19th July 2004

For Immediate Release

West Auckland Family Services

Working Collaboratively with Child Youth and Family Services

West Auckland Family Services is working collaboratively with Child Youth and Family Services to clear the backlog of initial referrals for care and protection issues for children and families at risk.

West Auckland Family Services is the first provider nationally to engage in this pilot project. In the next 12 months the team, based in Glen Eden, will provide a service to at least 200 families in the West Auckland area, over and above their existing service.

West Auckland Family Services is a community based service of Methodist Mission Northern. It offers a range of services including:

* Intensive home-based parenting programmes
* Support for families such as offering parenting information
* Advocacy to help families get the support they need
* Foster and emergency placements for children

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