Supporting children’s families (referral pathways)
| Who | What | Age focus | Contact details and further information |
| Child FIRST |
Child FIRST ensures that vulnerable children, young people and their families are linked effectively into relevant services and may be the best way of connecting children, young people and their families to the services they need. Factors which affect a child's safety, stability or development are:
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All ages |
Wyndham 1300 775 160
A step by step guide to making a report to Child Protection or Child FIRST http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/582591/flowchart-mandatory-reporting-27-5-10.pdf |
| Child Protection |
Meeting the needs of children and making sure they are safe in the family is a shared responsibility between individuals, the family, the community and the government. When adults caring for children do not follow through with their responsibilities, are abusive or exploit their positions of power, then it is the child protection system that becomes responsible for taking action. The Victorian Child Protection Service is specifically targeted to those children and young people at risk of harm or where families are unable or unwilling to protect them. The main functions of child protection are to:
Mandatory reporting of child abuse Some professionals such as doctors, nurses, police and school teachers are legally obliged to report suspected child abuse. In addition, any person who believes on reasonable grounds that a child needs protection can make a report to the Victorian Child Protection Service. It is the Child Protection worker’s job to assess and, where necessary, further investigate if a child or young person is at risk of harm. |
All ages |
Child Protection (Business Hours) Child Protection After Hours Service Victorian Police – 000 A step by step guide to making a report to Child Protection or Child FIRST http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/582591/flowchart-mandatory-reporting-27-5-10.pdf Child Protection After Hours ServiceTel: 13 12 78 Child Protection After Hours Service Tel: 13 12 78 |
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| Allied Health Services | An allied health practitioner is a tertiary trained professional who works with others in the health-care team to support a person's medical care. Examples include physiotherapists, speech pathologists, podiatrists, dietitians, and social workers. |
All ages |
IPC Health Western Health – Children’s Allied Health Services (CAHS) The Children's Allied Health Service (CAHS) can be found in the private consulting suites across the road from Sunshine Hospital at 147 Furlong Road, St Albans. Children can be referred to Outpatient Allied Health Clinics for specific single discipline services including:
A Multidisciplinary Screening Assessment where there are developmental concerns, or An Autism Assessment if Autism Spectrum Disorder is a concern. Please note: where there are concerns about an Autism Spectrum Disorder, these MUST be discussed with the family prior to making a referral. A multidisciplinary assessment is an assessment that is completed by one person in the team meeting with you, as the child's parent and asking questions about all of the different areas of your child's development. There is no cost for our services. Central Intake Coordinator, Children's Allied Health Services, |
| Preschool Field Officer Service |
The Preschool Field Officer (PSFO) service helps Educators to provide for the meaningful access and participation of all children with additional needs in their funded kindergarten program. They do this by actively building their capacity, knowledge and skills. The PSFO service is funded by both the Department of Education (DET) and Wyndham City Council, who manage and deliver the service with no additional cost to families. Who is the target group for the PSFO service? 3 or 4 year old children with additional needs attending a government funded kindergarten program. This also includes children in receipt of Early Start Kindergarten funding who are attending a three-year old kindergarten program delivered by a degree qualified early childhood educator. Who are Children with Additional Needs? The PSFO program defines children with additional needs as children in an education and care setting presenting with developmental concerns. Developmental concerns may be associated with any area of a child’s development, such as;
What does capacity building of early childhood educators mean? The PSFO capacity building approach recognises and respects the expertise and ongoing role of the early childhood educator in supporting children’s learning and development by supporting early childhood educators. Support may include:
Who can request support?
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3-5 Years Old In a funded Kindergarten program |
Telephone – 9742 8199 Email – psfo.service@wyndham.vic.gov.au Website links for more information – DET - https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/professionals/needs/Pages/psfo.aspx |