$5.8million to help prevent child abuse

The Coalition Government continued its efforts to support parents and prevent child abuse with the Minister for Community Services, Larry Anthony’s announcement today of $5.8 million in grants for Early Intervention Parenting Projects.

Mr Anthony said the two-year funding package would be shared between 41 projects from around Australia, providing a variety of vital support services.

“Importantly, there are projects funded in each state and territory – giving families right across the country access to the specialist services provided.

Around $600,000 of the total funding will help the NAPCAN (National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse) to continue its renowned work in the area of child abuse prevention.

The projects will provide a range of benefits for families including:

• Parenting courses;
• Home visits by professionals and volunteers;
• Establishment of playgroups;
• Outreach services, and
• Family support.

Mr Anthony said a key focus of the project was to meet the special needs of families in rural and remote areas, indigenous families and those from multi-cultural backgrounds.

“Prevention and early intervention are key elements in the Government’s Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and we will continue to help families provide a safe and healthy home life for their children,” Mr Anthony said.

“These grants attracted a very large number of applications with high quality proposals – it is heartening to see how much dedication there is in our community to improving the lives of children and to building a better society.”

The projects are part of the Government’s commitment to Child Abuse Prevention announced in the 1998-99 budget.