The Allan Labor Government is supporting key organisations in the education, health and family sectors to keep Victorian children safe through the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS).
Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn today announced ten organisations will share in almost $2 million to upskill their staff in using the CISS to protect children's wellbeing and safety.
The CISS is in its third year and enables professionals who care for children, such as teachers and nurses, to share their experience and knowledge about a child with each other to determine how to best support a child's wellbeing and safety.
The Municipal Association of Victoria will receive grant funding to strengthen professional relationships and embed best practices for the use of CISS in local government areas across Victoria.
The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency will also receive funding to ensure that CISS is being used in a culturally appropriate way to support the best interests of Aboriginal children and their families.
Other organisations receiving grant funding are 54 reasons, Anglicare Victoria, the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, Centre for Mental Health Learning, fka Children's Services, Independent Schools Victoria, Jewish Care and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Reviews and inquiries - including the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse - identified that a lack of information sharing has contributed to tragic outcomes for the wellbeing and safety of Victorian children.
Key frontline services, such as Child Protection and Maternal and Child Health services, began using the CISS in September 2018. In April 2021, CISS was extended to universal services, such as schools, early childhood education and care services and general practitioners.
Twenty organisations have previously received grant funding to strengthen the use and knowledge of CISS across sectors and encourage increased collaboration among services to better support children and their families.
Visit vic.gov.au/child-information-sharing-grants-program to find out more about the CISS Capacity Building Grants.
As stated by Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn
"These grants are all about giving the workforce the support they need to better support and protect Victorian children."
"Working collaboratively with sector organisations, we're responding to the needs of professionals working with children to help them better understand how to use the Child Information Sharing Scheme."
