Victorian Government announces grants to improve child wellbeing and safety

Organisations across Victoria will receive financial support from the Victorian Government to upskill their staff in using the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) to protect children’s wellbeing and safety.

The CISS is now in its third year and enables professionals who care for children, such as early childhood educators, school 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. 

Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn announced nearly $2 million in funding yesterday, which will be shared by ten organisations including the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and  fka Children’s Services.

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, highlighting the value of initiatives such as CISS. 

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.

To learn more about CISS please see here. More information on the CISS Capacity Building Grants is available here.