,000 for an extra .5 position in Leaving Care.
• $10,000 for Morwell Family Violence Worker to
implement the “A Place to Call Home” program
conducted by DHS Community Housing Program
• $256,000 interim funding for the development of an
Indigenous Family Violence Refuge in Gippsland
• $25,600 one off CIRC (Children in Residential Care)
grant for education support
3. REGISTRATION PROCESSI would like to thank and congratulate all the staff in the
unit for their part in the Placement and Support Unit’s
contribution to the agency passing all the Registration
standards, particularly the ones pertaining to Out of
Home Care. Caseworkers worked hard to make sure
that all their files were up to date, and contained all the
evidence that was needed.They also made sure that they
52 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
were aware of the agency and program-specific policy and
procedures and strategic direction.
The Team Leaders and Program Managers ensured that
we had the evidence in relation to staff supervision,
appraisals, and training, and effective management of the
programs.
The Auditors chose two sites to visit both of which were
managed by the Placement and Support unit.The staff of
the Reservoir group home, the Kurnai and Leaving Care
staff at Morwell all did a wonderful job in ensuring that
sites were in excellent condition, and participated well in
the staff group discussion requested by the Auditors.The
Auditors were very moved and impressed by the
feedback they received from the Kurnai clients.All the
staff really did us proud.
The Out of Home Care Project Officer Maureen Hogarty
played a major role in working with the staff on
understanding the standards, agency policy and
procedures. Maureen developed and updated manuals,
policies and procedures, and ensured that the group
homes were compliant with Emergency and Fire Safety
requirements. Maureen worked tirelessly with the
Morwell staff to enable the completion of the Quality
Journal, and the passing of the 35 Homelessness
Assistance Support Service Standards which are different
from the CSO standards.
4. CASE CONTRACTINGA significant development for the agency in the delivery
of Out of Home Care services is the agency accepting
responsibility for undertaking case management of child
protection cases through the signing of a contract with
DHS. Upon signing the contract VACCA undertake to
provide all case management tasks, and to provide a
number of reports such as preparation of Essential
Information Records, Care plan, Care plan Review, the
Best Interest Plan (BIP) and an Annual Court Report.All
casework activity and reports are to be provided to DHS
on a shared electronic data system called CRIS which is
different from CRISSP.This has been a steep learning
curve for extended care workers and kinship care
workers.The Extended Care Team now has seven
contracted cases with five more to be signed by the end
of 2010.The Kinship Care team has 37 contracted cases.
5. PROGRAM OVERVIEW
5.1 Extended Care Program
Julie Toohey has continued as Program Manager with Liz
Munt and Yolanda Glenn as Team Leaders.
Current staff are: Caseworkers, Michael Cadd, James
Stubbs, Jo Mazza (currently on leave), Kelly Arunaune, and
Rebecca Boss. Our Access Worker is Tamasin Krakouer.
Jodie Cadd has continued as a .5 Education Support
Worker. Pauline Fennell has continued as the Geelong
Extended Care caseworker.The Koori Cultural Placement
and Support worker is Bisette Morgan, and the
administration officer is Thelma Norris. Staff who have
left the program are: Rebecca Crawford
Targets
The program has provided approximately 100 placements
for Aboriginal children in the last financial year. Some of
these placements are regular respite placements.The
program has met the target of 52 placements which
includes: 32 general, 16 intensive, and 4 complex targets.
The three types of targets are funded at different levels.
VACCA Brunswick has assessed four new carers this
year, and have conducted carer training for them.
Foster carers are greatly valued by VACCA, and are
supported by workers very well. Six Carer Gatherings
were held this year which provide an opportunity for the
carers to get together and talk about common problems
and to share some of the joys of being a foster carer.As
well as this, carers are updated about any new
information or direction in the Home Based Care sector.
A Carers BBQ is held in December each year and is well-
attended by carers and children.
Staff Training
The Extended Care team has supported staff obtaining
qualifications through the VACCA Study Leave policy.
Michael Cadd is completing Certificate 4 in Protective
Care;Thelma Norris is doing a Bachelor of Education;
Pauline Fennel is doing a Bachelor of Social Work. Staff
participated in bi-monthly consultations with Gregory
Nicolau from the START program and have also
participated in a range of training programs including
“Case management” and ‘Working with children who
have been sexually assaulted”.The team also have bi-
monthly Professional Development sessions provided by
the Senior Team members.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 53
Education Support for Children in Care
Jodie Cadd and Jan Muller have been employed on a half-
time basis to fulfil the role. Jan resigned in February 2010
and has not been replaced however Jodie has worked
additional hours.
Both Jodie and Jan have worked with individual children
and their schools to ensure that each child has an
Individual Education Plan and a School Support Group in
accordance with the DEECD/DHS Partnering Agreement.
Jodie and Jan and other Extended Care Staff facilitated
the Books In Home Program which provides books for
children in care via three special book presentations
throughout the year using a well-known Aboriginal
person to help promote the books and reading with the
children.There are currently 40 children in this program.
Geelong Extended Care Program
Pauline Fennell, the Extended Care caseworker works
from the Lakidjeka office in Geelong, and has done some
excellent work in supporting the children and their
carers, and the children’s families, and working well with
Lakidjeka and DHS staff.
The work in Geelong is managed by Julie Toohey due to
the complexity of the cases there which require strong
advocacy and support. Presently we have five full-time
carers and two respite carers in Geelong caring for
twelve children.There are nine general placements, two
intensive and one complex.
Further work needs to be done to increase the foster
care targets in Geelong and surrounding areas, as more
Aboriginal placements are needed.
Activities for Children and their Carers
The staff have also continued with the KKICNARP (Koori
Kids in Care New Active Recreation Program) program
which is a recreational program for the children in Out of
Home Care.They are generally held in the school
holidays and all the children enjoy the days very much as
they get to see other children in care.
Most of the children in extended care participated in the
highly successful VACCA Wominjeka Children’s Festival in
November 2009 by learning dance, art and didgeridoo
playing before the festival.
5.2 Koorie Cultural Placement and Support
Program
This program is managed by Julie Toohey.Yolanda Glenn
supervises the worker.This program provides cultural
support to Aboriginal children living in mainstream
placements in the North and West DHS region. Bisette
Morgan has been working in the role since February
2010.
The program has struggled to meet targets due to a
change of worker, however valuable cultural work is being
done with clients in mainstream placements, their carers
and Residential Care staff.
5.3 Aboriginal Therapeutic Residential Care
Program
This program has been managed by the Program Manager
Robbie Merrigan since October 2009 and, with the
support and help of our Therapeutic Specialist,Tenille
Abell (until June 2010) has provided therapeutic care for
very troubled young people.
We commenced the operation of our Aboriginal
Therapeutic Residential Care Pilot program at Reservoir
in December but also implemented the principles and
practice (where possible) of therapeutic care at the
Coburg group home.
At Reservoir, the current staff are: Krissy Mayberry,
Team Leader; Bec Mayberry, Second in Charge, Marie
Jones, Robert Faldon, Darren Gobbey. Jamaica Barrientos,
Heather Brooks and Shaliesh Patel are agency staff who
have agreed to transfer their employment to VACCA.
At Coburg the current staff are: Hayley Jones,Acting
House Supervisor; Debbie Learhinan, Second in Charge,
Jerome Phillips,Troy Brickell and Robyn Young, an agency
worker who has also agreed to transfer her employment
to VACCA.
Staff at the Brunswick office are: Mika Akune, Case
Co-ordinator, Namatjira Morgan, Cultural Support
worker and Sue Molner, Education Support worker (who
retired on September 18th this year).
Staff who have left the program are: Jade Hudson-Morgan,
Casey Atkinson, Phil Ah Wang,Arif Gray,Arthur Ellis,
Robert McCubbin, Ben Clarke and Shannon Andy, Illana
Atkinson.We thank them for their work with our
children and young people.
Theresa McNally left the position of House Supervisor at
Reservoir on 30th April 2010, and I would like to thank
her for her leadership in the development and
establishment of the therapeutic pilot.
Targets
The target for the program which is 7.6 daily average
occupancy has not been met due to the agreement of a
planned entry process to the pilot therapeutic group
54 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
home at Reservoir.We only had one 11 year old boy in
the Reservoir group home for seven months when he
was joined by two boys from the Hume region on July
1st.The boys were aged 10 and 12 years.At Coburg, we
continued with a sibling group of three until the 17 year
old girl moved into a Lead Tenant placement in January,
and the 15 year old boy moved to another placement in
March.We currently have five children at Coburg with an
age range of 6-14 years.
Staff Training
Tenille Abell has provided a lot of training in relation to
responding in a therapeutic way to children and young
people in Residential Care. In particular,Tenille and Shaun
Coade from Take Two provided 5 days training on
“Yarning Up About Trauma” in February/March.
Four staff members are undertaking the Certificate 4 in
Protective Care at Kangan Batman TAFE.
There is an ongoing cycle of training in relation to Fire
and Emergency Safety to ensure that we comply with
regulations.
Most staff attended the “Resi Rocks” forum in May which
focussed on Therapeutic Residential Care.
All staff Attended the 2 day National Therapeutic
Residential Care Conference with Bruce Perry in
September.
New staff will participate in the 2 Day “With Care”
training in the next two months.
Reservoir Group Home (under 12 years)
Following the closing down of the old Reservoir program
on 12th November 2009, the house was refurbished to
make it more home-like with part of the kitchen wall
being knocked down, the internal office window closed
off and the outdoor area enhanced. Kevin Ellis did some
art work on the walls and doors of the children’s
bedrooms.
There have been many successes and also pitfalls in the
implementation of the therapeutic program with a
number of staff leaving the program including the House
Supervisor at the end of April. Krissy Mayberry, the
Second in Charge took on the responsibility of House
Supervisor.
The strength of the program has been achieving
congruence in the team through the weekly team
meetings which have included a Sanctuary model
community meeting, reflective space and teaching
conducted by Tenille, the Therapeutic Specialist.The
program has been supported by the monthly Operational
Planning meetings and Strategic Planning meetings.
In the last four months difficulties arose due to a number
of changes which were: a) no Therapeutic Specialist during
that period b) loss of staff and inability to fill vacancies
causing us to have to use agency staff c) two new boys
entering the program as of July d) change of senior
manager for 8 weeks from late July to mid September.
We are through these difficulties now with a Garry Miller
appointed by Take Two as our Therapeutic Specialist; staff
recruited to fill the lines on the roster; and it being
assessed that one boy would benefit from moving to
another placement due to ongoing violence towards him
by his older brother.
Coburg Group Home
Appointing Hayley Jones as the Acting House Supervisor
in January has had a positive impact on the day to day
running of the house.After a very difficult period of
caring for three adolescents, the composition of the
house changed in March when the 15 year old boy
moved to another placement.We were then asked to
care for younger children and have been caring for three
very troubled younger children aged 7 and 8.We have five
children in placement.The staff are doing an excellent job
of building relationships, managing very challenging
behaviours, negotiating accesses and school transport
across Melbourne.
The staff group has now stabilized after having had to use
a lot of agency staff to cover vacancies.
Weekly team meetings occur and with Garry Miller being
only a .5 position,Take Two have offered the services of
Chris Tanti to provide Reflective Space and secondary
consults to workers at Coburg.
All Residential Care staff have also had the opportunity
to have debriefing with Rob Gordon on a monthly basis,
but have found it too hard to access at the agreed time.
We are now looking at other debriefing options for the
staff.
Education Support Worker
Sue Molner has continued as the Education Support
worker in the Residential Care Program. Sue has been
able to implement the Partnering Agreement ensuring
that all children attending school have Individual
Education Plans and School Support Groups.
Sue has assisted the adolescents to access alternative
school settings which they attend irregularly. Sue resigned
in September 2010 and the position is currently vacant.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 55
I would like to thank all our residential care workers who
do an amazing job of working face to face, twenty-four
seven, with some of our most challenging children and
young people.
5.4 Permanent Care Program
Gemma Morgan has continued as the Permanent Care
Caseworker position and was promoted to the Co-
ordinator position in April 2010.
Gemma has been managing all the Permanent Care
referrals and has completed a number of assessments
across the state and more particularly in the Loddon
Mallee and Gippsland regions. Gemma has also supported
cases which required support with access or cases which
may have been at risk of breaking down. Gemma has
great strengths in the area of finding out a child’s family
tree and in the development of the Cultural Support
Plans which often have not been completed even though
the child has been in care for many years.
Targets
The target of 16 Permanent Care assessments has been
met. Of these 16 assessments, four Aboriginal carers and
twelve non-Aboriginal carers and 27 children were
involved.There were children in placement with family
members, and children in placements with non-related
carers.
There are currently four assessments in progress.There
were ten cases that were provided with extra support
particularly around facilitating and supervising access
visits.A great outcome has been the arrangement of two
reunions for a sibling group of six children who had not
been all together for many years.
Of the Permanent Care clients referred to the agency,
eight Permanent Care Orders were made for ten
children to four Aboriginal carers and four non-Aboriginal
carers in the last financial year. Given the change in the
legislation that allows DHS to assess permanent care
placements of children in the care of Aboriginal carers,
we are not aware of the total number of Aboriginal
children placed on Permanent Care Orders across the
state.As at June 2010, there were twelve referrals on the
waiting list.
Changes in relation to the Permanent
Care Program
The Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care Program
(Contracted Cases only) has taken on the case
management of 42 children in the metropolitan area.The
mainstream Kinship Care Programs are expected to
complete Permanent Care assessments that pertain to
the children who are contracted by their agencies. It is
expected that the VACCA Kinship Care Program
(Contracted Cases only) will be expected to complete
Permanent Care assessments on the cases that they are
managing.
The new Kinship Care workers require training and
support in conducting Permanent Care assessments and
this is a new area of work for our Permanent Care
program.
Other Aboriginal agencies also have Contracted Kinship
Care cases, and it is yet to be discussed if there is a role
for VACCA to provide training and support to these
agencies in completing Permanent Care Assessments and
court reports.
In light of these changes, it is imperative that we reshape
the VACCA Permanent Care Program in 2011.
5.5 Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care
Program (Contracted Cases)
As mentioned earlier,Aboriginal agencies were excluded
from providing the full range of Kinship Care program
components, however work commenced in March 2010
to develop the Contracted Cases component of our new
kinship care program.
The program involves supporting relatives and friends to
care for Aboriginal children who are DHS child protection
clients on Custody or Guardianship orders by taking on
all the tasks associated with case management of a case.
Because it is a new program with a lot of training
required and new tasks to be undertaken, it was agreed
that the program which has targets in the Southern and
Eastern DHS regions would be managed from the
Brunswick office for the first 12 months of operation.
Targets
The targets for the Aboriginal Kinship Care Program
(Contracted Cases) are 30 cases in the North and West
Region, 8 cases in the Southern region and 4 cases in the
Eastern region totalling 42 cases across the metropolitan
area.
Funding was allocated on the basis of each caseworker
having a caseload of 12 cases. For VACCA, this meant that
we were to appoint 3.5 caseworkers.
No funding was made available for a Team Leader or
Program Manager to oversee the program.There is also
no funding for cars, mobile phones and coverage for
workers’ leave.
56 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
We are on track to meet the target. In the North and
West region we have 26 cases contracted with 5 referrals
pending In the Southern Region we have 5 contracted
cases with 3 referrals pending.After much negotiation, no
suitable cases for contracting were identified by the
Eastern region, and they have agreed to give their 4
targets to the Southern region.
Establishment of the new team
Emma Bamblett, Co-ordinator of New Programs and
Initiatives transferred to the program in late March and
assisted with the early developmental work.
By late May, two other caseworkers Cassie Batten,
Lakidjeka North and West caseworker and Bronwyn
McBride, Family Services caseworker agreed to also
transfer to the new program.
In June, Margaret Triffit was recruited as Team Leader. In
July, I went on two months leave and a Locum Program
Manager,Vanessa Halge agreed to come to fill the
management gap.Vanessa has continued in the role of
Program Manager.
The team has now become quite strong with weekly
team meetings being held, and the appointment of
another caseworker Arthur Ellis to work with the males
in the program.
Staff Training
There has been a lot of training for staff in the
establishment of the new training such as the state wide
introduction to kinship care called “Engaging Families in
Decision Making”. Staff have also attended training on
Case Contracting, Best Interests Planning, Looking After
Children (LAC), Court Training, CRISSP and CRIS.
Monitoring of the program
The program is overseen by a VACCA Kinship Care
Reference Group, and by the DHS Cross Regional
Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care Program Reference
group.Vanessa attends the North and West DHS Kinship
Care Network meetings, and Margaret attends the North
and West Kinship Care Practitioners Group.
Achievements and Challenges
The staff have done an exceptional job of getting this
program up and running in a very short space of time.To
have signed 31 contracts in a period of 3-4 months is a
huge achievement. Staff have been visiting the families,
assessing and responding to needs, completing LAC
documents, developing Care Plans and largely meeting
DHS requirements.
Challenges for the program are: managing the complexity
of the cases due to information not being known due to
cases not having been visited for a very long time by
DHS; the carers being volunteers, not specifically assessed
and trained; being asked to do tasks which are the
responsibility of DHS; grappling with the electronic
recording requirements of CRISSP and CRIS; defining how
the Aboriginal Kinship Care program differs from
mainstream Kinship Care from a cultural perspective;
managing Quality of Care Concerns and articulating an
Indigenous perspective on risk.
There have also been teething problems in the
relationship with Child Protection due to differing
expectations of each other which is being worked
through.
The broader issue of the difficulty for Aboriginal workers
working within their own community is heightened in
working in the Kinship Care Program.
5.6 Aboriginal Adolescent Community
Placement House
As part of the North West Out of Home Care
redevelopment, VACCA was offered funding in late 2009
to set up a house with a live-in carer for three
adolescents aged between12-18 years. It was agreed that
VACCA would pilot the model over the next 12 months.
The model is a mix of elements of residential care and
home based care in the following way:
Home Based Care components:
• carers to be assessed and trained as a foster carer
• carers to receive a reimbursement
• carers provided with support and supervision
• planned entry of clients
• clients matched to carer and other residents
Residential Care components:
• carer does not live in her own home
• the house belongs to DHS managed by VACCA
• carer provided with fortnightly and a 4 week respite
• support worker employed to support the
placements
• car provided to carer by the agency
• three young people living together is congregate
care
A Project Worker, Rene Sephton commenced work in
January and a DHS/VACCA working group was set up in
February to guide the work.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 57
Our primary carer, Pauline Cassady was recruited in April
and she assisted in setting up the house which is owned
by DHS.The house was refurbished in May and two
young people were identified as suitable for the house in
early June.A 16 year old young woman moved into the
house on 8 July this year and a 17 year old young woman
moved in on 12 July.
The positions of .5 Senior Case Manager and Support
Worker were advertised and staff were recruited but
chose not to take up the roles. Julie Toohey provided the
casework support for the program for the first three
months. Rebecca Boss from the Extended Care team was
appointed as the .5 Case Manager in October.
Pauline’s daughter Gabrielle Cassady has provided
support to Pauline in the house, and Pauline’s other
daughter Rona Cassady has provided Respite Care for
one week.
In terms of program development, we need to firm up
the Respite Care arrangements and reconfigure the hours
of the Support Worker to better fit the needs of the
young people. If a male moves into the house, a male
Support Worker will need to be employed.
Achievements and Challenges
Pauline has achieved the goal of making the house her
home and in so doing is providing a home for the young
women. Pauline has established strong relationships with
both of the young women and their parents. Pauline has
been teaching the young women about what it means to
be strong Aboriginal people who are proud of their
heritage, as well as teaching them basic life skills and to
become more independent.
Parenting adolescents is challenging at the best of times,
but Pauline has gained the respect of the young people
and has managed some difficult situations where the
young people have been disrespectful or not complied
with her bottom lines.
A particularly challenging time was when Pauline had
some respite for a week, and one young woman needed
to be hospitalized on three occasions having taken
unprescribed medication.
A key challenge will be when a third young person moves
into the house which should occur in the next few
weeks.Another challenge is to work out the best way of
supporting Pauline to sustain her in the longer term, and
developing a team approach to the care of the young
people.
5.7 Indigenous Leaving Care Program
The Indigenous Leaving Care program aims to provide
support and practical assistance to young people aged
between 16-18 years who need to move out of DHS
funded Out of Home Care placements.The focus of the
program is on addressing the issues Indigenous young
people have when leaving care, such as assisting young
people to make meaningful connection with their families
and culture, to gain access to stable accommodation,
develop necessary life skills, secure employment or
training, and it can allow for young people to be provided
with access for a limited period of time to transitional
housing where that is deemed useful.The program has
nomination rights on 5 properties across the three
regions in which to place a young person.This has now
been reduced to 4 properties.
There has been a change in the management of the
program in the last 12 months in that as of June 2009
Julie Toohey took on the supervision of the North West
and Loddon Mallee Leaving Care worker Kiri Herekuia.
Marion McNeil continued supervising the Morwell
worker,Tareena Maynard.
As of July 2010 it has been agreed with the funding
providers that providing a service to Bendigo from
Melbourne was unworkable and that it was best to pass
this work onto a local Aboriginal agency.
Funding for the program was increased by a .5 position
which has enabled us to employ one full time worker in
Brunswick and one full time worker in Morwell.
In the North and West region Kiri provided a high level
of support to young people in our transitional properties
as well as completing Office of Housing applications for a
number of young people, and assisting them to find long
term housing. Kiri worked with 8 clients until she
resigned in March 2010. Kiri worked with one young
person in Bendigo but because of the geographical
distance could not respond face to face on a daily basis.
St Luke’s Bendigo provided any crisis support.
The North and West/Loddon Mallee position was vacant
for several months until Hannah Pugh-Uren commenced
in a student placement and was then employed as the
Leaving Care worker in February. Hannah is presently
working with six young people.
With the increase in funding for the Morwell position the
catchment area for the Indigenous Leaving Care Program
is now to cover the whole of the Gippsland region which
includes the areas of the Latrobe Valley (Morwell), Baw
Baw,Wellington, South Gippsland and East Gippsland as
far as Lakes Entrance.There are presently 23 Aboriginal
young people from the ages of 15-17 who are in care in
58 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
the region which means that 11 young people cannot
access an Aboriginal Leaving Care service.As well as this
the geographical area is too large for one worker to
provide a meaningful service and the agency will be
advocating for another Leaving Care position in the
eastern part of the region.
Further to this, there are insufficient accommodation
options for Aboriginal young people aged 16-18 year in
the Gippsland region as they are too young to access
adult housing and do not access mainstream services.We
think that there is a need for transitional hostel-like
accommodation for Aboriginal young people until they
are able to access adult housing options, and will be
advocating for this in 2011.
Julie and Marion have been attending the Regional Leaving
Care Alliance meetings as well as the Local Area Service
Network (LASN) meetings in some of the catchment
areas in their relevant regions which are the key decision
making bodies for the allocation of funds and roles and
responsibilities to agencies.
Targets
The original target for each region was four young people
which was exceeded in both regions.With the increase in
funding the target is now 12 young people per region.
Developments in the Leaving Care Sector
In the last financial year some agencies were funded to
provide Post Care Support for young people aged 18-
21years who had left care and had been on Custody or
Guardianship Orders at aged 16. Berry Street in the
North and West region and Gippsland were given funds
to provide brokerage and a case management service.
This is not a satisfactory arrangement for Aboriginal
young people who will not access a mainstream service
and we need to negotiate with these agencies how
Aboriginal clients are going to receive such a service.
Leaving Care Brokerage funds administered by DHS Child
Protection and DHS Placement Support Units were
provided in all regions about two years ago, but many
clients are not receiving this money as there has been an
inadequate communication strategy to inform both
workers in the field and the young people themselves
how they can access this money, and what it can be used
for.Aboriginal young people leaving care who probably
need the funds the most, are being disadvantaged in this
process.
There is a similar situation in relation to the Mentoring
Program funds which was given to Whitelion in the
North and West Region and to Berry Street in the
Gippsland region.To my knowledge no Aboriginal young
person leaving care has accessed this program although
they are meant to be providing a service to Aboriginal
young people.
In the last few months DHS central Aboriginal Child and
Family Unit have commenced some program
development work in relation to the provision of a state
wide Aboriginal Leaving Care program.Yet while we
welcome this work, it is disappointing that the needs of
Aboriginal people have yet again not been considered
when the Leaving Care program was developed several
years ago.
5.8 Kurnai Youth Homelessness Program
The Kurnai Youth Homelessness Service, based in
Morwell, provides a culturally appropriate support service
for Indigenous young people and families in the Latrobe
Valley.The program aims to assist young people with their
accommodation needs.The staff provide a case
management approach to Aboriginal young people who
are homeless or who are at risk of homelessness.The
program provides assessment, support and referral
services to Aboriginal young people in a culturally
engaging and supportive way.
The funding for the program allows for one Co-ordinator
and a Senior Caseworker position. Marion McNeil has
been the Co-ordinator and Lorena Thompson has been
working in the caseworker position.
The client group for the program is Aboriginal young
people aged between 15-25 years.
The target for the program is 96 contacts per year. In the
last financial year, the program had 107 contacts.
Kurnai has nomination rights to one transitional property
in Morwell which is insufficient to meet the demand, and
we need to advocate for more housing options for our
young people in the Gippsland region, particularly the
Latrobe Valley.
Many Aboriginal young people access this service and
have received an excellent service from our workers as
demonstrated by the feedback given by the clients to the
Auditors.
Housing Emergency Funding (HEF)
The Kurnai program has been provided with HEF funding
to assist homeless Aboriginal clients with emergency
funding according to their particular need. Following a set
of guidelines, the funding can be used to: pay for a night’s
accommodation in a motel, pay rental arrears, pay for
travel tickets, pay for white goods etc.The agency has
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 59
been given $5000 to distribute over a 12 month period.
We have also been given $8000 as a one off grant as we
have become an Entry Point for Indigenous youth who
are homeless or are at risk of homelessness.
Opening Doors Entry Point
VACCA Morwell is now an Entry Point in the Latrobe
Valley for Indigenous Youth Homelessness under the
Office of Housing Opening Doors Strategy.This has
changed the way in which the Kurnai program operates in
that we are now required to have an Intake Worker
present at all times in the office to assist any Indigenous
young person who is homeless or is at risk of
homelessness.
We also now have to categorize our clients in three
levels which are Interim Response Level 1, Interim
Response Level 2 and Case Management.We are also
required to utilize an electronic data base called the
Resource Register to upload our vacancies for Interim
Response 1 and 2 and Case management so that other
homelessness and family violence services can make
referrals to our programs.
We have now employed an Intake Worker to do this
work, and the processes described above are being
implemented.
5.9 Integrated Family Violence program for
women and children – Morwell
The program provides an intensive case management
service to Aboriginal women with or without children,
who are experiencing domestic violence.The program is
to utilize the existing family violence assessment
framework to determine the needs of the woman and
what level of service is required.
The program is funded to provide a service in Warragul
in partnership with the West Gippsland Health Care
Group.This has extended the boundaries of the work of
the other homelessness programs at the Morwell office.
The target for the program is 8 intensive case
management cases, and 23 short term contacts.The
program has had 19 short term contacts and 2 intensive
case management cases which is excellent given that the
worker, Donna Hood only commenced work in the role
in January 2010 and is only funded to work four days a
week with this program.
Donna is excellent in engaging young women who are
escaping family violence which is critical for them to use
the program in an ongoing way.
A Place To Call Home Program
The Gippsland region will be receiving nine properties
over the next four years which can be accessed by
families including women and children who are
experiencing Family Violence, Indigenous families and
families in housing crisis.
VACCA have been offered one property to our Family
Violence Program for one of our women to live in long
term provided that she meets the eligibility criteria.The
critical component of the success of this program is our
worker’s ability to continue working with this family for
12 months at which point they can be provided with the
house.The worker is then to provide transitional support
for two months once the woman has moved into the
house.The client will then be able to tenant the house
long term.
We are waiting on Salvation Army Gippscare to identify a
property for this program in Warragul for which we will
identify one of our clients in the Family Violence program.
Under this program, DHS Community Housing will
provide one property per year for the next three years
to VACCA to put one of our Family Violence into, and
provide support for twelve months.
The funding provides for a .2 worker. Donna Hood who
works .8 as our Family Violence worker has agreed to
work an extra day a week to implement this program.
5.10 Development of Indigenous Family
Violence Refuge in Gippsland
In February 2010 we were approached by the
Department of Human Services to put in a proposal to
receive interim funding for the consultative and
developmental work around the establishment of an
Indigenous Family Violence Women and Children’s Refuge
in Morwell. No land has been purchased yet for the
refuge and so interim funding is to provide an Interim
Family Violence Service response to Indigenous women
and children for a period of two years whilst a facility is
being built.We were successful in obtaining this interim
funding as it would enhance the Integrated Family
Violence Program already operating in Morwell.
The interim funding was to be split into three areas
which are:
a) Case management support for Indigenous women
and children
b) Intensive case management support for Indigenous
women and children
c) Administration and Community Development
60 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
DHS made it clear to the Aboriginal community in
Gippsland that once the facility has been completed, an
ongoing service provider to manage the refuge will be
engaged via a public or invited submission process.
With this interim funding, we have employed a .4
Community Development Worker, Esme Thompson who
is doing the stakeholder consultations in the region and
providing reports to the Steering Group for the project.
We have also been able to employ two extra Family
Violence workers, Rachel Carter and Rehana Naidu to do
both intake and outreach work.
The program covers both the Latrobe Valley and Baw
Baw shires.
We agreed to provide two one day training for the
mainstream sector around Indigenous Family Violence.
The first of this training was provided on October 10th
and was extremely well attended with 32 attending and a
wait list of 22.We also agreed to provide a group work
program for Indigenous women affected by family
violence.The training and group work is being provided
by Megan Cadd.
6. MANAGEMENT OF THE MORWELL OFFICEGiven the expansion in the number of programs at the
Morwell office, it has been necessary to increase the
management infrastructure at the office in relation to the
all the programs except the ACSASS program.We have
decided to put in a Program Manager as well as Team
Leader position.This is needful to be able to attend all
the meetings associated with the different programs and
to service our partnerships.
7. FUTURE CHALLENGES/PRIORITIESThe major priorities in the next twelve months are:
• Strengthening the utilization of the DHS CRISSP and
CRIS electronic data bases
• The development and implementation of an
Aboriginal Therapeutic Foster Care Program
• The development and implementation of other
components of the Aboriginal Kinship Care program
which are the Information and Advice Service, the
Family Support Service and the Placement
Establishment Service
• The development and implementation of an
Aboriginal Leaving Care Service.
• The consolidating of the Aboriginal Therapeutic
Residential Care Program
• Improving the communication between the
Placement and Support Programs and other VACCA
programs and external stakeholders
• Focussing on the well being of staff by ensuring that
all staff have individual safety and well being plans.
CONCLUSIONI believe that there has been a very strong performance
by the staff in the unit, particularly by the Program
Managers,Team Leaders and House Supervisors who have
the responsibility of managing the risks associated with
children in care, dealing with homeless young people and
survivors of family violence, the running of programs, and
the functioning and well-being of staff.All the Placement
and Support workers display an astonishing level of
dedication, hard work and resilience in ensuring the well
being and safety of our children and young people in care,
and providing an excellent service to homeless young
people and women and children affected by family
violence.
I would like to thank all the staff for their commitment,
energy and creativity in doing this extremely complex and
emotionally demanding work, and in particular Julie
Toohey,Vanessa Halge, Robbie Merrigan, and Marion
McNeil and other senior staff for their leadership and
support.
Thanks also to Muriel and Connie for their unfailing
guidance, support and inspiration.
Gwen Rogers – Executive Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 61
INTRODUCTIONSouthern VACCA, which is based in Dandenong, delivers
child and family welfare programs to vulnerable Aboriginal
children and families in the Southern Metropolitan Region
(SMR).The Southern Metropolitan Region is a very large
geographical region extending from Prahran south of the
Yarra River as far as Pakenham and the Mornington
Peninsula in the south, and Rowville in the east.There is
major growth in the south east of the region in the shires
of Casey and Cardinia.
VACCA have operated an office in Dandenong since 2000
with the inception of the Aboriginal Family Preservation
Program (Wilka Kwe) and the Lakidjeka ACSASS program
in 2002.The Dandenong VACCA office has moved three
times since then, with the latest move occurring in July
2009 to B1, 219 Frankston-Dandenong Road, Dandenong.
The service is now known as Southern VACCA.
The programs provided are:
• Wilka Kwe Aboriginal Family Preservation Program
(AFPP)
• Extended Care Program (Foster Care)
• Aboriginal Kinship Care
• Koori Cultural Placement and Support
• Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison Worker
• Aboriginal Family Decision Making Convenor
• Playgroups
• Community Support Worker
• Newly funded program Integrated Aboriginal Family
Preservation and Reunification Service, also known
as Family Coaching Victoria
• Eastern DHS Region Aboriginal Family Decision
Making Co-ordinator
• Eastern DHS Region Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison
Worker
• Lakidjeka Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice and
Support Service (ACSASS) managed by the ACSASS
Executive Manager located at Brunswick office.
1. MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN VACCAThe Executive Manager for the last 12 months has been
Sepi Weerasinghe and the Operational Manager has been
Rebecca O’Dowd. In June 2010 Rebecca resigned from
her position and Sepi reduced her hours significantly.
Despite this, they have both provided support to
Southern VACCA until October 2010.We thank them for
their hard work and commitment to ensuring the
ongoing functioning of Southern VACCA. Since October
2010, I have assumed the role of Interim Executive
Manager at Southern VACCA.
Jill Owen has been the Southern VACCA Program
Manager since 2006 but finished working at VACCA on
25th June 2010.This left a huge gap as Jill has a long
history in the Dandenong area and the Southern Region
as her parents were founding members of the Dandenong
and District Aboriginal Co-operative and Jill was the first
Co-ordinator of the Aboriginal Family Preservation
Program in 2000. Jill knew many of the Aboriginal families
in the area and had strong relationships with
professionals in the child and family welfare sector.We
thank Jill for her enormous contributions to VACCA and
the Aboriginal children and families in the southern
region.
Nathan Fenelon, the Eastern Region Co-ordinator
Aboriginal Family Decision Making agreed to act in the
position of Southern VACCA Program Manager for an
interim period of 3 months.
In November 2009, it was decided that the role of Co-
ordinator Family Service and Out of Home Care should
be split into two positions: Co-ordinator Family Services;
and Co-ordinator Out of Home Care Services. Julie
Pearson continued as the Co-ordinator Family Services
and Julie MacDougall was appointed Co-ordinator Out of
Home Care in November 2009. Julie Pearson has been on
extended leave since February 2010, and Julie MacDougall
finished with the agency early September 2010.
62 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
SOUTHERN VACCA – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
2. REVIEW OF SOUTHERN VACCAA review of the management and operation of Southern
VACCA commenced in June 2010 and was completed in
September 2010.
Key issues found in the review were:
1. Under funding of Southern VACCA program limits
our ability to invest in adequate management
positions, which hampers the development of
appropriate staffing models and support for staff.
2. Confusion regarding the Management Structure.
3. Lack of clarity around the roles, responsibility and
authority of the Programs Manager and clear lines of
reporting
4. A disconnect between the North West and
Southern Out of Home Care programs
5. Insufficient attention paid to partnerships and sector
participation.
Some of the recommendations of the review are:
dedicated Executive Manager for SMR to be appointed;
increase the management positions; strengthen links with
the programs at the Brunswick office; develop and
implement a specific workforce and human resources
strategy for Southern VACCA; implement the VACCA
Staff Well being Policy at Dandenong office.These
recommendations are being acted on with the
appointment of an Interim Executive Manager.
3. NEW DEVELOPMENTSIn March 2010 Southern VACCA received funding for a
placement prevention program called the Integrated
Aboriginal Family Preservation and Restoration Program
(Family Coaching Victoria) which provides 12 weeks
intensive support and ongoing support up to 12 months if
needed to families whose children have entered care for
the first time with the goal to reunite the children with
their families.The program also works with families who
are at risk of having their children placed in care.
The staffing for this new program is 2.5 staff comprising a
.5 Team Leader and 2 Intensive Family Support Workers.
We are in the process of recruiting workers for these
positions. Georgina Sullivan has agreed to a secondment
from the Brunswick office as the Team Leader Intensive
Family Support Services.Amy Gunning has recently been
appointed as caseworker.
4. PROGRAM OVERVIEW4.1 Wilka Kwe Aboriginal Family
Preservation Program
Wilka Kwe continues to work intensively for 12 weeks
with families where children are at risk of being removed
from home or where children are being returned to their
parent’s care.The funding provides for two staff to work
with two families at a time, providing 15 hours of support
per week.The Co-ordinator is expected to carry a
caseload of one family, but it has been found that this is
an unworkable situation given the amount of leave taken
by the caseworkers, and the need to provide back up
support to their cases.
During the past financial year,Wilka Kwe has worked
with a total of 14 families, 8 of which received more than
12 weeks service.This was a very good outcome given
that the program has been under staffed with only one
caseworker for the majority of the time, and has had no
Co-ordinator since February 2010.
4.2 Extended Care Program
This program provides a culturally relevant service to
provide supported placements for Aboriginal children and
young people in the southern region. Recruitment of
carers, supporting foster care placements and the
children in care is its core business.The target for the
program is 6 placements per year. On average we have
provided 8 placements each month, as well as one regular
respite placement.
We have 3 carers who provide placements. Four new
carers have been assessed and are waiting to be approved
by the VACCA Caregiver Assessment Panel.There are
3 other carers waiting to be assessed.The Senior
Caseworker is Liz Brown, and Sharon Blow has been
responsible for the recruitment, assessment and training
of the foster carers.
There have been a number of Quality of Care Concerns
which have been resolved.
With new carers being approved, we hope to increase
the number of general foster care targets in the next
12 months.
4.3 Kinship Care Program
This program is a home based care placement services
that supports relatives and friends who are caring for
Aboriginal children.The program is similar to the foster
care program in that the children are supported in their
placements, and the placement is monitored to ensure
that the needs of the children are being met.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 63
Southern DHS region has been at the forefront of kinship
care program development and in 2003 funded VACCA
to support 10 kinship care arrangements. Machelle
Walker is the Kinship Care caseworker at Dandenong.
The target has been met in that 10 cases involving 15
children were supported in the last financial year.
This program is likely to change in the next 12 months
due to the establishment of the state-wide Aboriginal
Kinship Care Program.This program has 5 components, 3
of which are still yet to be funded for Aboriginal agencies.
The VACCA Metropolitan Aboriginal Kinship Care
Program (Case Contracting only) which commenced in
March 2010 based at Brunswick is being delivered in the
Southern Region by Bronwyn McBryde.
4.4 Koori Cultural Placement and Support
Program
This program provides support to an Aboriginal child or
young person in a mainstream placement, with the goal
being to support and strengthen the child’s cultural
identity and connection to their Aboriginal family and
community.A major part of the program is to educate
non-Aboriginal carers and agencies about the centrality of
culture to the well being of an Aboriginal child.
The target for this program is 20 children.After a lot of
targeted promotion of the program in the early part of
the year, there has been a total of 15 referrals received
and all have received a service. Some of these referrals
are currently being worked on. Oz Child has been the
highest referrer to the program.
4.5 Playgroups
The playgroups support families with children 5 years and
under in a group work model focusing on child
development, parent-child interactions and basic advice
on parenting issues.There are 3 playgroups presently
located in Frankston, Cranbourne and Pakenham.The
playgroups are held on Wednesday,Thursday and Friday
each week of the school term.Two playgroups are very
well attended, and the other one is growing.Two outings
or activities are also provided during each school holiday
period. Cindy-Lee Harper is the Co-ordinator of the
program, and she supervises 3 staff part-time Playgroup
workers who are:Vanessa Murdoch, Elana Coetzer and
Belinda Swindle.
4.6 Aboriginal Liaison Worker to Child FIRST
This worker has the role of providing consultation to the
Community Based Intake teams and mainstream Family
Support Agencies in relation to Aboriginal families
referred to Family Support programs via Child FIRST.This
service is about ensuring that a culturally responsive
service is delivered to Aboriginal families.
This program commenced in 2008 and is now well
established in the Inner Middle and Frankston-
Mornington Child FIRST Catchment areas. Frankston-
Mornington is the busiest catchment.
In the last financial year the Aboriginal Liaison Worker
was involved in 427 consultations and 10 families were
referred through to Child FIRST. In the Inner Middle
catchment, 310 consultations were provided and 6
families were referred through to Child FIRST.
Kylie Bell has worked very hard in this role, building
relationships and attending operational and service
delivery meetings. Kylie is currently on maternity leave
and due to the inability to recruit staff, has not yet been
replaced.
4.7 Aboriginal Family Decision Making
Convenor (AFDM)
This program seeks to gather together the family of a
child involved in Child Protection and supports and
prepares them to come up with a suitable and safe plan
of action for the child. Detailed preparation for the
meetings is an essential element of the program.
This position has been vacant for the whole 12 month
period, but interviews are to be held to hopefully appoint
someone by the end of November 2010.
4.8 Community Support Worker
This worker has the role to provide support and help to
any member of the Aboriginal Community. David Owen is
the current Community Support worker and sees on
average 4 clients a week. David bases himself at the
Dandenong Co-op several days a week and has had 145
contacts with Aboriginal people since his appointment in
November 2009.
5. EASTERN REGION PROGRAMS5.1 Aboriginal Family Decision Making
Co-ordinator
Nathan Fenelon has continued as the VACCA Co-
ordinator in the Eastern Region and has supervised the
Child FIRST Aboriginal Liaison Worker,Vicky Peters. In
relation to the AFDM program, Nathan has provided a
large number of pre-consultations to families which have
not resulted in actual family decision making meetings.
Nathan has maintained partnerships in the Eastern
Region by attending the Child FIRST Alliance meetings
(both operational and executive); the Eastern Aboriginal
64 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Reference Group, the Eastern Regional Aboriginal Justice
Advisory Group and a number of other strategic
meetings.
A new development for this program is the addition of a
Cultural Support Worker attached to the AFDM program
whose role it is to facilitate the completion of a Cultural
Support Plan for every Aboriginal child in care who is on
a Custody or Guardianship Order.The roll out of this
program is in the early stages with a lot of developmental
work to be done to ensure that the goals and targets of
the program are achieved in a way that is lasting and
meaningful for the child.
5.2 Aboriginal Liaison Worker to Child FIRST
Vicky Peters has been employed in this position since
May 2009.The Outer East Catchment is by far the busiest
with Vicky having been involved in 377 consultations and
15 families being referred through to Child FIRST. In the
Inner East catchment,Vicky has been involved in 142
consultations with 12 families being referred through to
Child FIRST.Vicky has also co-worked a number of cases
with mainstream agencies to help with the engagement of
the families.
Positive relationships have been established with all the
agencies in the alliance by Vicky attending many meetings
at all the agencies.
VACCA have also delivered training child protection and
mainstream agencies in relation to the Cultural
Competency Framework and also Cultural Awareness
Training.
A key achievement was the holding of a Panel Review
meeting for an Aboriginal high-risk adolescent which
brought services together to develop a co-ordinated,
meaningful service response of the young person and
their family.This is significant as there had not been a
Panel Review meeting for a number of years, and in the
past the case would have been closed due to lack of
engagement by the young person.This was an excellent
outcome for the young person.
6. FUTURE DIRECTIONSIt is planned that all the recommendations of the review
will be implemented, which should increase our capacity
to meet all targets and improve service quality.
The major priorities are: to build a business case to
obtain additional funding to be able to employ more
management positions; improve the links between the
Dandenong and Brunswick programs via a formal
structure of meetings and forums; and to appoint an
ongoing Executive Manager to support the service. It is
also planned that the CEO and Senior Management will
have more input into strategic planning for the service.
A major piece of work for this coming year is the
implementation of the Integrated Aboriginal Family
Preservation and Restoration Program (Family Coaching
Victoria) as well as the Aboriginal Family Decision Making
Program.
CONCLUSIONFrom all accounts, it has been a challenging year for
Southern VACCA due to an inability to recruit staff, the
loss of two Co-ordinators and the long serving Program
Manager; and having senior management staff with very
large responsibilities across two regions.
All staff have done an excellent job of continuing to
provide a quality service despite the challenges outlined
above.Vulnerable Aboriginal families have been supported
and helped, and Aboriginal children in care have had their
needs met in placements provided and supported by our
staff. It is very pleasing that we have the possibility of
seven new carers in the near future, and that the
playgroups are expanding and are well-attended
I would like to thank all the staff for “hanging in” there
and for their hard work and commitment to what is
often very emotionally taxing work. I would like to thank
Jill Owen, Sepi Weerasinghe and Rebecca O’Dowd for
their tenacity and dedication in enabling the work of
Southern VACCA to continue and develop. I would also
like to thank Nathan Fenelon in particular for taking up
the responsibility of Program Manager over the last four
months.
Gwen Rogers – Interim Executive Manager
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 65
INTRODUCTIONThe Early Intervention and Family Services Program offers
Aboriginal families a varied choice of interventions across
a continuum of support ranging from early intervention
and prevention to the provision of both secondary and
tertiary services. Detailed below are details of the early
intervention and family services programs and services
performance over the past twelve months.
1. GENERAL FAMILY SUPPORTGeneral Family Support service provides in-home
parenting support to Aboriginal families and assists with
implementing routines, behaviour management strategies,
budgeting and linking into other appropriate services as
required. During the financial year (July 2009 – June 2010)
VACCA Family Support has provided general family
support service to 60 (11 short, 13 medium, 36 long)
families.This service response included information and
advice, in-home support, crisis intervention, advocacy,
assertive and active engagement; and secondary
consultations with other professionals within the
community sector.The majority of families receiving our
service reside within the North East catchment (52%);
followed by Hume/Moreland and Brimbank/Melton which
both measured 12% each respectively.
Of the 60 families provided with a service throughout the
year, 50% (30) of these were new referrals, from which 6
were self referrals, 4 Community and 20 Child FIRST.
Additionally, throughput has increased from the previous
year with it currently being at 272 days of service
compared to 221 days last financial year.This increase can
be accredited to the 36 successful closures of cases in
the program.The 5 most pressing issues facing Aboriginal
families over the financial year were parenting, Child
Protection involvement, family violence, mental health and
behavioural issues.
In total VACCA Family Support has provided 5166hrs and
41mins of service delivery for the financial year which
equates to the program working at 75% of its total
capacity.The limited service gap has been due to a
number of factors; some of which were around lack of
staffing, inaccurate recording of data and limited referrals.
In turn however, the additional hours were resourced to
the Restorations program in order to meet the needs of
the complex clients in this program.
The Emergency Relief program assisted 204 families, with
73 families being first time clients seeking assistance.The
program also delivered a non-substantive (one off advice
and referral contact) service on 228 occasions.
The program is staffed by 1 Team Leader and 6 direct
Intensive Family Support Caseworkers; however there
have been ongoing staff vacancies and the program is
currently performing and servicing the community with 1
Team Leaders and 2 Caseworkers, as well as 3 temporary
staff from McArthur recruitment services.We are
currently involved in an active recruitment strategy to
rectify this situation.
2. INDIGENOUS IN-HOME PARENTING SUPPORTSERVICE
The overall aim of the program was to enhance parental
understanding of appropriate child development, deliver
relevant activities and (music, art, crafts, etc) that fostered
positive outcomes for children; enhance bonding and
attachment between parents and children.The program
focuses on children aged between 0-5 years of age and
encourages parents to strengthen their parenting
strategies while being involved in the program.
Three group work programs occurred over the financial
year known as Kinder Circus, Rhythm Tree and Strength-
to-Strength. Each of these groups ran from 6-8 weeks
and families participated in activities with positive, healthy
interactions with their children. Families attended weekly
with the provision of ongoing transport and lunch for the
sessions.A total of 20 Adults and 25 children
participated in the group work sessions and committed
themselves to 5 hours of the program each week.The
group work component of the program conducted
quantitative and qualitative client surveys which examined
participant’s level of satisfaction and feedback for
improvement of the groups. Staff facilitators also
completed evaluation forms which looked at the overall
running of the program.The forms aimed to indicate
areas for improvement as well as qualitative data
suggesting areas where things were met successfully for
the clients as a whole.
The in-home parenting support component of this
program was able to offer the assertive outreach to 6
families over the financial year in order to ensure that the
needs of the families were met with a slightly more
66 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
EARLY INTERVENTION & FAMILY SERVICES PROGRAM– AGM REPORT 2009/2010
intensive service of 10 hours of direct contact per week.
On average, 103 hours of service was provided to each
family per intervention and ranged from 3 hours a week
to 10 hours a week.All of these families resided across
the Melbourne Metropolitan region and engaged well in
the service. Families in the in-home support program
provided regular verbal feedback to the staff or the
Manager in relation to whether or not the service was
meeting the needs of the family on a weekly basis or at
the end of the intervention period.The program also
captured feedback during the end of the service when
clients completed an exit form with the staff member and
had the opportunity to discuss positive outcomes.
This program has been managed by 1 Team Leader, with
staff vacancies for one fulltime caseworker. However, the
program has been able to successfully meet its targets
and support families with the Team Leader and the
Intensive Family Support Caseworkers as a result of the
Integrated Model.
3. ABORIGINAL FAMILY RESTORATION SERVICE(AFRS)
The AFRS program is an intensive family preservation and
reunification program which provides support and advice
to parents in their own home or at a residential unit for
up to 20 hours a week over a 12 week intervention
period.The program involves a team of staff in order to
ensure that the hours of service delivery are met and
shared across the team members effectively with the
provision of an on-call service as well.
Once again, the past year has demonstrated a significant
need of this program to support and affect change for
Aboriginal families as 20 pre-referral consultations
occurred in relation to families being eligible for this
program.The program successfully achieved its target of
working and supporting 6 families for the financial year
and over exceeded in the hours of service by delivering
2103hrs and 24 mins of service, which equated to 40.4
hours of service per week.
Out of the 6 families, two families utilized the residential
component and the remaining four were home based
interventions. Furthermore, there was an even spread of
the families in regards to the service delivery of the
program in that three families were for placement
prevention and the other three were for reunification.
All three families in placement prevention were able to
work successfully to have the children remain in the
family home; and two out of the three families in the
reunification process were successfully reunified.The
family where reunification was not successful was agreed
by the parent that this was not the most appropriate
time for reunification to occur due to the parents’ own
significant trauma issues.
Each family received approximately 15.66 weeks of
service and this equated to 94 weeks of service delivery
over the financial year.Therefore, overall the program
worked at 200% capacity.This program is actually funded
for a service of up to 20 hours per week per family, but
due to client complexity and service need, the additional
hours were able to be sourced from the integrated
model so that the program was able to achieve beyond
its assigned targets.
The Restorations program is staffed with the Team
Leader of General Family Support, a fulltime Case
Coordinator (currently vacant) and a fulltime Caseworker
as well a 0.5 Child Wellbeing Worker (currently vacant).
4. VACCA PLAYGROUPSOur playgroups support families with children aged 5
years and below in a group setting.The service provides
an opportunity and access to resources which are
culturally appropriate for parents and pre-school children
to engage in play and early learning interactions.The
focus is on healthy and age appropriate child
development, encouraging positive parent-child
interactions and basic advice on parenting issues.
Playgroups also provide a way for parents to get together
and support each other in a safe, fun and empowering
environment.
The North/West region runs 3 playgroups which cover
the areas for Roxborough Park (Tuesday group),
Thomastown (Wednesday group) and KODE Glenroy
(Friday group), respectively. Each playgroup runs for 2.5 to
3 hours per week during school terms. Session plans are
developed for each playgroup session and incorporate
suggestions from families.There has been a regular
attendance by families to the playgroups, and the ongoing
attendance is associated with the transport that is offered
to all families willing to participate in the program.
Although attendance, at times, has fluctuated due to
children being unwell to attend and parents having to
prioritise other appointments, 26 families have been
successfully and regularly attending across all the 3
playgroups.
There has been some struggle to keep the attendance
substantial for one playgroup in particular; however the
program is looking at strategies to overcome the lack of
attendance by families across all the playgroups.This will
be achieved through positive promotion of the VACCA
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 67
Playgroups with regular community and/or agency
education about the positives of being part of the
program for Indigenous children and families.
5. CHILD FIRSTThe Child FIRST program was implemented for
vulnerable families to have access to a coordinated,
intensive, and culturally appropriate family support
service to ensure that the best interests of their children
could be met.
VACCA is involved in 8 out of 9 Child FIRST sites across
the Melbourne Metropolitan Region.
5.1 North West Child FIRST
East Brunswick Office hosts two Aboriginal Liaison
Workers (ALW) that cover the North East, Hume
Moreland, Brimbank Melton and Western Child FIRST
catchments.All catchments are receiving the liaison
function at present and feedback indicates the role is
valued and utilised well.
The ALW positions offer consultations about the
appropriateness of referral, risks, and reports to Child
Protection, strengths of the family, family history, cultural
issues, culturally appropriate ways of working with
Aboriginal families, resources and service links within
Aboriginal networks and the community. In addition they
also receive a half day sit-in-period at the specified Child
FIRST offices in the respective catchments to further
discuss families, attend weekly allocation meetings and do
joint home visits.
Child FIRST is funded for 2.6 positions, with a 0.6
maternity leave vacancy in 2009/2010 financial year.
North East ALW – 0.9 EFT
Hume Moreland – 0.7 EFT
Western – 0.6 EFT
Brimbank Melton – 0.4 EFT
The North East catchment has been operating over 2
years and continues to be our busiest catchment and is
progressing well.As the below graph shows the North
East Child FIRST catchment demands the highest portion
of ALW contact and is closely followed by Hume
Moreland and Brimbank Melton Child FIRST.This justifies
the presence the ALW has twice a week at the North
East, once a week at Hume Moreland and Brimbank
Melton Child FIRST office liaising with the Child FIRST
Intake team.
The North East continues to be our busiest catchment
with 28 families being referred for support closely
followed closely by Hume Moreland catchment receiving
26 family referrals;Western catchment received
10 referrals whilst Brimbank Melton received referrals for
6 families.
ALW Consultations by Child FIRST Catchment
Consultations regarding Aboriginal families are detailed in
the following table:
68 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Quarter North–East Hume–Moreland Brimbank–Melton Western
1 131 episodes 50 episodes 30 episodes 34 episodes
2 108 episodes 48 episodes 26 episodes 48 episodes
3 75 episodes 58 episodes 15 episodes 53 episodes
4 104 episodes 57 episodes 32 episodes 57 episodes
Episodes of service can include practice advice, facilitating
engagement, joint home visits, exploring cultural issues
and assessment.
• North East – 418
• Hume Moreland – 213
• Western – 192
• Brimbank Melton – 103
Feedback indicated the ALW role is increasingly valued
and respected across the Child FIRST and the integrated
family services sector and is now recognised as a core
component of the system.
The Child FIRST program met 43.81% of the designated
targets for the 2009/2010 financial year. Child FIRST did
experience a long standing ALW vacancy, which impacted
on Child FIRST program’s ability to meet targets for the
2009/2010 financial year. Following the implementation of
a strong recruitment strategy the position was filled and
Child FIRST has implemented strategies to monitor
program targets.The program is progressing well with
monthly monitoring to meet our 2010/2011 targets.
The Child FIRST North East, Hume Moreland,Western
and Brimbank Melton Aboriginal Best Interest Working
Groups which is chaired and co-ordinated by the
Program Manager of Aboriginal Liaison Services is
currently being reviewed by Executive Manager with
Child FIRST catchment representatives to ensure the
Aboriginal Best Interest Working Group model reflects
VACCA’s current position. It is anticipated these changes
will occur in the 2010/2011 financial year, regarding how
these groups are conducted in forward planning.
The Child FIRST North East, Hume Moreland,Western
and Brimbank Melton catchments have been actively
involved in the revised Child Protection and Child FIRST-
Family Services State-wide Agreement (Shell Agreement)
that articulates relevant legislative requirements (what the
law permits/prescribes), policy requirements (how the
system works) and high level processes and procedures
(how these are to be implemented) between child
protection and Child FIRST-family services. VACCA Child
FIRST was an active participant in advocating on behalf of
Aboriginal families when submitting recommendations
which will assist Child FIRST to provide a better service
to our complex Aboriginal families.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 69
Child FIRST ALW Consultations
North East
Hume Moreland
Brimbank Melton
Western
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
5.2 Eastern Child FIRST
The ALW role commenced January 2009 and has since
been well established in the Eastern Metropolitan Region
providing a valued liaison service to the Inner East and
Outer East Child FIRST catchment and the integrated
family services sector.
The Outer East has developed to be our busiest
catchment with 15 families being referred for support
closely followed by Inner East catchment receiving
12 family referrals.
ALW Consultations by Child FIRST Catchment
Consultations regarding Aboriginal families are detailed in
the following table:
70 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Quarter Outer East Inner East
1 77 episodes 44 episodes
2 112 episodes 42 episodes
3 99 episodes 24 episodes
4 89 episodes 32 episodes
Outer East
Inner East
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
4th Qtr3rd Qtr2nd Qtr1st Qtr
Episodes of service can include practice advice, facilitating
engagement, joint home visits, exploring cultural issues
and assessment.
• Outer East – 377
• Inner East – 142
5.3 Southern Child FIRST
The ALW commenced December 2008 and has since
established its role the Southern Metropolitan Region
providing a valued liaison service to the Inner Middle and
Frankston, Mornington Peninsula Child FIRST catchment
and the integrated family services sector.
The Frankston Mornington Peninsula Child FIRST has
developed to be our busiest catchment with 23 families
being referred for support followed by Inner Middle
catchment receiving 6 family referrals.
ALW Consultations by Child FIRST Catchment
Consultations regarding Aboriginal families are detailed in
the following table:
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 71
Outer Middle
Frank/Morn Pen
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
4th Qtr3rd Qtr2nd Qtr1st Qtr
Quarter Inner Middle Frankston Mornington
1 67 episodes 118 episodes
2 94 episodes 115 episodes
3 85 episodes 134 episodes
4 64 episodes 60 episodes
Episodes of service can include practice advice, facilitating
engagement, joint home visits, exploring cultural issues
and assessment.
• Inner Middle – 310
• Inner East – 427
6. COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICE PROGRAMThe Community Support Service (CSS) Program was a
new initiative implemented at the beginning of 2009/2010
financial year with the Community Support Service
Officer’s role to offer information, support and advice to
Aboriginal clients requiring a range of services and
support across various sectors.
The first CSS position was not recruited to until
December 2009 and began taking referrals in February
2010. Since this time CCS has met 49% (65) of the
allocated targets for the 2009/2010 year.The CSS
program has a presence at Hume Global Learning Centre
at Broadmeadows each Monday to promote the program
and increase client numbers in the Hume region.
Community Support Service Officer is implementing
strategies such as the usage of the CSS Consult Register,
seeking promotional opportunities (3KND, Universal
Children’s Day), and commencing discussions about a
presence at Victorian Aboriginal Health Service as
recently identified in order to increase our opportunity
to meet targets for the program.
The program anticipates referral numbers will improve
due to close monthly monitoring and further promotion
and a strong presence at the venues previously identified.
7. BARGOONGAGAT INDIGENOUS CASE CO-ORDINATION PANEL
This panel consist of Mainstream and Aboriginal Welfare
Agencies that can offer guidance, support and resources
to help support complex families.There is a core group
of approximately 16 members from family support, drug
& alcohol, education, health and Aboriginal community
controlled organisations that are committed to meeting
and providing a care plan for families referred to the
service.The panel is expected to be convened once a
month with a 50/50 ratio of Aboriginal and non-
Aboriginal members.The panel met 9 times over the
2009/2010 financial year with 3 cancellations due to
conflicting events such as NAIDOC and SNAICC
Conference in 2010.
The Panel completed 75% of the targeted meetings for
the 2009/2010 financial year.The program continues to
experience difficulties with regular attendance from core
members (particularly representation from Aboriginal
agencies due to competing commitments) as well as
limited referrals from other agencies. VACCA continues
to promote the importance and benefits of the panel
with agencies and is in the process of developing new
strategies to address both the limited attendance and
minimal referrals for the 2010/2011 financial year.
8. ABORIGINAL SPECIALIST SERVICES8.1 Aboriginal Family Decision Making
(AFDM)
The primary purpose of AFDM is to provide for the
protection of Aboriginal children and young people
through the involvement of family, culturally relevant
practice and the promotion of community connections.
AFDM is a process that enhances but does not replace
the family’s participation and self determination in the
decision making process about their children.
The commitment of families and individuals to AFDM is
supported by identifying concerns, solutions and
responsibilities to promote and achieve safety for the
child.AFDM recognizes that families are often the best
resource when developing a protection plan ensuring the
safety of the child.
AFDM supports traditional approaches of decision
making and involves Elders in the AFDM process,
encouraging the involvement of wider family networks.
AFDM recognizes, seeks and takes into consideration the
views of young people involved in the child protection
system and actively seeks to encourage the child or
young person’s involvement in the decision making
process.The AFDM process focuses on the strengths of
family members.
AFDM in the N&WM region has been funded to provide
a service for 30 Aboriginal families (per financial year)
involved in the child protection system.The target group
is Aboriginal children or young people who are current
clients of child protection in the N&WM region and:
• Have been notified to child protection and the
matter has been substantiated
• Are subject to a protective intervention
• Are on an interim or final protection order
• Are in out of home care or at risk of entering out of
home
For the 09/10 financial year there have been 37 pre-
referral consults and a completion of 22 targets this
72 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
indicates an increase from the previous financial year.
Every AFDM client should receive a minimum of 20hrs of
service delivery in this program. However given the
complex issues that some families experience the hours
of service provision per client exceed program
specifications.
Whilst AFDM fell short of meeting the yearly targets, it
was largely due to the excessive hours delivered to
families in the program and the DHS co convenor
vacancy (as identified in 08/09 AGM).AFDM is working at
70% capacity as it relates to individual targets.The
VACCA Co-convenor has continued to deliver a service
and work toward meeting identified targets.The DHS co
convenor vacancy continued to impact on VACCA
meeting the service targets. DHS has recently filled the
co convenor vacancy this will have a positive effect on
meeting this financial years targets.
AFDM successfully recruited a 1EFT leaving a residual
vacancy of 1EFT.There have been many positive
outcomes for families in the AFDM program this year,
with the program receiving positive feedback from the
meeting evaluations.
Community education was also a focus of the program in
the past year and has been delivered by an AFDM
Community Convenor, in conjunction with the DHS Co-
Conveners at both Footscray and Preston DHS offices.
Convenors will continue to facilitate community
education sessions throughout the year.
8.2 Cultural Support Planning (CSP)
CSP is a new program initiative funded by DHS. CSP will
sit in the AFDM program and is funded for a .7EFT, this
position is a new role and is currently advertised.The
primary responsibility of this role is the development of
Cultural Support Plans (CSP) for Aboriginal children /
young people in out of home care (OOHC), who are
subject to a Guardianship to Secretary Order or Long
Term Guardianship to Secretary Orders.This is a
legislative requirement as part of the Children Youth &
Families Act 2005 (CYFA 2005), ensuring all Aboriginal
Children in OOHC remain connected to their culture,
spirituality, country and community.
CSP is the process of gathering cultural Information for
Aboriginal children and young people and commences at
notification and investigation phases in the life of a child
protection case. First joint home visits and consultations
occur in partnership with ACSASS and Child Protection.
ACSASS service provides the cultural starting point in the
life of a child protection case.ACSASS workers are
consulted at the commencement of a CSP, it is not their
role to develop the CSP. However ACSASS contributes to
the content of the CSP.
Key Duties
• To establish working relationships and work in
partnership with Child Protection ,ACSASS,
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations,
families, Children/Young people and extended
families,Aboriginal Elders & community and
Community Service Organisations to develop CSP’s.
• To develop CSP’s for Aboriginal Children/Young
people who are in OOHC and subject to
Guardianship to Secretary Order or Long Term
Guardianship to Secretary Orders in line with the
legislative requirements.
• To jointly undertake regular reviews of the CSP, in
line with the Best Interest Case Planning of Child
Protection
• To work collaboratively with ACSASS, Families,
Children/Young People, extended family, Elders,
Aboriginal Communities, CSO’s, care givers and
Child Protection in developing the CSP.
• To work with Child Protection in to ensure CSP
commitments to the child/young person are met.
Therefore keeping a living document that grows and
develops with the child.
• Engage and educate families and community about
the purpose of the CSP, encouraging active
participation by extended family, kinship groups and
community in maintaining a child’s cultural
connection and self identity.
9. FAMILY VIOLENCEThe current priorities that relate to the delivery of a
Family Violence service at VACCA include the:
• Implementation of an integrated service model that
addresses the needs of women and children affected
by FV as well as other complex problems.
• Assertive engagement of chronic and complex
families.
• Accessibility to a continuum of services for
supporting Indigenous families but predominantly
women and children.
• advocacy regarding impact of family violence on
women and children
• community education programs to support family
but predominantly women and children well being
• partnerships with other service providers
• Intensive case management and case work service
response
• Case planning approach
• Active approach to referrals
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 73
The integrated approach that VACCA takes will assist
women and children experiencing family violence to
access as a priority all these programs as well as
accessing therapeutic input through the SAAP funding.
The following specific family violence services will be
offered as part of the VACCA integrated model:
• Information & advice regarding family violence
• Linking and referring to other specialist family
violence services
• Legal and Court support
• Casework/case management
• Family Violence counseling
• Family Violence group work
In the 2009/2010 financial year the Family Violence
program worked with 51 families, which consisted of
2432.5 hours of service delivery.This number equated to
91% of targets required for the financial year which
included 10 targets that were required from the previous
financial year.Without the addition of the previous years
target the Program would have exceeded expectations,
working at 110% capacity.
Throughout the year the program also delivered a 6
week group called Koorie Women Know Best.This was
attended by 6 EI&FS clients along with 2 clients from
Elizabeth Hoffman House. Overall the program was
successful and feedback was positive.
Five staff members completed the CRAF – Family
Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management training
which is attended by all services across the Victorian
Family Violence sector. Extensive work has occurred in
the development of the program’s documentation
strengthening the relationship between VACCA and the
funding body. VACCA has been successfully recruited a
Senior Therapeutic Counsellor to work with Aboriginal
families.
CONCLUSIONGoing forward the program will focus on recruiting staff
and the promotion of the program within the community
and local service sector.The program will be promoted
across media outlets including the local newspapers,
Koori Mail and 3KND.The key to the uptake and success
on the program is the ongoing focus and promotion of
family violence services and the strong government push
to develop collaborative working relationships with
service providers.
I would like to thank the staff in the program for their
hard work and commitment in working with our children
and families. I also extend my thanks to the Executive, and
particularly Connie and Muriel for their support.
Kerry Crawford – Executive Manager
74 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010
INTRODUCTIONLink-Up Victoria, established in 1992, plays an important
and special role in the lives of many Aboriginal people
who are looking for assistance in searching for their
family whom, through Government policies, have been
forcibly removed or separated from their family.The Link-
Up program works with Aboriginal people over 18 years
of age.The Link-Up program assists Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people to trace and reunite with their
families.
Link-Up Victoria assists clients to search for their families
and in accessing their records.The Link-Up program
assists clients to obtain any relevant files and manage the
ongoing work of our clients’ reunions.The Link-Up
program provides support to the client and the client’s
family.Apart from assisting Aboriginal people with
reunions, the program provides a referral service to
support services and practical support wherever possible.
STAFFING Our staffing now comprises of a Program Manager;
Coordinator of Casework, Supervision and Group Work;
four Caseworker/Counsellor positions; Coordinator of
Administration; and a Receptionist/Administration Officer.
Two Caseworkers have completed their first year of
study for the Diploma of Narrative Approaches for
Aboriginal People.We are also currently in the process of
advertising for a part-time Project Officer for a 12 month
period. Over the past financial year we have had 2
vacancies for the caseworker/counsellor positions but the
team has done a fantastic job even though being short
staffed to reach targets and continue their excellent work.
PROGRAM OVERVIEWLink-Up Client Services:The program provides:
1. Guidance and Support: file search, supported
reading of personal files, general information,
listening, demonstrated understanding of their issues,
and open and honest discussion with clients
regarding family concerns.
2. Counselling:This aspect of Link-Up’s service has
increased significantly and the program now offers
one-on-one counselling, group counselling and access
to healing programs developed for clients of the
service in Victoria.
3. Referrals: Link-Up has a strong network of supports
and will refer clients where professional or specialist
counselling may be required. Link-Up has well devel-
oped networks from which referrals are received
and actioned in a timely and professional manner.
4. Reunion Service:The reunion process for Link-Up
is quite involved and is classified in three stages: pre-
reunion, reunion and post-reunion. Coordinating a
reunion requires a lot of time, effort and
understanding.
Link-Up currently has over 96 clients that we have
worked with over the past financial year.This figure
comprises of the following breakdown.
Male Female Total
First Generation 18 28 46
Second Generation 4 4 8
Third Generation 0 0 0
Other Aboriginal
and Torres Strait 9 32 41
Islander clients
Non-Indigenous clients 0 1 2
Total 31 65 96
Description
First Generation: those clients who were removed from
their families and communities.
Second Generation: those clients whose parents are first
generation members.
Third Generation: those clients whose grandparents are the
first generations members.
Other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients: those
clients who were not removed from family, but are
searching for family members who were removed.
The Link-Up Program also has a responsibility to report
to OATSIH on outcomes achieved in accordance with
contractual requirements as well as acquit the funding
allocated to the program.
OUTCOMES & ACHIEVEMENTSLink-Up Victoria has successfully met all targets for the
year.This is an enormous achievement due to the commit-
ments of the Caseworker/Counsellors to meet study
requirements as well as community outreach and client
commitments. As well as not having a full team on board.
VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010 75
LINK-UP VICTORIA – AGM REPORT 2009/2010
We must be mindful of our budget and ensure that we
submit applications for additional funding as required to
ensure that we are able to provide a quality service to all
clients.
Community Events
Link Up has organised a calendar of activities for their
clients that ran over the last financial year.The team with
their clients have been to Corranderk, Mia Mia Gallery,
William Ricketts Sanctuary, Melbourne Museum and
Koorie Heritage Trust just to name a few.The activity
days are greatly supported by our clients and these days
assist the Link-up team to keep clients connected with
each other and the community.
Training
Two of Link-Up Victoria’s Caseworker/Counsellors have
now completed their first year of study for the Diploma
of Narrative Approaches.The Diploma is nationally
recognized and will equip staff with the skills required to
support our clients in the area of counselling.We also
had a staff member finish her Vocational Graduate Training
in Bereavement Counselling and Intervention.
Relocation of Program
The Link-Up Program has relocated to Wurruk Avenue,
Preston.These new premises are able to accommodate all
staff of the Link Up Program.The team believe we now
have the space to create an environment to run group
work and for clients of Link Up to be able to come and
have a coffee with staff in a warm and welcoming
environment.
National Link-Up Conference
Link-Up Victoria attended and presented at the National
Link-Up Conference and Coordinators meeting in
Queensland in May 2010.
BTH Forums
Link-Up Victoria attended two Bringing Them Home
Worker state-wide forums in Albury/Wodonga and
Healesville.
Sorry Day 2010
Link-Up Victoria was proud to host Sorry Day 2010 at
the Aborigines Advancement League (AAL). Special guests
and entertainment included Richard Frankland and the
Charcoal Club, Kutcha and Mick Edwards, and the well-
known Archie Roach.The day was a huge success with
over 200 people attending throughout the day.There were
many positive comments and fantastic feedback. Service
providers were also invited and enjoyed the event.
1800 OUR MOB
Link up Victoria has secured a free call 1800 number –
1800 OUR MOB or 180 687 662. Link Up Victoria
recognize the importance of creating easier access to our
service, particularly for those people outside of
metropolitan Melbourne.We hope this new number will
encourage community members, current and potential
clients to contact our service.
Website
Link Up Victoria has completed its website and it is now
up and running (www.linkupvictoria.org.au).We encourage
everyone to have a look and we are able to advertise our
program and activities online.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGESFUNDINGLink-Up Victoria is funded to provide family tracing and
reunion services, as well as to provide counselling
services to clients.To ensure that a quality service is
provided Link-Up staff must assess eligibility of applicants;
allocate a Caseworker/Counsellor to support the client,
research their background and search for their family
members; and coordinate reunions including travel,
accommodation, activities and budget.
FUTURE DIRECTIONSThe key priority for the future is the implementation of
the Service Development and Reporting Framework and
the program’s operational plan.
This means the program will, as an example of work
proposed:
1. Strengthen its partnerships and coordination of
services to members of the Stolen Generations
2. Improve the program’s website and develop further
promotional activities
3. Continue to undertake public voice and community
engagement activities
4. Develop policy and procedures manual and program
standards
5. Develop a group healing program for program
clients
I would like to acknowledge all the staff of the program
for their dedication and commitment and thank also the
Board, Connie, Muriel and the Executive staff of VACCA
for their support over the year.
Sue-Anne Hunter – Manager
76 VACCA ANNUAL REPORT 2010