Up to 18 vulnerable families in Peel can now benefit from the Aboriginal In-Home Support Service (AISS) after the McGowan Government expanded the program into the region.
Child Protection Minister Simone McGurk today celebrated the expansion of the service into the region as part of National Child Protection Week. The service is showing positive results, with 13 families currently active participants in the program.
The AISS – delivered by Wungening Aboriginal Corporation – provides intensive in-home practical support to Aboriginal families to keep children safely at home and reunify children with their parents.
The aim is to find practical solutions to improve parenting skills to safely care for children, encouraging children to engage with schooling, and improving the overall health and wellbeing of the whole family.
The program has strong local support with many Peel families providing positive feedback, some of whom have experienced family and domestic violence and drug addiction.
As of June 2022, 89 per cent of families referred to the AISS in WA had children who remained at home with them after 12 months.
During the 12 months prior to 30 June 2022, the number of children in care State-wide dropped by 4.7 per cent. Over the same period, there was a 3.3 per cent drop in the number of Aboriginal children in care.
Over the past 24 months, the State Government has achieved consecutive years of reductions in the number of children in care. They are the first end of year reductions since 1997.
The McGowan Government has committed $114 million into the child protection system and supporting services to protect vulnerable children and their families, and steer at‑risk children away from the justice system.
As stated by Child Protection Minister Simone McGurk:
“The expansion of the Aboriginal In-home Support Service in the Peel region is showing very positive results so far, with 13 families currently receiving quality, individualised support and practical solutions to improve their circumstances.
“I commend the work Wungening Moort is doing with Peel families. We know we have better outcomes when we partner with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to serve the unique needs of Aboriginal families.
“I also thank families for being open to receiving this support. It takes trust to ask for help and work towards the best possible outcome for their children.”
As stated by Wungening Aboriginal Corporation CEO Daniel Morrison:
“Wungening is proud to be leading this important early intervention program, and extending it with our partners – including the Department of Communities – into the Peel region.
“This funding is enabling us to assist families in their homes through a strong cultural approach, building skills and safeguards that enable them to keep their children living with them, instead of coming into State care.
“The program – implemented in other areas across Perth – is already proving its value for money, with 89 per cent of the children and families we have been working with being kept out of the child protection system.
“Bringing Aboriginal ways of understanding and working to child protection is crucial in supporting families to strengthen safeguards for children.”
