Our Services

The Family Inclusion Network WA provides professional advocacy, advice, support and information to birth parents and their families who have had children removed from their care and placed in ‘out of home’ care, or are at risk of losing care of their children.

Our Way of Working:

  • Fin WA values working relationally, respectfully and inclusively with parents, their families and communities, and workers 
  • While working together we will encourage your participation and involvement in all aspects of our work
  • We will attempt to address your issues of concern; however, even with our best efforts there will be times when we are not able to resolve your concerns
  • Working with Fin WA is voluntary and you may end your involvement at any time
  • Confidentiality will be upheld at all times – unless there is a serious threat to harm yourself or others, or there is known or suspected child abuse. Fin WA policies are available at your request
  • Family members have the right to provide feedback to Fin WA about the service they received – we encourage this. You might receive a survey from us or you can provide feedback at any time by phone: 08) 9328 6434 
  • As we have limited resources, we may not have the capacity to meet all of your needs. Generally, we are unable to provide advocacy services for longer than 3 months.  

Our services include:

Individual Advocacy:  our staff can provide information about child protection proceses, attend meetings and court, and refer you to appropriate community support including legal services. 

Family Partner (Peer) Program: the voices and experiences of parents who have been involved with the child protection system are highly valued by Fin WA.  The Family Partner program provides training and supervision so peers can be employed to walk alongside others going through a similar journey.  Family Partners can also co-facilitate training and education for parents, and for professionals in the sector. 

Training and consultations: Fin WA provides training about the child protection system in WA to build the capacity of staff in other organisations who support families involved with the system. We also facilitate training for foster carers to understand the parent perspective. 

Systemic Advocacy:  Fin WA recognises the structural barriers that impact families and can bring them to the attention of child protection interventions, particularly family violence, poverty, homelessness, parental ill health, and other social and public health issues.  We also utilise the lived experience voice to influence systemic change, and to inform decision makers about the need for respectful inclusion for families at all points in the child protection system from prevention and early intervention, and out of home care. 

Legal Symposium:  It is a matter of procedural fairness that quality community and legal services be appropriately funded to provide legal representation to families in protection and care matters, but many families are not able to access legal representation at this time.  

Over the past two years, Fin WA has facilitated a Legal Symposium to bring the legal and community services sectors together to address this significant gap.

Community Development:  Fin WA recognises that we need to work collaboratively with families, and other service and government to bring about social change.

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