This Call for Submission document has been prepared to assist organisations in preparing and lodging submissions to deliver therapeutic foster care in Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s (the Department) Division.

The Department is seeking suitably qualified and experienced service providers to deliver therapeutic foster care across Victoria.

The successful service provider(s) are expected to deliver all elements outlined in Section 2 of this document. Prospective service providers should clearly specify the location and the number of targets they are applying for in their submission in Part C: Submission.

The successful provider(s) are required to be registered with the Social Services Regulator to deliver therapeutic foster care in Victoria.

This call for funding submission process will occur concurrently with call for funding submission processes across the other three Operational Divisions. Prospective organisations interested in delivering therapeutic foster care across multiple Operational Divisions are required to tailor and submit separate submissions for each Operational Division, noting that the same or similar content may be used to respond to common criteria across the separate applications. 

Region:

Targets in this procurement are available in three of four South Areas being: Bayside Peninsula, Inner Gippsland and Southern Melbourne.

Outcomes and objectives

The key outcomes intended from this program are for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and young people to experience a high quality therapeutic and evidence-based model of care that supports them to recover from trauma.

The primary objectives of the therapeutic foster care program are:

• to provide a strong trauma informed and therapeutic focus in the delivery of foster care placements

• to support children and young people build resilience, improve coping mechanisms and support their emotional and social functioning

• to support and resource carers to establish and maintain a stable, loving and nurturing relationship with the child or young person

• to support placement principles for children and young people which include return to family networks when safe to do so and continued focus on exit planning.