Our services are available to whānau from a diverse range of backgrounds, aimed to restore their well-being and enhance their social resiliency.
Our kaimahi take a trauma-informed, non-judgemental, strength-based approach to help strengthen relationships between parents/caregivers and their tamariki.
We aim to educate whānau, develop their parenting skills while focusing on improving all challenges and encouraging intergenerational change, including health, children’s growth and development, learning and relationships.
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The Family Start programme offers free, voluntary home visits to support expecting parents and those with pēpi and tamariki (up to 2 years old).
You can self-refer through this website, by email or by calling us. You can also be referred by healthcare or education providers, legal professionals, or community workers.
Family Start empowers whānau to build a strong and positive future for their tamariki. Our focus is on the health, education, safety, and development of your tamaiti.
We achieve this by:
A dedicated Family Start worker will visit you regularly at home, starting with weekly visits. They'll get to know your whānau – you, your partner (if applicable), and your precious tamariki. Together, you'll explore your parenting strengths and identify areas where support might be helpful.
They will also help you get the right health care for your tamaiti, support you to keep your pēpi safe, explain how your pēpi is growing and changing at different ages, and help you work out what you want to achieve, change or improve. Your kaimahi will also make a plan with you to help you get there, offering advice and ideas to help you solve problems.
Read the Family Start brochure for more info.
"Cathy would visit me in my home every week and gave me exercises to help me bond with my baby [...] all of these exercises really helped me connect with my son before he was born"
Expectant parents and parents of newborn and young children qualify for Family Start. If this is you, you can self-refer using our contact form or get your healthcare professional or community worker to refer you.
You can self-refer by calling us or using the contact form on our website. You can also ask your healthcare professional or community worker to refer you directly. We have a downloadable form you can email or print out if you'd like to refer this way too.
Our Family Start programme is free and voluntary, meaning that you can withdraw at any point with zero consequences.
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Our Home-based Family Support programme provides personalised guidance in your own home, helping you build confidence and nuture the potential of your tamariki.
You can self-refer through this website, by email or by calling us. You can also be referred by healthcare or education providers, legal professionals, or community workers.
Our Home-based Family Support service works with parents and caregivers who want to develop and strengthen their parenting skills and confidence, so that their tamariki are able to reach their full potential.
Our social workers visit whānau in their own homes to:
Alongside this, we also aim to support other areas that impact on parenting:
We can support you with goals that you want to work on, as well as offer the Circle of Security Parenting Course one-on-one, in your home. At your place, at your pace.
Read the Home-based Family Support brochure for more info.
You can self-refer by completing the online form, calling us or using the contact form on the Contact Us page. You can also ask your healthcare professional or community worker to refer you directly. We have a downloadable form you can email or print out if you'd like to refer this way too.
A Social Worker will come visit you and your whānau weekly at your own home.
Our Home-based Family Support service is a short to medium term programme (around 6 to 9 months) for parents/ caregivers with tamariki and rangatahi aged up to 18 years.
Provision of care is an aspect of our Dunedin Home-based Family Support service. We aim to provide emergency, short-term, or respite care for children aged from birth to 17 years. Respite care is provided as part of a wider plan of support developed with the family.
You can self-refer through this website, by email or by calling us. You can also be referred by healthcare or education providers, legal professionals, or community workers.
One of the ways we can support whānau is by providing temporary voluntary care for children, organising respite and/or short-termcare for tamariki up to 17 years in the greater Dunedin area.
This service recognises that a regular planned break from parenting can provide a chance for someone to recharge so they can be the parent they want to be. There is an assessment process to determine whether care is the appropriate kind of support.
Whānau who receive respite care are engaged with support services, either our own or those from other organisations, and are actively working on making changes for their whānau so their tamariki can thrive. Respite dates are set in advance so they can be part of a support plan for your whānau. We regularly review our care plans to check in on how the placement is going for you and your child, and whether care is supporting the changes you want to make.
Our caregivers provide care in a variety of ways, including emergency/crisis care, respite care, and short-term care. Where possible, we can approve someone known to the child to be a “kinship caregiver” to provide care just for them. If this is not an option we may be able to find someone in our caregiver pool who can help.
All of our caregivers (including kinship caregivers) are required to undergo the following checks: Police check, Oranga Tamariki Check, Medical check, safety audit of their home, referee checks. These checks are updated every two years. They also undergo an interview and training prior to being approved as caregivers. Caregivers are supported by our Caregiver Liaison Social Worker.
A journey that profoundly impacted their lives, bringing immense rewards and strengthening their family bond
You can self-refer through the HBFS form (link) or contact one of the HBFS team leaders on 0800FAMCARE to do a referral over the phone. If you are working with another professional, they can also refer you to HBFS for temporary care.
Respite care may be suitable if you are not getting a regular break from parenting and you are finding it hard to manage, you are working with supports to help improve your whānau situation, and having a regular break would help you make the changes you want to make. There is an assessment process, and everyone’s situation is a little different. We need to ensure that care is in the best interests of your child. They need to be ok about going to respite care and we also may need to seek consent from the other guardian (if living separately) if it is appropriate and they are contactable.
Absolutely! If kinship care isn’t an option, we would see if there was anyone in our pool of caregivers that could help. If so, we would give you a little information about them to see if you and your child would like to meet the prospective caregiver. Your HBFS social worker would arrange a meeting at the caregiver’s home. After this meeting your worker would see if you, your child, and the caregiver want to go ahead with the placement. We may be able to offer a different caregiver if needed, although this is not always possible.
It is similar to packing your child’s bag for a sleepover with a friend: clothing for the period they will be there; toiletries; any medication they need; nappies/pull-ups if needed; if they have a special toy that they sleep with or favourite book or fidgets toys. Caregivers are provided with a small board payment to help with food costs, heating etc. Pick up and drop off arrangements are discussed as part of organising the care; often caregivers can help with transport if needed.
All of our care is voluntary. You can end a placement with 24 hours’ notice by letting your HBFS know.
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A community-based justice process that offers victims of a crime the opportunity to address the harm done, and what can be done realistically by the offender to put things right.
You can self-refer through this website, by email or by calling us. You can also be referred by healthcare or education providers, legal professionals, or community workers.
Restorative Justice refers to a process where those affected by an incident of wrongdoing come together in a safe and controlled environment, to share their feelings and opinions truthfully and resolve together how best to deal with its aftermath. The process is called restorative because it is concerned primarily with restoring the dignity and well-being of those harmed by the incident.
We have a contract with the Ministry of Justice and are the only provider in Otago to provide restorative justice services to the Dunedin and Alexandra Courts of Law.
When an offender has pleaded guilty or been found guilty in court, a judge decides if restorative justice should be explored. It is a voluntary process for both the offender and the victim. If the offender is willing to take part, the case will be assessed to see if it is suited to restorative justice. Then the victim will be contacted to ask if they are interested in talking about it with the facilitators.
All referrals to this service come through the court system or police diversion. To find out more about Restorative Justice call 0800 FAM CARE (03 477 0801) or enquire through this website using our contact form.
This service is voluntary, so it can be limited by how willing each party is to participate.
When an offender has pleaded guilty or been found guilty in court, a judge may direct if restorative justice should be explored. If both parties are willing to participate, they will meet separately with our trained facilitators. The facilitators will assess whether or not it is appropriate to continue with a meeting together.
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We have two Social Workers based in five Dunedin schools - Brockville, Carisbrook, Concord, Pine Hill and Bathgate Park. Social Workers in Schools is a free social work service for tamariki in the school and their whānau. It provides early assistance to help overcome barriers to a child’s academic success.
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