Children's Contact Services
What is a Children's Contact Service?
Sometimes after family separation, making arrangements for you, or the other parent, to spend time with your children can be stressful or frustrating to achieve.
Family separation can be a highly emotional experience and it is important that your children are shielded from witnessing parental conflict and abuse.
A Children's Contact Service aims to provide a safe, neutral, child focused environment in which arrangements for children to spend time with their parent can occur.
Why Do People Use the Children's Contact Service?
The Service provides an opportunity for children to have a relationship with both parents, while at the same time protecting the children from behaviours that could be stressful.
Many families use the Service to avoid continual conflict between the parents during the exchange of the children.
The Contact Service environment assures parents that the child is in a safe environment during a supervised visit.
Where there has been a long period of separation, use of the Service enables a relationship between a child and visiting parent to be re-established and built upon.
What Does the Children's Contact Service Offer?
Changeovers
The aim of Changeovers is to avoid unnecessary conflict and stress for children and their parents. Parents are not required to come into physical contact with each other, and the children are protected from witnessing arguments between their parents.
Supervised Visits
Supervised visits occur in a child-focused environment which is warm, friendly and safe.
Off Site Supervised Visits
Off site Supervised Visits occur at the discretion of the Case Manager after a full assessment.
About Our Staff
Our Case Managers are highly qualified, professional staff who are experienced in working with children, and have a good knowledge of the problems associated with post separation difficulties.
Case Managers work with families towards resolving difficult issues around arrangements for spending time with children.
The team has both male and female staff that are sensitive to a diversity of family backgrounds and special needs.
How Does the Children's Contact Service Work?
If parents require either our facilitated changeover or supervised visitation service, they need to telephone the nearest service to arrange for an appointment.
Both parents will be individually interviewed in order to complete an Intake Assessment form.
At the interview, parents can clarify matters of concern and discuss what problems need to be resolved.
The service commences when families have come to an agreement and all of the selection criteria for eligibility have been met.
The Case Managers will continue to work with families regarding their arrangements for spending time with the children, with a view to long term resolution where possible.
Are There Any Costs Involved When Using The Service?
The costs applicable for the service is discussed at the Intake Interview, taking into account an individuals own personal circumstances.
Generally the following fees apply:
Locations
We have services available in the following locations throughout Western Australia :
Joondalup
East Perth
Albany
Bunbury
What are the Hours of Operation?
Supervised visits and changeovers are available in all locations all day Saturdays, and on Sunday afternoons.
Weekday Changeover Service is available during office hours.
Contact your nearest location for individual operating hours and further details.
The Anglicare Children's Contact Services are joint projects of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), and the Federal Attorney General's Department.