News From Western Sydney Community Forum
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(3 year project funded through Community Builders)
This project worker will work closely with the Aboriginal Services Capacity Building Project conducted for the Aboriginal Capacity Building Advisory Group (ACBAG) by Bradfield Nyland Group for the past two years, assisting them to implement its plan to address a range of issues for Aboriginal services. It will increase skills in management, submission-writing, advocacy, assist with partnerships and develop back office support which will all lead to better support for Aboriginal communities.
Applications close 5pm Monday 4th October 2010
WSCF offers:
Applicants must obtain an information package, containing job description and selection criteria on 02 9687 9669 or Email: wscf@wscf.org.au.
Interviews for this position are scheduled for Monday 11/10/2010.
WSCF would request the successful applicant to be available to attend its 2 day planning session on 26 & 27th October 2010.
NB: Applications must address the selection criteria to be considered.
A few agencies have contacted WSCF in confusion about this: The best information on this and other CSGP matters is on the Community Services website under frequently asked questions: http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/for_agencies_that_work_with_us/csgp_realignment/csgp_tender.html
Q) Do I need to tender for the funding I currently receive under CSGP if I am moving to Community Builders?
A) No. Service providers are not required to tender for funding they currently get under CSGP, or for the 20% alignment and one-off transition funding that existing CSGP service providers moving to the Community Builders program are to receive.
We received valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement (which we acted upon) from you last year and we would like to do this again in time for our 2010 Annual Report being on held on 9th November. The survey is only 3 questions and it would be great to get your feedback again on what sort of a job we are doing for you.
Please take the opportunity to have your say: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W2JLHQC
Date: 23/09/2010
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Venue: The Quarterdeck Function & Conference Centre, Penrith Swimming Pool, Station St, Penrith
The training is specifically targeted for community workers in Western Sydney and covers topics such as:
WSCF is supporting the development of the Western Sydney Car Pool project. Transport NSW has provided seed funding for this project to build on the work they did in the Northern Rivers. This Northern Rivers Carpool project has been running for over 1 year now and has over 550 members. You can find the website for them here: http://www.nrcarpool.org/.
We have employed Gillian Edwards, the person who managed the development of the Northern Rivers project, to continue with her work in Greater Western Sydney. The project works initially through large employers, such as the University, Local Governments, Government Departments and large business, to connect people who work together or near to each other and then works to connect to the broader community.
Q.What has been your career path to your current job?
My career path has been a rich tapestry of challenging and diverse positions that spread over a period of 10 years. It took me from Brisbane where I worked in public relations and fundraising to build a hospice for children with lifelong illnesses, and the Australian Red Cross where I advocated on behalf of people with intellectual disability for their rights to employment, to a small Aboriginal Community in Far North Queensland where I worked in youth development, the Northern Territory where I worked on a regional development project coordinating service delivery in the Barkly and working with at risk young people in Alice Springs, to the Sutherland Shire where I was the interim Executive Officer for a youth organisation with homelessness focus, before joining ACWA in 2008.
Q. What is your position within the community sector?
As the Deputy CEO and the Director of Policy and Membership at the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies, which is the peak body representing organisations providing services to children, young people and their families in NSW and the ACT, I am responsible for the following areas: policy, research, communications, partnerships, members support and policy related projects.
Q. What is the impact of “Keep Them Safe” strategy on the sector?
Keep Them Safe (KTS) brings challenges and opportunities to the sector. In many ways, the KTS strategy brings hope to a system that was drawing under its own weight. It is about working collaboratively and sharing resources and expertise to strengthening families and keeping children safe and well. It is about shifting resources to prevention and early intervention, and about the development of an integrated service model that would make it easier for families to seek and receive help. KTS enables service providers to be more responsive to client needs, to share.
Q. What are the major challenges for the sector in supporting KTS strategy?
Two of the major challenges are: culture change and sufficient resources.
There is a need for a culture change so that everyone takes greater responsibility for the clients they are seeing, a culture change to work more collaboratively together for the benefit of the clients.
There is also a need to increase investment in the sector in order to be able to invest more in early intervention and prevention, and address years of underfunding at a time when the needs of the clients is increasing.
Q. What kind of assistance the sector will require in implementing KTS strategy?
For KTS to succeed, the sector will need to understand how the system works under the new format. They need to understand the system as a whole and its components. There is a need for information sharing, training and greater collaboration between stakeholders.
WSCF is a partner of CommunityNet, where you may find all community news. We recommend you vist the website to keep up with the latest in the sector.
For a full WSCF staff list with contacts, click here.
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