The Children’s Services Unit (CSU) celebrates the diversity in community and believes in providing families with opportunities.

Our programs work with individuals, families and children. We aim to build parenting capacity that is sustained long-term through the provision of family supports, therapeutic interventions, the development of parenting and relationship skills and connection to community resources.

We work with families to identify and harness their strengths, address challenges, and build confidence. The CSU offers a number of programs, from parenting groups and home visiting programs to family support services, targeted intervention, specialist dad support, family preservation, reunification and foster care.

• Dad’s Business

  Dad’s Business delivers a range of fathering activities in the Playford area in a no-pressure environment. Young dads meet with a skilled male worker to discuss their expectations, hopes, anxieties and build their knowledge around birth and early childhood development.

• Family Preservation Service

  Family Preservation works with families to address safety concerns and increase parenting capacity. Families of children aged up to 18 years who are experiencing challenges in their lives are supported to address lifestyle and other factors affecting the ability to parent.

• Targeted Intervention Service (Stronger Families)

  Stronger Families is a targeted intervention service that supports families with children aged 0-18 years in their home. Families with children where early child well-being or safety risk factors have been identified are provided with timely, individualised and culturally-sensitive interventions.

• Centacare Foster Care Program

  The Centacare Foster Care program provides out-of-home care placements for vulnerable children with complex needs aged 0-17 years of age who are unable to be placed in relative or kinship care or general foster care. The program supports the planned process of returning children from out-of-home care placements to the care of their birth families.

• National School Chaplaincy Program

  The National School Chaplaincy Program supports schools to nurture student well-being through pastoral care. Services are tailored to each school community's needs and are delivered by Centacare at Elizabeth and Murray Bridge.

• Centacare Reunification Service

  Reunification is a planned process of reconnecting children and young people in out-of-home care with their families. Centacare's Reunification Service helps families strengthen their relationships and improve family well-being of children, young people and parents.

• Kids in Focus

  Kids in Focus supports parents/carers who are misusing alcohol and/or other drugs (AOD). In addition to a range of child focused interventions, the service works to increase parenting capacity, build healthy relationships between parents and their children and provide safe family environments.