Children Youth and Family Services

Children Youth and Family Services (CYFS) staff work in partnership with clients, families and other agencies to help and support children, young people and families. Our staff bring a range of experiences and skills to our work which emphasises clients’ strengths and focuses on finding solutions through a range of styles of work. 

CYFS has an annual budget of over $9.5m and over 140 staff spread across the agency’s regional offices including Bendigo, Echuca, Kyneton, Maryborough and Swan Hill.

CYFS consists of two streams: support services, and out of home care and statutory services.
 

Support services

Programs within the support services area include:
family support services
Child FIRST
parenting assessment and skills development (part of the High Risk Infant Program)
refugee program
family preservation
youth housing (supported accommodation assistance programs - SAAP)
Youth Connection Team
Connect Central
leaving and after care support
Youth Resource Team
The Loddon Mallee Youth Mentoring Coordination Project
children’s services (including preschool field officers and inclusion support services in kindergartens)

Out of home care services

Programs within the out of home area include:
foster care
adolescent community placement
intensive case management service
residential care
permanent care and adoption
caregiver support services

The General Manager of CYFS is John Bonnice. The Senior Manager for Out of Home Care is Liz March.

Program areas

CYFS is structured into seven program areas:
foster care and permanent care/adoption
adolescent community placement and intensive case management service
residential care
caregiver services and placement intake
youth services
family services
early intervention and children’s services

CYFS also has a manager for external training and service development who performs the critical role of client feedback and participation officer. This promotes and develops client feedback mechanisms across all services.

 

child first program

gamblers help program

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