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

Operations Divisions

Services for the most vulnerable members of our community are delivered across four Operations Divisions: - North, South, East and West – and a Statewide Operations Division overseeing functions spanning across all regions. Operations Divisions manage funded services through our partners in community service organisations. This includes child protection, housing and client support, child and family services, disability supports, health protection and community wellbeing initiatives. In the event of emergencies, local staff on the ground are equipped to work with state partners to support a community to recover.

East Division

East Division services are delivered across four Areas, Inner Eastern Melbourne, Outer Eastern Melbourne, Goulburn and Ovens Murray, with each Area covering between three and seven local government areas (LGAs). The Division has an approximate population of 1.405 million people (source: Victoria in Future) and spans some 43,242 km2, from Camberwell in the inner east of Melbourne to the rural town of Corryong near the border with New South Wales, 460 km north-east of Melbourne.

Goulburn Area

Goulburn Area has a population of approximately 175,043 people* living in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Greater Shepparton, Mitchell, Moira, Murrindindi, and Strathbogie. These LGAs have diverse demographic and population profiles. The Area extends from the Northern metropolitan boundary, south of Wallan, to the Murray River on Victoria’s border.

The area is responsible for providing integrated departmental services to achieve positive client outcomes at a local level through operational programs including Child Protection and Client Support and Housing Services, and with the support of a broader community sector that includes funded agencies.

Goulburn Area has a strong strategic network to support and respond to community needs, including external service providers, local businesses, and other government agencies to ensure that local issues are understood, prioritised, and addressed.

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.