Job Description

The Aboriginal Family Restoration Program is designed to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families who are at risk of or have experienced children being placed in out-of-home care. It aims to help strengthen families and create lasting solutions for children’s wellbeing. This service is provided by the Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation's Wanjana Lidj Aboriginal Child & Family Services Department, and is based in Morwell, Victoria.

During a stay in the Restoration House, the Restoration Support Worker is responsible for providing practical, culturally responsive, strength-based support to families staying within the Restoration House during After-hours periods, evenings, sleepovers, and weekends. Working under the guidance of the Case Manager and Team Leader, the Restoration Support Worker helps families to implement daily routines, maintain household stability, and engage positively with the Restoration House Program.

The Restoration Support Worker is responsible for conducting comprehensive observations and providing practical supports across key areas including nutrition, daily routines, parental responsiveness to children’s cues, family dynamics, and overall parenting capacity. The role provides practical parenting support through role-modelling, guidance, and evidence-informed strategies that support the goals and routines identified by the Case Manager and family.

Responsibilities:

• Participate in roster which includes afternoons, weekends, and sleepover shifts.
• Provide, promote, and model effective, culturally safe, trauma-informed and client-centred practices and communications across all interactions and service delivery, adhering to RDAC’s Code of Conduct and Values.
• Work collaboratively as part of a broader team and actively contribute to a safe, supportive environment that promotes critical reflection, continuous learning, and positive outcomes for Aboriginal children.
• Promote the safety, stability, and wellbeing of Aboriginal Children and ensure practice and observations aligns with best interest principles and evidence-based approaches.
• Deliver flexible and evidence-based interventions using culturally informed, family-led, child-centred approaches to strengthen child safety and development, parenting capacity and family wellbeing.
• Provide practical, culturally responsive, strength-based support to families staying within the Restoration House.
• Support families to implement and maintain daily routines, household tasks, and parenting strategies as identified in family goal plans.
• Deliver hands-on parenting support through role-modelling, guidance, coaching, and parenting strategies to strengthen parenting capacity and family functioning.
• Undertake comprehensive and purposeful observations of family functioning including areas of nutrition, routines, parent-child interactions, family presentation and dynamic, responsiveness to children’s cues and needs, and overall parenting capacity.
• Accurately document observations and interactions through daily summaries and case notes and contribute to the development of the family’s Restoration Observation Summary Report.
• Support the daily operation of the Restoration House and contribute to program activities, team meetings and assist with pre- and post-stay tasks, including the set-up and maintenance of the facility.
• Maintain accurate and timely case notes, reports, and other required documentation using specialist IT and recording systems, in line with RDAC standards and obligations
• Contribute to program evaluation, data collection, and continuous improvement activities
• Participate in handovers, debriefs, supervision, reflective practice, professional development, mandatory training, and attend organisational and team meetings.

Qualifications:

• Certificate IV Community Services, Child, Youth and Family Services and/or Children’s Services with at least 3 years of equivalent experience in a similar role. Other qualifications and experience may be considered based on relevance to the position
• Current Working with Children's Check.
• Satisfactory Criminal History Check.
• Current Victorian Driver’s License.
• Satisfactory drug & alcohol testing screening.
• Immunisations in line with Ramahyuck Staff Immunisation Policy.
• Flexibility to work varied hours, including evenings, sleepovers and weekends.