Cash to target child abuse

By Ed Merrison
VULNERABLE families in Knox are set to benefit from a new $1.6 million child abuse and neglect project.
Minister for Children Sherryl Garbutt announced funding for the Family Support Innovation Project on Friday, 16 December.
Ms Garbutt said research showed that getting services to families earlier could prevent abuse and neglect.
“This project will provide greater support to families under pressure and should reduce child protection notification rates in the area. “Families will now receive earlier, more intensive welfare support to address their problems before they escalate and require child protection involvement,” she said.
Knox City Council director of community services Gerard Jose said the council was delighted to have the funding allocated to Knox, the second municipality in the Department of Human Services Eastern Metropolitan Region (DHS EMR) to be selected in what is expected to become a statewide roll out of the program.
Mr Jose said Knox was chosen because it had the second highest rate of child protection notifications in the eastern region and because it had well-coordinated community services.
“Council has child abuse figures, provided by DHS, which show there are significant levels of repeat referrals to the Child Protection Service.
“Many of these are reports of abuse which have not been substantiated but they indicate continuing concerns within the Knox community which may be addressed with this funding,” Mr Jose said.
Mr Jose said the council was a leader in providing services to enhance children’s wellbeing, especially for children aged six and under, and said it had collaborated in the development of the Knox Family Support Innovation Project.
“In time, the project will enable up to 120 families at a time to have access to counselling, in-home support and other services that will assist them in addressing issues which are impacting on their children and family,” he said.
Ms Garbutt said such projects had been operating in Victoria since 2002 and had contributed to the state defying increasing number of child protection notification rates across the nation.
“The program tailors support to meet the individual needs of families. This can range from counselling and parenting classes to practical assistance with child care arrangements and household management,” she said.
The Knox project will be delivered by Anglicare in partnership with Connections, Child Youth and Family Services.