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27 Jan 2015

News

Multicultural Foster Care Service acknowledged

SSI staff with Minister for Family and Community Services Gabrielle Upton (centre).

The Shining a light on good practice in NSW report, launched this morning at Parliament House by Minister for Family and Community Services, Ms Gabrielle Upton, includes 22 inspiring stories of good practice by FACS and NGO out-of-home care providers.

SSI was one of only five NGO’s selected for inclusion in the report with a story entitled ‘The sounds of home’.

SSI is a leading not-for-profit organisation providing a range of services in the areas of humanitarian settlement, accommodation, asylum seeker assistance, foster care and disability support in NSW.

SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care Service (MFCS) places children and young people in out-of-home care with foster carers from the same cultural background, where possible.

“Maintaining a connection with culture, whether it be through food, language or music, has enormous benefits, and helps achieve positive outcomes and experiences for children and young people in out-of-home care,” SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said.

‘The sounds of home’ illustrates the innovative casework model of the MFCS, as well as the passion of its caseworkers, to bring three siblings of African background closer to their estranged parents and to their non-African background foster carer, through culture.

Ms Roumeliotis said SSI was unique in providing such a service.

“SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care Service is unique in this regard, and creates individual cultural plans for its foster families to help support and facilitate cultural connections,” Ms Roumeliotis said.

“We are very proud of the work of the Multicultural Foster Care Service, and honoured to be included in the report launched today.”

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Media enquiries:

SSI Communications Officer, Rekha Sanghi 0422 304 57

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