​The Department of Communities, along with other government and community sector agencies, works with families whose children are most vulnerable to poor life outcomes. Earlier, intensive intervention with high risk families before problems become entrenched, coordinated across government and the community services sector increases safety for children and young people and can divert them from the child protection system.

A number of elements effectively meet the needs of vulnerable families and young people, including:

• targeting the most vulnerable families at risk of their children coming into care
• prioritising services for Aboriginal families
• services being provided by, or in partnership with, Aboriginal people and organisations
• developing a joint outcomes framework of commonly agreed outcome indicators across government and community sector family support services
• using data linkage and information sharing to identify families of concern, and
• engaging service providers and users in service design.

Refer to the Earlier Intervention and Family Support Strategy for further information.

You may find these links useful:

• Chapter 2.3 Family and Domestic Violence
• ​Assessing emotional abuse - family and domestic violence​
• Responding to perpetrators of emotional abuse - family and domestic violence​​
• ​​Safety planning - emotional abuse - family and domestic violence
• ​​​Chapter 1.3 Homelessness
• ​​​​Homeless young people
• Chapter 1.4 Mental Health and Alcohol & Other Drugs
• ​Alcohol and other drug issu​es​​
• Mental health issues​
• Suicide and self harm