Click on the following links to learn more about our family, youth and children’s services:
Bilby Bus
Intensive Support Playgroups ‘The Bilby Bus’ is a supported playgroups program for families with children under the age of five, who are homeless and/or disengaged from community services. The playgroups are run in public spaces, often adjacent to public housing or shopping centres. Workers are also able to offer support to families outside of the playgroup setting.
Building Blocks for Families
This Salisbury Communities for Children program provides a Parent Educator through the Family Zone Hub at Ingle Farm. The Educator works with families with children 0-12 years. Outcome focus areas are: improved physical health and development; improved parenting competence and style and improved child social and emotional and cognitive development. Sessions are delivered around a wide range of issues including parenting, and healthy cooking on a budget. Sessions are planned in response to community needs and requests and are tailored to meet the needs of attendees. Guest presenters are brought in for some sessional work. Target participants for this program are interested in additional support in parent/child relationships and parenting competence and child development. Funding is through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services (FaHCSIA) via facilitating partner Salvation Army, Ingle Farm and the service is delivered in partnership with other service providers at the Family Zone Hub, in particular, Lutheran Community Care.
Building Family Opportunities
Building Family Opportunities is a voluntary employment program with a focus of breaking the cycle of intergenerational joblessness. The team work with families in the Playford area to address barriers that prevent them from participating in employment. Barriers to workforce participation may be vocational or non vocational. In addition to this families are assisted to engage with the community, government organisations, businesses and employers to achieve employment outcomes. The team is multi-disciplinary in nature including Aboriginal workers and a community health nurse.
Early Intervention Services
Early Intervention Services incorporates counselling for individuals, couples, children and families, counselling and education services for men in families and relationship education for all family members. The aim of the program is to reduce family breakdown by strengthening relationships in families.
Family Counselling Team
The Family Counselling Team based in Salisbury, work with families where children or young people under 16 years are experiencing difficulties. Counsellors work in the family home with parents and/or children and young people, addressing issues such as family stresses, change, behavioural problems, conflict and dealing with loss.
Family Dispute Resolution Services
Family Dispute Resolution assists couples and family members who are separating/separated in resolving their disputes and arriving at arrangements in an environment of respectful mutual communication. Practitioners will work with parties who are often in states of high conflict, to assist them in resolving parenting issues, through mediation and counselling. Central to this service is a child inclusive approach.
Family Relationship Counselling
Family Relationship Counselling is offered through a number of sites by teams across the metropolitan area and the South East region. All family members are supported through this program including children and young people and a range of issues affecting individual and family functioning can be addressed through counselling.
Family Relationship Education & Skills Training
Family Relationship Education & Skills Training provides opportunities for individuals, couples and families to build life giving connections to sustain them. Programs are child focused to promote healthy outcomes for future generations.
Family Support Drought Response Team
Family Support Drought Response Team assists individuals, families and communities, through counselling, group work and community forums, affected by changing weather patterns and the effects of drought in the Murray Mallee and Upper South East regions.
Family Wellbeing Support
Family Wellbeing Support provides a range of support including counselling for individuals supporting a family member with mental health issues. There is a special focus on working with Indigenous groups, culturally and linguistically diverse groups and young people aged 16-25 years across the Murray Bridge, Karoonda East Murray, the Coorong, Southern Mallee and Mid Murray council areas. Group work incorporating family relationships is also provided within schools and community venues.
Intensive Support Playgroups (Aboriginal)
Intensive Support Playgroups Program (Aboriginal) – Po:rlar Ka:ngkun Tainkuwalun (Children Laughing and Playing) is located in the Murray Bridge region and provides opportunities for families with young children to meet and play. A family worker provides additional support for families as appropriate and requested. This can include home visits, support for health appointments, referral to services, advocacy and support with housing and accommodation. The program also includes visits from speech therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and elders and others for storytime and craft. Playtimes visit Kalparrin, Murray Bridge, Raukkan and Meningie, and various other locations and events as requested by the communities.
Keeping Childen Connected
Keeping Children Connected is a Communities for Children activity with an early intervention and prevention focus for families with children 12 years and under. The program seeks to build family capacity to support children’s involvement in school and education and works closely with schools and families in the Callington, Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend and Mannum areas.
Kids in Focus
Kids in Focus is a recently funded early intervention family focussed component of the wider National Drug Strategy. Kids in Focus focuses on supporting families with alcohol and other drug problems through providing intensive support to family members, assisting parents to parent more effectively, supporting their children and building resilience. Kids in Focus is a home based program which uses the Parenting Under Pressure model in addition to a variety of attachment based therapeutic interventions. The service operates out of Salisbury and covers the Northern metropolitan region along the Gilles Plains to Gawler corridor. In addition to the home visiting scheme Kids In Focus operates an Advice Line for Service Providers and a Kids in Focus website for the general public.
Men & Family Relationships
Men & Family Relationships Services engages men toward building enriching connections with their families and their community. The goals of this program are to assist men in building and maintaining healthy relationships and providing strategies to assist in problem solving. Counselling, group work and community events are the services offered through this program.
Mentor Services
Centacare Mentoring Services (CMS) provides one on one and group based outreach support to young people aged 12–24 years across the Adelaide metropolitan area. The program aims to address a broad range of key issues and barriers and develop positive relationships outside the family unit through a range of structured activities.
Mobile Family Connections
Mobile Family Connections utilises the ‘Bilby Bus’ to provide ‘street level’ play experiences for families in the southern suburbs. The program aims to also provide information about community resources and link families to services.
Natural Fertility Services
Natural Fertility Services offers instruction to couples in the use of a safe, natural and reliable method of Natural Family Planning, and assistance for people wishing to understand and manage their fertility. It also offers Family Life Education programs to schools and other community groups, in the areas of sexuality, relationships, fertility awareness, contraception and STI’s.
Northern Parent Resource Program
Northern Parent Resource Program offers a home visiting service to parents and families to enhance and develop parenting skills while supporting them toward developing positive relationships in a safe and caring environment. Parenting courses are conducted at schools and community venues in the Salisbury and Playford areas. Volunteers are recruited, trained and supported in providing a mobile crèche service for parenting groups and community agencies.
Northern Playgroups
Northern Playgroups operates out of Ingle Farm Family Hub and provides intensive supported playgroups for targeted groups including African families and vulnerable families. Home visiting around play and parenting is also offered. The program also supports the sustainability of quality community led playgroups in the Salisbury Communities for Children by providing mentoring and workshops around early childhood.
Parenting Peer Support
Parenting Peer Support is an early intervention program which promotes the wellbeing of children and their families through encouraging strong family relationships and functioning. Group education programs support parents and carers in their relationships with their babies, toddlers and children. Courses are delivered across metropolitan Adelaide and are generally free of charge.
Regional Dispute Resolution
Regional Dispute Resolution is based in our Mount Gambier office offering services throughout the South East of South Australia, providing community education, mediation and conciliation.
Reunification
Reunification provides a range of services to birth families whose children are in Alternative Care. These services are provided in the home and referrals are only received from Families SA. Reunification is the planned process of reconnecting children in Alternative Care with their families by means of a variety of services and supports to help each child and family to achieve and maintain, at any given time, their optimal level of reconnection.
School Counselling
School Counselling in partnership with the Catholic Education Office provides counselling for students at a range of Catholic primary schools in the metropolitan and Lower South East, Berri, Renmark, Loxton and Barmera regions. Counsellors are based between 1-2 days at each of the 21 schools currently using this service.
Sun Dancing - CSA Counselling
Sun Dancing - CSA Counselling is provided by specialist workers for children and young people under 18 years and families in the Salisbury and Playford region.
Targeted Early Intervention Services
Targeted Early Intervention Services is a state wide initiative of the South Australian Government that comes under the ‘Stronger Families, Safer Children’ Program. The service incorporates practical, therapeutic and structured in-home support focussing on parenting skill development, relationship and life skills training, attachment interventions and strengths based parenting approaches. The program supports children and families in the early stages of their contact with the statutory child protection system by providing timely, appropriate interventions which ensure safety and wellbeing.
Valuing Fatherhood
Valuing Fatherhood is a Communities for Children activity with an early intervention and prevention focus for families with children 12 years and under, across the Callington, Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend and Mannum area. This program seeks to build men’s capacity within their families so that their experience of fatherhood is enriching for themselves and their families. In addition the program also provides support for men who do not live with their families to support them to have a productive and meaningful role in the lives of their children.
Wandana Community Centre
Wandana Community Centre situated in Gilles Plains, offers a range of low cost or free services, social, recreational and adult education activities for members of the local community, particularly those people experiencing disadvantage. The Centre works with new arrivals and refugees as well as long term residents of the area and has a strong connection to the local Muslim community. A strong volunteer team assists in delivering a range of programs.
Walking Together
Walking Together in partnership with Fraser Park Primary School addresses relationship and parenting skills within families with young children. Support is provided through parenting and life skills courses and sessions and also through one to one counselling.
Wodli - Home Advice
Wodli - HOME Advice staff members, based in Salisbury, work in partnership with Centrelink with accountability to the Indigenous community, offering a holistic early intervention service to families at risk of homelessness.