Children, Youth and Families Preferred Providers

What we do

The Children, Youth and Families (CYF) Preferred Providers are a group of non-government organisations, including Aboriginal and Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). These organisations support people involved with, or at risk of becoming involved with, the ACT’s child protection system.

Preferred Providers support children, young people, families, and carers by matching them with services that give them the help they need, when they need it, in the way that works for them.

The Preferred Providers panel is a part of our reform to child and family services and is the first of its kind for the ACT.

It is a direct response to the kind of support options our community has asked us for.

Preferred Providers will see people involved with these complex systems better supported to change their lives through improved connections, experiences, and services to meet their needs.

Support services and Preferred Providers

Preferred Providers will work together to help children, young people, families, and carers.

They will deliver therapeutic and culturally safe services in:

• sustaining families (family preservation, restoration, and intensive family support)
• kinship care
• foster care
• after care (extended support for young people transitioning to adulthood)
• alternate care
• supported contact and transport arrangements
• functional family therapy in Youth Justice.

A phased start

Not all Preferred Providers will begin delivering services at the same time. There is a phased approach to ensure a smooth transition of services for children, young people, families, and carers over time.

How my organisation can apply to become a Preferred Provider

We may run another Preferred Providers panel procurement in the future to secure additional providers or services. We will do this through Procurement ACT.

How Preferred Providers are selected

Procurement for the CYF Preferred Providers panel is through an open tender process with the intent to engage providers with an existing footprint in the ACT or who deliver similar services in other jurisdictions and want to establish services in the ACT. Members are selected through a comprehensive evaluation and negotiation process.

How to talk to children

Refer to our Information for young people page.

More information for carers

You can download more information for carers [PDF 231KB].

The CYF Preferred Providers is a group of new service providers, including an Aboriginal and Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO), that offer support services for people involved with, or at risk of becoming involved with, the ACT’s child protection system.

These Preferred Providers ensure children, young people, their families, and carers get the help they need, when they need it, in the way that works for them.

These new Preferred Providers work together to make sure they are responsive to the needs of each family.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations

We are committed to addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care. Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) were encouraged to respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP) to ensure we deliver culturally safe and appropriate services to children, young people, families and carers involved with, or at risk of becoming involved with, the ACT’s child protection system.

One of the Preferred Providers is an ACCO, Yerrabi Yurwang. More ACCOs will be encouraged and supported to apply for future CYF Preferred Provider agreements.

Services

Our new Preferred Providers will deliver the following child protection and out of home care services that are therapeutic and culturally safe.

Sustaining Families

This provides family preservation, restoration, and intensive family support services for children in care and at risk of entry to care.

Kinship Care

This provides care for children and young people living or placed with family or a significant person on a temporary or long-term basis. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, kin may be a relative of the child or young person or someone who shares a cultural or community connection.

Foster Care

This provides care for children and young people placed with an authorised carer/s who is not related to them in a family-based environment on a temporary, short term or long-term basis.

After Care

This provides extended support for young people and adults aged from 18 up to 25 years who have experienced out of home care.

Alternative Care

This provides care for children and young people who are unable to live in foster or kinship care or therapeutic residential care and need specialised care.

Supported Contact and Transport Arrangements

This provides transport and supported contact services for children and young people aged 0 to 18 years (and their families) who are on interim orders living with kinship carers.

Functional Family Therapy – Youth Justice

This provides services for young people aged 11 to 17 years and their families where a young person has engaged in or is at risk of engaging in offending behaviour.

Reasons for the change

We made these changes to better help and care for children, young people and families. By working with multiple service providers, we can strengthen our delivery of diverse and inclusive services, including for:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• people with disability
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• LGBTIQA+ people.

Moving forward

The new preferred providers will be phased in slowly.

CYF, existing service providers, and new Preferred Providers are committed to working together to ensure children, young people, families, and carers continue to get the support they need.

For some families, where transition planning is required to a new Preferred Provider, this will be carefully thought through. We will collaborate closely with our existing service providers, our new preferred service providers, children, young people, families, carers and staff.

This will ensure continuity of services for the children, young people, families and carers we support.

Barnardos Australia (previously ACTTogether) and Uniting NSW.ACT will continue as Preferred Providers under the new arrangement.

Information for Carers interacting with new Preferred Providers

We are committed to working with you as carers and the children, young people and families you support as we transition to new arrangements. There will be more information about this process as transitions progress.

Any changes to existing arrangements will be managed on a case-by-case basis, with children, young people, families and you as carers, supported with information and opportunities to talk through any questions and concerns. There will be plenty of time and this will be a collaborative and carefully considered process with regular meetings and correspondence.

What you need to do

We want you to feel confident about what these changes will mean for you and the children, young people and families you support.

There might be some shift of providers for some carers over time, however this will be slow and carefully considered. If this impacts you, you will be contacted separately and will have plenty of notice.

How to stay updated

CYF will continue to engage with Carers ACT, Barnardos (previously ACT Together) and the Carer Wellbeing Joint Committee to understand carers preferences for information about the Preferred Providers.

You may be provided with updates via newsletters, information sheets, emails, posted letters and information sessions via the agency that supports you.

If you have any questions about the Preferred Providers or services you can send your questions. This can inform the updates we provide.

Contact us

For more information, please contact CBRStepsUp@act.gov.au