Our Programs
Kinship Connection realises that providing children with knowledge of their family and cultural identity can encourage them to take control of their own spiritual healing. That’s why we have developed a trio of programs: Standing Strong, Who’s My Mob and Finding Families. These programs each provide another piece of the puzzle for our kids’ identities and together help to make the full picture clear.
While these programs are best implemented in succession, they are also available independently of each other to suit the child’s individual needs. Detailed information on each program may be found below.
Standing Strong
Many Aboriginal children grow up not knowing their family or their culture. While Kinship Connections strongly advocates for our kids to be in kinship placements, this option is not always available to all children. There are many remarkable non-Aboriginal carers out there who want to keep their kids connected to their Aboriginality but don’t have the resources to do so.
Our Standing Strong program has a Kinship Connections mentor working through a specially designed identity workbook with the child. The workbook includes information about Aboriginal culture, questions around self, culture and identity to encourage self-reflection and dialogue between the child, their carer and their mentor. Mentorship is typically conducted weekly over a period of approximately three months allowing the child to contact the mentor at any time for future support.
Our Standing Strong program reinforces Aboriginal kids’ knowledge of who they are and where they come from, securing cultural identity and self-esteem.
Please note this service is provided on a fee for service basis. In order to get the ball rolling, please complete the Enquiry Form below:
Who's My Mob?
It is common knowledge that a great number of Aboriginal historical family records have been lost or destroyed over the years. This makes it extremely difficult for Aboriginal families to locate past family records.
Since 2012, Kinship Connections has worked closely with community to design an up-to-date database covering five generations of Aboriginal families. Kinship Connections is the only organisation in WA offering this kind of service and visits families in both the metro and regional areas to gather information and connect the dots. Between extensive community-based data gathering and genealogical research, Kinship Connections has helped kids across the state to connect back to their mob.
Our Who’s My Mob program, provides kids with an individualised family history book and a 5-generation genogram for both their maternal and paternal families. Kinship Connections personally delivers the books to the child and explains the journey that was taken to collect the contents. All family information and photos are kept confidential. Kinship Connections keeps copies of all the books so that children can obtain another copy of their book if required. These books are designed for Aboriginal children who have been placed in foster care or involved in the justice system.
Please note this service is provided on a fee for service basis. In order to get the ball rolling, please complete the Enquiry Form below:
Finding Families
The Finding Families program assists the Department of Communities to locate safe and secure family who have capacity and capability of caring for an Aboriginal child long term. This derives from the Aboriginal Placement Principle which legislates that all Aboriginal children, in the first instance, must be placed with kin if possible.
This service can also be used for Aboriginal children that are struggling in their current placements with no connection to family or their cultural identify. Kinship Connections’ research and data-gathering process enables them to identify a much wider range of potential kin-related foster placements for children than what the Department of Communities’ (formerly DCP) system is able to identify.
A completed Finding Families recommendation provides the Department with an extensive genogram on both the maternal and paternal sides of the child’s family. Potential candidates are formally assessed by the Department before any placement is approved.
Please note this service is provided on a fee for service basis. In order to get the ball rolling, please complete the Enquiry Form below:
Fire Star Camps
Kinship Connections Fire-Star Cultural Camps are designed for male Aboriginal children, teens and youth (10-18 years of age) living in the greater Perth metropolitan or regional Western Australia community. The purpose of the Camps is to provide Aboriginal youth with the opportunity to connect on Country and be immersed in specialised cultural learning over a 2-10 day period.
Our Fire Star Camps are an authentic cultural experience and include training, education, integration, mentoring and leadership delivered through a resilient, eldership, and self-empowerment program ideology.
The Camps have been designed on the Circle Of Courage Model, where positive youth development is based on the universal principle that to be emotionally healthy, all youth need a sense of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity.
Kinship Connections relies on the support of our Cultural Advisors who have lived experiences, knowledge, and an understanding of teaching our young men the importance of the right way through, instilling values to promote strength in identity. We are honoured to have these men as advisers to our young men’s programs and draw upon and utilise their skills for our Fire Star Camps in planning cultural activities such as yarning, fishing, dancing, campfire storytelling or didgeridoo playing.
Are you an Aboriginal youth aged 10-18 years?
We’d love to have you join us on our next Fire Star Camp. Come and spend a week in a community where everyone supports you to grow in ways you never thought possible. Our Fire Star Camps will encourage you to:
Learn amazing things you never knew about yourself and others.
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- Develop confidence in your own voice and abilities.
- Spend time on the land.
- Explore your cultural roots; and
- Find the motivation to follow your dreams.
Together we will find new inspiration, support you to engage deeper with your culture, family, community and Country and give you the tools to continue to journey through life with motivation and positivity.
Family Carer Support Services (FCSS)
Kinship Connections provides support for Departmental carers who are looking after their kin. Being a family carer can be rewarding, challenging and full of love. And because every family is different, our Family Carer Support Services provides support that is tailored to the unique needs of you and your family.
The FCSS team works with carers across the Perth metro area to build on their existing skills and strengths in caring for children. Together, we will work with you to develop an individual plan that will support you to achieve your goals. Our team will help you access training, resources and community support networks, and learn new ways to support children in your care.
We believe that building relationships between the Carer and the Department is crucial to the successful placement of a child. As an outreach service, we are able to provide home visits and are available from Monday to Friday during business hours.
Examples of support options available include:
- Strengthening child and carer relationships.
- The importance of self care.
- Understanding the different stages of childhood development.
- The importance of setting boundaries and routines.
- Understanding safety within the home environment.
- Working through barriers preventing children from attending school and appointments.
- Improving communication with the Department of Communities.
- Access to relevant training and education.
- Referral and linking to other support services, such as housing programs, counselling, Centrelink, financial counselling and other carer support services.
Referrals for FCSS can only come from the Department of Communities. To be referred to FCSS, family carers must have children in their care. The service is for family carers who may need support to meet competencies or develop a new care arrangement. Please contact your child’s Case Worker for a referral to our service.