We Care NSW is committed to providing culturally appropriate and trauma-informed services for children, young people and families supported by the Department of Communities and Justice. We Care NSW’s services endorse the outcomes of the Family is Culture report and we are committed to delivering services that are consistent with our values – Caring, Accountability, Respect, Empowerment and Safety.

We Care NSW empower our staff to deliver services consistent with these values. We Care NSW staff have completed or are working towards a minimum qualification in Youth Work or equivalent and have completed accredited training in therapeutic crisis intervention. We Care NSW staff are mentored by supportive managers who are experienced in delivering trauma informed therapeutic care augmented through consultation with our allied health clinical team to ensure our services are designed to meet the individual needs of children, young people and the families whom we support.

 The services we provide:

Family Preservation and Restoration Services

We Care NSW’s family preservation services aim to work collaboratively with the child, young person and their family and with other formal and informal community supports to keep children safely together with their families. We believe in providing early and intensive supports that make use of the child and family’s strength and resilience and that promote connection and linkages within the community. This approach is necessary to keep families together and promote safety, inclusion and a sense of being valued.

 Our family preservation supports include:

1.  Development of a collaborative case plan/cultural case plans with families which guide our practice and ensure the provision of supports to meet the individual needs of families.
2. We value the role of cultural and community connections and the role these connections play in promoting safe environments for children and families. 
3. We provide training for parents and carers to refine their parenting skills to meet the individual needs of their Our training is informed by current attachment-focused interventions.
4. We deliver formal training programs for parents and carers including:
   

   ABC Parent Training

   Circle of Security

   Reparative Parenting Programs

   Parent Child Interaction Therapy

   Connection-focused group programs for children/young people and adults

   We believe in ensuring the provision of appropriate physical and psychosocial supports for families, in particular families who have experienced trauma.

Family Group Conferencing

We Care NSW have a team of allied health clinical staff and senior staff who have the necessary training and experience to facilitate family group conferences to bring family members together in a positive way, with an impartial facilitator to make a plan for their child.

Cultural Plans

We Care NSW is an Aboriginal owned and operated service that has extensive experience in developing cultural plans for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in alternative care placements and Out of Home Care Services (OOHC). We Care NSW believe that cultural plans need to promote a sense of connection and identity and are consistent with the shared lives - shared stories framework. Our plans include at a minimum:

1. Identifying the cultural needs of an Aboriginal child or young person;
2. Outline essential cultural activities for the child or young person to participate in to maintain their identity and connection; and
3. Maintaining important cultural information for an Aboriginal child or young

 We deliver our plans in a timely manner to ensure that the child and families’ unique cultural needs are incorporated into their supports as soon as possible and provide follow up support to assist with the plans’ implementation and review. We value the participation of the child or young person’s family in the development, review and implementation of the plan and acknowledge that family is culture.

 Alternative Care Arrangements (ACA)

We Care NSW and our partner organisation Gringai Aboriginal Corporation are registered providers of Alternate Care arrangements for children and young people connected with the Department of Communities and Justice. We Care NSW’s model of care believes that providing a care setting that promotes consistency, connection and collaboration is an essential step in promoting safety and wellbeing for children and young people in ACAs. We Care NSW staff value the role that the child and young person’s family play in their life and we are strongly committed to supporting the maintenance and development of these relationships during all stages of the child’s care journey. We deliver an ACA that promotes age-appropriate agency in the child to be involved in decisions which affect their lives and to actively participate in activities of daily living which promote and build their independence. We Care NSW’s ACAs are supported by a team of experienced carers who have a minimum of a Certificate IV in youth work or equivalent, who have completed therapeutic     crisis intervention training and who are committed to the values of We Care NSW. We Care NSW staff in ACAs are supported by a team of dedicated OOHC professionals and allied health clinical supports who are committed to ensuring that we deliver on our model of care and, importantly, that we provide a safe and enriching experience for children and young people in ACAs.

Target Early Interventions (TEI) Services

We Care NSW can deliver targeted early intervention services for children and young people (Youth Work) and parents/carers (Family Support). Our TEI services utilise a case management approach which is grounded in trauma-informed and person-centered principles.

 We Care NSW’s TEI staff hold a minimum of a Cert IV in Youth Work and receive   direct support and supervision from a team of allied health professionals and others with significant experience in the TEI sector. All We Care NSW staff receive training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.

 Supervised Family Contact Services

Consistent with the Family is Culture report and the Close the Gap Report We Care NSW is committed to supporting and maintaining contact with family for children and young people who cannot live with their family. We Care NSW’s staff are trained in providing family contact that meets the specific needs of the child or young person and importantly acknowledges the important role of Family.

 We Care NSW family contact services ensures the completion of Family Contact Reports which maintain a record of the Family Contact and importantly the aspects of contact that are working well and the areas for further focus. We Care NSW staff receive direct support from key members of our management team and have access to a skilled allied health team for support and guidance.

Referrals

We Care NSW has current capacity to accept referrals for all of our service areas. To make a referral to our service please contact Nicky Johnson, Community Services Manager, on 02 4013 6079 or send your enquiry to our email at reception@wecarensw.com.au