We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as traditional owners of the lands on which we walk, live and raise our children.
We pay our respects to traditional owners past, present, future and any Aboriginal people present here today. We acknowledge the importance of children being raised with connections to culture, community and family.
View our Acknowledgement of Country
For families in the Gippsland, Hume and Southern catchments, we have an intensive, specialised program to support families during their pregnancy up until the child's 4th birthday, who are experiencing parenting difficulties where one or more risk factors are present.
The core aims of the program are to build on families’ strengths and to increase competence, confidence, and enjoyment in their parenting roles.
Staff work in partnership with families to provide strategies and interventions based on individual family needs.
Referrals to this program are received via local Orange Door services.
This program services our Wodonga, Gippsland and Southern catchments.
This is an intensive service for families experiencing vulnerabilities during pregnancy up until the child's 4th birthday. Priority is given to families who are in the last trimester of pregnancy or the postpartum period.
The program offers a flexible service model to those experiencing significant parenting challenges and aims to strengthen caregiving and prevent entry into the Child Protection system.
The program provides specialised early parenting education, coaching, and support with particular attention to enhancing the parent/child attachment and relationship and promoting child safety, whilst meeting physical and developmental milestones.
The program works closely with other services to increase families’ linkages to their local community, promoting long-term, sustainable support.
Referrals to this program are received via local Orange Door services.
The Parenting Plus Program is a flexible program that supports families in their own homes.
It provides families with early parenting education, including sleep and settling strategies, feeding, play, age-appropriate patterns and routines.
Practitioners work in partnership with the family, supporting parents and carers to identify individual goals and to create a personalised child and family care plan.
The program offers a flexible delivery of service that is tailored to each family’s unique circumstances and includes home visits and telehealth options.
Specialised Interventions - Stronger Families is an intensive home visiting program for families with children aged from newborn until their 4th birthday.
Families referred to this program are enrolled in a family preservation and unification response program with QEC or a partner agency.
Families are allocated a case manager from one of our partner agencies and have access to specialised services through a flexible model that works to their unique needs.
QEC works closely in partnership with 3 leading agencies: Kildonan, Uniting and Take Two Berry Street to help deliver these services.
This program works within a care team of professionals to deliver parenting support to families engaged in the Family Preservation and Reunification Response Program.
These specialised intervention programs cover Hume, Merri-bek, and NEMA (North East Melbourne Area), as well as families living in Casey, Cardinia or the Dandenong areas.
The Family Preservation and Reunification Response (FPRR) services our Southern and Gippsland catchments.
The program services families during pregnancy up until the child's 6th birthday, who have been referred for parenting support by Child Protection.
Support is offered in the home or a community setting, promoting strong families with children who are safe, healthy, and thriving.
Referrals can be received through local Child Protection navigators.
To ensure we’re providing the highest standard of care and maximising our impact across the state, QEC partners with a number of organisations and programs.
Early Childhood Development Worker Program (ECD)
This program aims to strengthen the partnerships between early years’ service providers, The Orange Door (TOD), and Family Services.
The program has two key objectives:
ForWhen
ForWhen is a national navigation service staffed by clinically trained, specialised health professionals. The service connects new and expecting parents and carers experiencing perinatal mental health issues to local support services in a timely manner.
For more information, visit Perinatal Depression & Anxiety Helpline - PND | ForWhen (forwhenhelpline.org.au)
MacKillop - Family Preservation and Reunification Response (FPRR)
We deliver the Family Preservation and Reunification Response (FPRR) in partnership with MacKillop Family Services. QEC staff provide specialist early parenting support and case management to support families experiencing vulnerability in the Southern Metropolitan, Northern Metropolitan and Ovens Murray Regions.
For more information, visit Family Preservation and Reunification Response - DFFH Service Providers
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA)
VACCA supports culturally strong, safe and thriving Aboriginal communities. Together with the Aboriginal community, they design, develop and deliver programs that build on peoples’ strengths.
They understand intergenerational trauma, and that healing occurs in the context of developing relationships, connection to culture, community, and Country.
Their services are also open to support non-Aboriginal people with an Aboriginal family member, such as children or a partner.
VACCA delivers more than 75 programs across Victoria aligned to its Vision, Purpose and Principles. For more information, please visit Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency | VACCA