Children to benefit from new relationship centres

Anglicare has been chosen to operate a new Family Relationship Centre on the South Coast of NSW. Anglicare will lead a consortium that includes Centacare to operate the Nowra-based centre, which will be one of 25 centres set up this year around the country.

Family Relationship Centres are an initiative of the Federal Government, in an attempt to encourage separating couples to come to solutions outside the court system, with a focus on the needs of children involved.

This initiative has come as a result of changes to the Australian family law system. In future, the law will require separating parents to try to resolve the dispute through avenues such as the Family Relationship Centres, before they can take a dispute to court. Anglicare has been given a budget of $2.95 million over three years to run the centre, which is set to open in July.

The centres are designed to provide services that will strengthen family relationships, as well as helping families who are experiencing difficulties in this area. The centres will provide information on family relationship issues, give guidance on other services or resources that might be useful for families in crisis, and run programs and sessions to help separating parents to find a solution that benefits both parents and children. These services could take the form of individual interviews, joint sessions or group programs and will be provided largely free of charge.

“We know from experience that when relationships break down, so do families and communities,” says Anglicare’s Illawarra Regional Manager, Glenda Devlin. “This new centre is a great opportunity for Anglicare and Centacare to minister to families in crisis.”

Anglicare already runs a number of services for families and children in South Sydney. These include counselling for couples, children and carers, supported playgroups and voluntary home visiting for families needing support. “We believe that the Family Relationship Centre will complement current services and help to meet the needs of families throughout the region,” says Ms Devlin.

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