Family Support Team
This team offers information and assistance on parenting, family relationship work, referrals, budgets, educational issues, Centrelink difficulties, children at risk matters, child behaviour and other issues which arise in families. Workers can provide assistance at the centre in the form of counselling and case management as well as practical in-home assistance.
The team comprises four distinct roles:
- Generalist Family Worker- Works to assist families where dependant children are involved in a family setting where there is crisis and stress
- Specialist Family Worker- Works with families where there are complexities in the family setting such as mental illness or disabilities, and where children are placed under stress and crisis.
- Arabic Family Worker- Works with families that speak the Arabic language and there is stress and crisis within the family.
- Aboriginal Family Worker- Works with families who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and there is stress and crisis within the family.
This service is free of charge.
MAKING A REFERRAL
In order to make a referral simply call the appropriate worker on the numbers listed below. Anyone can make the referral and services are free of charge. Please note that workers can offer carry a large caseload and as such waiting lists for services may sometimes apply.
Generalist Family Worker Ph (02) 9607 9135 Email. joan@cafs.com.au
Specialist Family Worker Ph (02) 9607 5649 Email. nora@cafs.com.au
Arabic Family Worker Ph (02) 9608 1337 Email. therese@cafs.com.au
Aboriginal Family Worker Ph (02) 9607 9503 Email. paula@cafs.com.au
Please use the answering machine if the phone is unattended and the staff will return your call as soon as possible.
Adolescent & Family Counselling Team
The AFC Team offers confidential counselling to adolescents aged 12-18 years and their families who are experiencing conflict that has, or is likely to cause breakdown within the family. We also see young people aged 18-25 where there are issues of homelessness.
Some of the reasons why adolescents and families may access this service include:
- Family conflict
- Family crisis or change (e.g. separation or divorce, becoming a blended family, etc)
- Behavioural problems (e.g. defiance, anger issues, acting out, etc)
- School problems (e.g. truanting, suspension)
- Coping with trauma or abuse
- Sexuality issues
- Emotional issues ( e.g. anxiety, poor motivation, withdrawal)
- Homelessness issues
Each session lasts for approximately one hour and may be individual sessions with an adolescent or parent, or a session involving the entire or part of the family. All of our counsellors are qualified in Psychology, Social Work or related disciplines, and have extensive experience working with adolescents and families.
This service is free of charge
MAKING A REFERRAL
In order to make a referral simply call the AFC team on 9826 8077. The service provides counselling services to the Liverpool, Fairfield and Bankstown local government areas. The service is free of charge.
Please use the answering machine if the phone is unattended and the staff will return your call as soon as possible.
Heckenberg Out Of School Hours Care
The Heckenberg OOSH program is run out of Heckenberg Primary School and is auspiced under CAFS. The service provides before and after school care to children of 5-12 years of age as follows:
- Before school care runs from 6:30am to 9:00am.
- After school care runs from 3pm to 6pm
- Vacation is available however booking are essential as places are limited.
For information regarding costs and booking details, please call the team on 9608 3841 or 0411 161 011.
The centre is located at Heckenberg Primary School, Jindabyne St, Heckenberg.
