Child, Family and Kin

    For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, maintaining connection to family and culture is integral to their identity, as well as their social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. We recognise that wherever possible children are best placed in their family home, and we work extremely hard alongside families to keep them strong, safe and together.


    Our work is holistic and integrated, and draws upon the strengths of Aboriginal family and community structures and cultural systems. From early intervention to crisis support, we aim to empower families and their communities, and acknowledge the fundamental right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities to control decision making processes around the care and protection of their children 


    We are passionate about driving systemic reform in Child Protection across the Northern Territory, and we remain strongly committed to advocating for the needs of children, their families and communities whenever necessary, to ensure that their voices are heard and that systems genuinely respond to their needs. 


    Our locally-developed comprehensive Family and Kin Care Model, ‘ Children Safe, Family Together ’ has been formally adopted by the Northern Territory Government, who have committed to implementing it in full over the next five years. 


    Our Child and Family programs include:

     

     

    Family Support Service (FSS)

    Tangentyere Family Support Service (FSS) is a culturally responsive, trauma-informed and child-centred program for Aboriginal Families with children aged 0-18 years living in Alice Springs. Our objective is to ensure children are safe, caregivers are strong, and families are together. We work alongside families, Elders, kin carers, and community to build safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive. The service aims to strengthen parenting capacity, increase individual and family resilience, and support families to realise their hopes for their children.


    The service is voluntary, and works from a strengths-based approach, acknowledging and celebrating the skills, knowledge, history, wisdom, and connections of Aboriginal families living in Alice Springs. We work in a way that promotes safety, trust, choice, empowerment and connection.



    Family and Kin Program

    Our Family and Kin Care program, which started in 2018, was the first of its kind in the Northern Territory, and has grown from strength to strength.  

    Family and Kin Care is formally recognised across all Australian jurisdictions as the preferred placement option for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The right of a child who has been removed from their home to be placed with a member of their family network whenever safe to do so is enshrined in legislation as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP).  
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    Safe Houses

    We are currently the only Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation that is providing Out of Home Care (OOHC) residential services to children in the Northern Territory. We operate two ‘Safe Houses’ in Alice Springs that provide short to medium term care for children who are under the Care and Protection of the Minister.  

    These Safe Houses are more than just places to live. They provide the opportunity for restorative care by fostering a sense of safety and belonging, building a child’s confidence and self-esteem and promoting pride in their culture. When a child resides at one of our Safe Houses they will experience high quality care and nurturing relationships that focus on reducing the impact of trauma, care that restores their sense of safety and wellbeing. We recognise connection to family, language and culture as integral to a child’s identity, and have an extremely strong commitment to both maintaining and strengthening such connections wherever possible for every child in our care.  
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    ‘Nothing is more important than the safety of children’
    ‘Nothing is more important than the safety of children’