Out Of Home Care Services
St Luke’s provides out of home care services across the Loddon Campaspe region.
Children are placed in out of home care while family issues are being addressed and/or when it is not appropriate for children or young people to remain at home. Care may be on a temporary or longer term basis.
We provide out of home care through four programs:
- foster care
- permanent care and adoption
- adolescent community placement (ACP) and
- youth residential units for young people who cannot be placed in home based care.
Children and young people who are unable to live with their natural families are highly vulnerable. It is imperative that the highest quality of care is provided and caregivers have the attributes, skills and support to meet this challenging and rewarding task.
St Luke’s operates a caregiver recruitment and support unit to support the work of the home based care programs and an intensive case management service (ICMS) that supports young people on statutory orders who are at serious risk.
Koori Placement and Support workers are employed by the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperation and Njernda Aboriginal Corporation in collaboration with St Luke’s. The workers work with St Luke's on the placement of Indigenous children and recruiting Indigenous caregivers.
Foster Care
Foster Care provides home based care to children who are aged 0 to 12 years of age and are unable to live with their families. The focus of the program is children who are on statutory orders with referrals mainly from DHS Protective Services. Foster Care operates within the Loddon Campaspe region and cares for up to 48 children at any time. Staff are based at Hargreaves Street, Bendigo.
--back to top
Loddon Mallee permanent care and adoption
The Permanent Care and Adoption team provides a stable and secure family life for children who cannot live with their own family. Permanent care workers recruit, train and support carers who are willing to provide a permanent home for children. Their work is governed by statutory orders.
The team also supports children who are placed for adoption. When the adoption order is granted the adoptive parents assume all legal rights and responsibilities and a new birth certificate is issued, which recognises the adoptive parents as legal parents. The team provides this service for the whole of Loddon Mallee region. Staff are based at Hargreaves Street, Bendigo.
--back to top
Adolescent Community Placement (ACP)
The ACP program provides home based care for young people who are aged 13 to 17, on statutory orders, and unable to live with their families. Referrals come mainly from the Department of Human Services (DHS) Adolescent Protective Team and Juvenile Justice. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service can also refer young people. The ACP program operates within the Loddon Campaspe region and Swan Hill and cares for up to 34 young people at any time. Staff are based at Hargreaves Street, Bendigo and Swan Hill.
--back to top
Residential care
St Luke's currently operates four residential units in Bendigo for up to 14 young people aged 12 to 17. The units have a team leader and rostered staff who provide 24-hour care. Residential care aims to provide a nurturing environment to facilitate change for young people and their families.
--back to top
Caregiver Services Unit
The Caregiver Services Unit recruits, trains and supports the caregivers who look after children and young people placed in out of home care. The unit is responsible for managing the pool of caregivers and ensuring they have ongoing training and support. Staff are based at Hargreaves Street, Bendigo
--back to top
Intensive case management service (ICMS)
ICMS aims to provide a high level of support to young people aged 13 to 17 who are on statutory orders and are considered “at serious risk”. Referrals to the service are through DHS and the program works with 18 young people at any one time. The ICMS team comprises a team leader, youth workers, a drug and alcohol worker and a mental health worker from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). The program operates across the Loddon Campaspe region and staff are based at Hargreaves Street, Bendigo.
--back to top