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Families First
Is an intensive program that works with families referred by the Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Protection Service with the objectives of:
- Preventing unnecessary placement of children outside the family home
- Reunification of families
Connections provides the Families First Program in the eastern metropolitan and the southern metropolitan regions of Melbourne.
People who can access the service
People can only be referred to Families First by DHS's Child Protection Service.
How Families First works
Families First staff work with families during times of potential crisis for a period of six weeks to promote the safety of children and family members
Families First staff work with families in their homes and can be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week including holidays via an ‘on-call’ service.
During this time, families are supported to develop new skills to help them manage difficult emotions, parenting and communication in the family environment. Families First also links clients to other community agencies based on their individual family needs.
How clients can benefit from the service
Client families can benefit from the prevention of children being placed outside the family home and through development of skills to assist in managing potential crisis situations and the difficult social, emotional and behavioural issues that can arise at these times.
How this service benefits the community
The community can benefit from the prevention of placements outside the home, the financial cost of supporting these placements and the potential cost to the child and the family.