The Position

The Cultural Advisor for Aboriginal family lead decision making & Cultural Support planning will hold a key role in developing the family meeting processes and supporting the development, implementation, and review of cultural plans for vulnerable Aboriginal children and young people living in out-of-home care.

The role will convene family meetings as well as engaging families, finding and activating family support networks as well as negotiating with families where there are significant concerns for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.

They support the development of cultural plans by care teams, assessing and providing support where needed and recommend cultural plans are endorsed by the relevant manager. This includes reviewing cultural plans and working with care teams to ensure they are of a suitable standard and address the cultural needs of vulnerable Aboriginal children and young people.  This position will require some travel and after hour’s work.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide quality, timely and effective specialist knowledge to care teams, including complex matters, in developing and reviewing cultural plans and family meetings. Assist care teams to ensure cultural plans meet the cultural needs of vulnerable Aboriginal children and young people, as well as reflecting the best interest’s principles as the primary consideration for all child protection planning. 
• Collaborate with care teams to ensure Aboriginal input into all cultural plans and family meetings; and ensure care teams undertake reasonable steps to identify, gather information, and explore vulnerable Aboriginal children and young people’s Aboriginal heritage and family. When necessary, work with Aboriginal children and their families to obtain information and develop plans. 
• Schedule meetings in line with process timelines.
• Ensure all significant people are personally invited and have ability to participate in the meetings.
• Facilitate meetings in cultural ways that ensure all participants have a voice.
• Ensure accurate record of meetings are taken and recorded. 
• Skillfully manage conflict to negotiate common goals. 
• ​​​​​​​Where needed, work with families to develop Case Plans that address the concerns and promote the child or young person’s best interests.
• Provide information to children, families, carers and service providers on procedures, practices, and guidelines and provide advice and case consultation on the Aboriginal cultural needs of Aboriginal children and young people, including services available to help meet needs. 
• Actively contribute as a collaborative team member in the ongoing development and review of cultural plans, related to strengthening Aboriginal children and young people’s connection to their Aboriginal community and culture.
• Monitor, analyse and review cultural plans; assess the effectiveness of the plan provided to Aboriginal children and young people and provide well-developed recommendations on future actions required to support the maintenance and strengthening of Aboriginal children and young people’s connection to their Aboriginal community and culture.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships, ongoing communication and successful negotiations with Child Protection and key stakeholders. 
• Provide authoritative advice and opinion to professionals in other disciplines; lead or participate in case conferences, including family decision making, with other professionals.
• Where the need is identified, research extended family and work to activate them as support to the children and families.
• Actively engage with families identifying strengths and capacities, highlighting these in family meetings.