Working from Waihola to Clinton, our South Otago Child and Family Support Service team is overseen by a team leader and five experienced social workers/whānau workers.
We also have someone who co-ordinates the Strengthening Families process by organising meetings when multiple agencies are involved with a family. This gets everyone in the room at the same time so the family only has to tell their story once.
For more information, please see the South Otago Brochure
Our Family Start programme is a free and voluntary home visiting programme that provides support to expectant parents and parents of newborn and young children.
Our focus is the health, education, safety and development of the child and supporting parents to achieve their goals.
Family Start will help:
Our workers are committed to working alongside families advocating, affirming and supporting parents in making positive choices for themselves and their children.
For more information please see the Family Start Brochure, call 0800 FAM CARE or 03 418 2530.
Our Home-based Family Support service involves working with parents/caregivers who want to develop and strengthen their parenting skills and confidence so that their children are able to reach their full potential.
Our social workers visit families in their own homes to:
For more information, please see the Home-based Family Support brochure, call 0800 FAM CARE or 03 418 2530.
A free home-based service that assists families/whānau who have been affected by whānau/family violence. This service is driven by the family/whānau, our role is to support the whānau/family to move towards their dreams and aspirations. We work with the family to begin the process of developing a whānau/family plan, including developing a safety plan together. We identify whānau/family strengths and strengthen or build relationships within the whānau/family and other networks the family is in.
We co-ordinate Strengthening Families. This is a coordinated community approach that helps families reach their potential. At the heart of the Strengthening Families process is a family/whānau having trouble coping with life’s challenges. It is a family/whānau with strengths, but it also has issues that require the involvement of multiple agencies. Strengthening Families brings together to family and all the agencies that have a part to play in helping the family/whānau achieve its desired outcomes.
Please see the Strengthening Families website for more information.
A community-based justice process that offers victims of a crime an opportunity to participate in addressing the harm done, and what can be done realistically by the offender to put things right. All referrals are received through the Justice system.