The ACT Government is seeking community service providers to deliver out of home care and support services for children, young people, and families in the ACT. A tender proposal is now open.
The tender will establish a panel of providers to deliver culturally safe services for children, young people, families, and carers – including services for sustaining families, kinship care, foster care, after care and targeted supports (alternate care, supported contact and transport arrangements).
“We are looking beyond the statutory care system to provide more prevention and early support, strengthening families and helping more children and young people remain safe at home,” said Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Families and Community Services.
“This new approach will help transform how we work with the community sector to achieve better outcomes for children and families.
“Together, we will work to reshape the child protection and out of home care system and workforce.”
Last year, the ACT Government announced it would reform the service system to deliver diverse and inclusive services to children, young people, families, and carers, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and LGBTIQA+ people. This is set out in Next Steps for Our Kids – the ACT’s strategy to strengthen families and keep children and young people safe.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the panel was a critical step in the delivery of the new service system, and was developed in consultation with more than 200 experts across the community and government, along with people with lived experience, as part of the ACT Government’s reform of child and family services.
Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations are encouraged to make submissions through the tender process
“We are committed to transferring support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and families using these services to Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations,” said Minister Stephen-Smith.
“We acknowledge both the significant value these organisations bring to our community and the changes required to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in care.
“This procurement process has been designed to enable a flexible approach to the expansion of Aboriginal community controlled services over time, in addition to requiring mainstream organisations to be open to transitioning services to community control.”
Information about the tender is available at: www.tenders.act.gov.au/tender/view?id=255346
