A new Family Wellbeing Service now underway in the Cairns region will strengthen support for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities.
Minister for Child Safety Fentiman visited the WuChopperen Health Service in Manoora on the 11 July while in Cairns for Governing for the Regions week.
WuChopperen Health Services has already been supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the region through a range of health services and the addition of the Family Wellbeing Service further strengthens their support
The Queensland Government will provide more than $2.6million this financial year to the health service to undertake the Family Wellbeing Service.
The new service will help local Indigenous families in the Cairns region stay safe and together and is part of an overall funding package across the state for new community-run services to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities.
They are committed to reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in the child protection system, and will achieve the best results working in partnership with Indigenous communities
Family Wellbeing Services are rolling out in 20 locations across Queensland, as part of up to $150 million investment over five years, to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have access to the best possible family support.
Ms Fentiman also announced $124,000 in funding over the next two years for WuChopperen to provide an Early Childhood Development Coordinator (ECDC) within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Service to increase early childhood educational access for children in contact with the child protection system.
The Queensland Government has worked in partnership with key stakeholders, including the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP), to capture the voices of community, children, families and Indigenous service providers in the establishment of the Family Wellbeing Services
(Image: Flickr Presidencia de la República Mexicana)
