Hundreds more at-risk families and children in Adelaide’s north will receive early support to remain safely together at home thanks to a new team of social workers now on the ground providing services.

More than 20 staff have started in the northern metro area, with the new team to support around 250 additional families a year across the inner northern suburbs — working with up to 600 children of all ages from pre-birth to 18 years.

The expanded Intensive Family Services program — part of more than $30 million in funding to boost early intervention services in SA — will ensure more families receive the help they need sooner to stay together.

How the program helps families

Led by the Department of Human Services (DHS) Safer Family Services, the team focuses on improving parenting skills, household management, service access and school attendance, as well as offering other practical support like financial assistance and transport.

This targeted approach aims to keep children and parents together, prevent the high cost of out-of-home care and provide a more responsive system to better address concerns about child safety and wellbeing. These families experience deeply complex issues like poverty, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma and substance misuse.

The program’s expansion builds on the state government’s response to the child protection system review recommendations by Mal Hyde and Kate Alexander, amid growing demand on services.

Recruitment efforts continue

About 60 new social workers will be hired as part of the new funding, as DHS continues to recruit staff to join the inner north team. If you’re interested in improving children’s lives and helping families achieve change, visit our Safer Family Services careers page.

Families entering the DHS family support programs are identified through SA Health, Department for Education and Department for Child Protection.

Early intervention to achieve better outcomes is a state government priority, with one-in-three children in SA notified within the child protection system by age 18.

For information about how to support a child or family that you might be worried about, visit the Adults Supporting Kids website.