A specialist worker for children and young people working on the Central Coast is one of 20 in NSW to be guaranteed employment for the next 12 months.
Following a Greens motion unanimously passed in the NSW Parliament Upper House last week, the NSW Government has confirmed it will extend funding for the 20, who work in priority domestic violence refuges.
With current funding set to expire on June 30, The Greens spokesperson for Gendered Violence and Abuse – Central Coast’s MLC Abigail Boyd – called on the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to urgently grant continued funding for the positions.
The move came after peak body Domestic Violence NSW wrote to the Minister on June 1 seeking an urgent extension of funding to continue the employment of the important specialist workers, previously funded as a pilot program under the National Partnership Agreement.
Boyd said the pilot program had been hugely successful in supporting children and young people who had experienced domestic violence and the funding extension would allow a formal pilot evaluation to occur.
Domestic Violence NSW has welcomed the announcement.
Boyd said women and children fleeing domestic violence needed vital services with secure long-term funding.
“The continuation of funding for these crucial workers is a heartening sign that the new Labor Government will finally take the epidemic of gendered violence seriously,” she said.
“These specialist workers are so important because they support child victims of domestic violence as clients in their own right.
“These 20 workers losing their jobs would have meant thousands of young people not getting the support they need and deserve.”
Source:
The Greens MP Abigail Boyd