 New Shoalhaven Mental Health Service
Anglicare has received Department of Social Services funding to deliver a Family Mental Health Support Service (FMHSS) in the Shoalhaven and parts of the Illawarra. The FMHSS is designed to support children, young people (0-18) and their families where the child is experiencing or is at risk of developing a mental health issue or is affected by the mental health issue of a family member. The primary focus will be on children and young people while working with them in a whole of family context. Service will commence from July 2015 and has a number of elements including:
Intensive, long term, early interventions specifically for children and young people, and practical whole-of-family assistance to improve the long-term outcomes for vulnerable children and young people at risk of, or affected by, mental illness. This can include targeted therapeutic group work.
- Information and referral for families requiring short-term immediate assistance; and
- Community outreach, mental health promotion/education and community development activities to increase local capacity to understand and respond to children or young people at risk of or affected by mental illness. This includes general group work with children, young people and their families/carers.
New FMHSS identifies groups of children and young people that face additional disadvantage and risk factors for poor mental health outcomes as special needs groups.
Special needs groups for New FMHSS include but are not limited to:
Indigenous Australians
- People from CALD backgrounds, including humanitarian entrants and recently arrived refugees and migrants
- Children in contact with the child protection system (but not in the care of the Minister)
- Young people leaving out-of-home care; and
- Children and young people in families experiencing homelessness, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, history of trauma etc.
There will be a 4 day a week Senior Case Worker’s position based from the Anglicare West St site for the Shoalhaven element of the program as well as a 3 day a week Children’s Counsellor.
We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your staff to establish good linkages and referral pathways into and out of the new FMHSS. We will be conducting initial service visits commencing in June 2015. If you would like to organise a visit for your service please just email me?
Kind regards, Jacqui Leonard, Senior Program Manager Shoalhaven
47 West St Nowra NSW 2541
T: (02) 4424 7100 M: 0401 698 175
E: jleonard@anglicare.org.au
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Assisting Responsible Care of Kids (ARCK) and Kids And Youth Are Kool postSeparation (KAYAKS)
CHANGE OF OPERATION DAYS
The ARCK and KAYAK programs based at Moruya Community Hub will now be available every Wednesday.
Post separation counselling for children/young people/individual parents continue to be available.
We welcome self referrals from parents and significant carers as well as agencies, lawyers and Courts.
For more information or to make a referral please contact our ACT Office Manager, Jodi Cooper, on 61625829 Tuesday-Friday.
As a part time outreach service there is usually a wait list period of 2-3 months however we endeavour to meet initially with parents and significant caregivers as soon as possible.
Marymead South Coast, Moruya
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 Family Law Pathways Networks - Grant Funding
South Coast FLPN is pleased to advise the Attorney-General has approved the department offering four year grant agreements, at existing funding levels, for Family Law Pathways Networks.
Agreements will commence 1 July 2015 and end on 30 June 2019. Along with funding certainty, FRSA is hopeful that this long-term funding arrangement will allow for more strategic forward planning and long-term projects. This now brings the Pathways Network in line with Family Law Services funded through until 30 June 2019.
The Attorney General's Dept has advised that the new funding agreements are being processed. We are experiencing delays which may result in a brief break in operation at July 1st, The first grant payment to be made in early July.
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 New Court Fees scrapped
You will be aware that the Federal Court Legislation Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2015 were to come into effect on 1 July 2015. Schedule 2 of the Regulations was to amend the Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012 by:
- Increasing the fee for divorce applications, consent orders, issuing subpoenas and most other family law fees, and
- Establishing a new fee for the filing of amended applications.
The Senate has voted in favour of a motion to disallow Schedule 2, the effect of which is that there will be no change to these fees on 1 July.
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 Domestic Violence NSW Reforms
South Coast FLPN will be facilitating an info sharing meeting in Nowra late 2015, when our Safety Action Meetings are established in our region ( date to be advised ).
Key information about the NSW Police Force Domestic Violence Assessment Tool (DVSTAT) can be found here.
*This article from Legal Aid news (June) provides some background :
| Safer Pathway expands: four new sites for domestic violence initiative |
Domestic violence reforms set a new strategic direction for addressing domestic and family violence in NSW.
The NSW government has announced Safer Pathway - part of the NSW Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Framework for Reform - will commence in Bankstown, Parramatta, Tweed Heads and Broken Hill on 1 July 2015.
At the heart of the Reforms is the safety and protection of victims.
Safer Pathway started in two launch sites, Orange and Waverley, in September last year as part of the NSW Government's It Stops Here Domestic and Family Violence Reforms. Safer Pathway aims to better support domestic violence victims through standardised threat assessment, streamlined referral, case coordination and Safety Action Meetings.
Safety Action Meetings are regular meetings between key government agencies and non-government service providers regarding victims assessed as at serious threat of further harm. The meetings aim to prevent or lessen these threats through targeted information sharing.
As part of Safer Pathway, the 28 Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCASs) funded by Legal Aid NSW have been chosen to perform the key role of Local Coordination Point in each area. These services provide women victims with information, support and warm referrals to a range of service providers for their ongoing needs. The services also provide secretariat support for Safety Action Meetings.
Since opening in September, Orange Local Coordination Point has received 1,058 referrals and Waverley Local Coordination Point has received 1,827 referrals. Feedback from the services and other providers in the launch sites has been overwhelmingly positive. Safer Pathway enables services to work together in a coordinated, consistent way to support victims and target responses to those who need them most. The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research recently completed an evaluation of the two launch sites. Initial findings are overwhelmingly positive.
Michelle Jones, manager of the Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Program (WDVCAP), welcomed the announcement of the next sites. "This is a fantastic opportunity to expand the great work happening in Orange and Waverley to other areas across NSW," she said. The WDVCAP is currently consulting with stakeholders and provide training in Bankstown, Parramatta, Tweed Heads and Broken Hill during the next few weeks.
More information about Safer Pathway can be found at www.domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au. More information about WDVCASs can be found on the Legal Aid NSW website. |
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The 2015-16 South Coast Family Law Pathways Network annual Work plan is almost complete.
We'll send a separate ebulletin outlining activities and events planned for the new funding year shortly.
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Please send us your TERM 3 program flyers for the next ebulletin !
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New phone app for women who are separating 
The Women's Legal Service QLD has developed a FREE smartphone app for women who are separated or thinking of separation in Australia, called Re-Focus.
The app covers important legal issues about separation where there has been domestic violence. It includes coping tips and helpful referrals. The app was developed as a strategy under the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children 2010-2022.
Sometimes all women take with them when they leave is their phone.
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Nowra Family Relationship Centre
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