When individuals, children or families need child protection, family violence or sexual assault, disability, housing, family services or emergency recovery support, we aim to respond with services that are trauma-informed, culturally safe, accessible and responsive.
To achieve this, we will continue to:
- improve the consistency and quality of our services
- listen to, act on and elevate the voices and experiences of clients
- strengthen oversight and regulation to protect service users.
We will also continue to prioritise our statutory duties to protect children and young people in Victoria.
Over the next four years, we will:
- strengthen information sharing and coordination between systems to improve service experience and outcomes for people who access multiple government services, including by:
- supporting the progression of Better, Connected Care across government, and statewide implementation of the Child Link Register
- continuing to embed the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework and the Family Violence Information Sharing reform
- strengthening coordination across the family, sexual violence and broader service systems
- strengthen accountability and oversight to keep service users safe from harm, including by implementing the independent Social Services Regulator by 1 July 2024
- improve and expand supports for service users, including by:
- reforming the homelessness response to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring, and that supports are flexible, tailored and culturally safe
- increasing therapeutic supports in all residential care homes and modernising home-based care
- delivering tailored supports to young people transitioning from care services, including through Better Futures and Home Stretch
- refining program and service design so victim-survivors of family violence and sexual assault receive person-centred support where, when and how they need it
- delivering specialist forensic disability support and treatment including facilitating safe, community based housing for people with cognitive disability leaving the justice system or at risk of reoffending
- supporting coordination and assertive outreach for people with complex needs experiencing significant service gaps who are at risk of harm to themselves or others
- considering responses to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Review and the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, to improve outcomes for Victorians with disability
- design and implement a redress scheme and Civil Claims Restorative Engagement Program to provide redress and formal acknowledgment of harm caused and lifelong impacts of abuse in institutional care in Victoria.