Family Services
OVENS MURRAY FAMILY SERVICES PROGRAM – PRE-BIRTH TO 17 YEARS
Family Service programs assist children, young people and their families to promote change, working in partnership with families.
Family Services can provide support to families with children and young people from pre-birth up to and including 17 years of age, who reside in the local government areas of Alpine, Benalla, Indigo, Mansfield, Towong, Wangaratta, and Wodonga.
Families that are referred for Family Services support will be allocated a Family Services Practitioner. Family Service practitioners work with family members to improve outcomes, safety and development of children, young people and their families.
Family Services Practitioners work alongside families toward identified goals that will support them to thrive in the future.
What does Family Services do?
regular in-home support, outreach and office-based visits
working with you and your children under a whole-of-family approach
delivering parenting programs tailored to your child’s age and each family’s individual needs
supporting the development of boundaries, responses and parenting strategies
strengthening family relationships, including those with your child
assisting you to reflect and meet new challenges as they arise
helping you assess the various services involved with your family to ensure everyone is working together
assisting your family to identify and link with specialist services where needed
supporting your family to link with your community and enjoy positive experiences
How to Access
Family Services is available free to families and is a voluntary program.
Families can self-refer or be referred by community groups, family, friends or agencies.
Refer by contacting The Orange Door Ovens Murray on 1800 271 157 or by email to oma@orangedoor.vic.gov.au
Providers
Benalla Family Services
Gateway Health Family Services
Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga
Junction Support Services
Mansfield Shire Family Services
Upper Murray Family Care (UMFC) Family Services
work in Alpine, Benalla, Indigo, Mansfield, Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga
OVENS MURRAY FAMILY SERVICES PRE-BIRTH TO 3 YEARS
The Enhance Maternal Child Health (EMCH) program provides an outreach service, led and primarily delivered by MCH nurses. It is focused on achieving improved outcomes for infants, children, mothers and their families who are experiencing a period of increased needs, and who could benefit from targeted actions and interventions. The program also supports parent-child interactions be providing more focused and intensive MCH support when parents are experiencing significant early parenting difficulties. The program may also work to address parent or family risk factors that affect child development or the capacity of the family, such as parent emotional wellbeing and family violence.
Families must meet three key requirements to be considered for entry in the EMCH program: families receiving the service must have as the primary referral focus a child aged less than 3 years; families must have two or more vulnerability risk factors and the EMCH program must be able to respond effectively to provide interventions and support.
How to Access
Family Service is available free to families and is a voluntary program. Families can self-refer or be referred by community groups, family, friends or agencies.
Refer by contacting The Orange Door Ovens Murray on 1800 271 157 or by email to oma@orangedoor.vic.gov.au
Provider
Wodonga Council's Enhanced Maternal and Child Health Program
work in Wodonga LGA only
OVENS MURRAY FAMILY SERVICES PRE-BIRTH TO 4 YEARS
The Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC) offers the Parenting Support Program, a home-based, intensive parenting skills development initiative. This program is designed to provide a flexible intervention framework aimed at enhancing the parenting skills of families with children aged 0 to 48 months. It includes a specialized home visiting Sleep and Settling Program, complemented by home-based visits and phone contact.
The QEC Parenting Support Program recognises that each family’s needs are unique. By offering flexible interventions, it tailors its support to the specific requirements of families with young children. This ensures that parents receive guidance and assistance precisely when they need it.
The program is available to parents with children aged 0 to 4 years, with a primary focus on children aged under 4 years. It serves families residing in the Indigo, Towong, Wangaratta, and Wodonga areas, extending a helping hand to those in need of parenting guidance and support during the crucial early years of childhood.
How to Access
Family Service is available free to families and is a voluntary program. Families can self-refer or be referred by community groups, family, friends or agencies.
Refer by contacting The Orange Door Ovens Murray on 1800 271 157 or by email to oma@orangedoor.vic.gov.au
Provider
Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC)
work in Indigo, Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga LGAs
Family Violence Child Safety Team
The team supports children and families impacted by or living in family violence situations. It empowers and supports them to create meaningful change in their lives, recover, and stay safe. The team works with children and families to create safety plans for home, school, access visits, or any situation where children may become unsafe, as well as healing the parent-child relationship after trauma resulting from family violence.
The Family Violence Child Safety Team offers group work programs for parents and carers of children who have been impacted by Family Violence and information sessions to community members to help build their capacity to respond to children who have experienced family violence.
How to Access
To contact the Family Violence Child Safety practitioners please email fvcst@umfc.com.au or phone (02) 60558000
Provider
UMFC
work in Alpine, Benalla, Indigo, Mansfield, Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga LGAs