What family concerns can we help you with?

Social Work in Schools

Social Workers in Schools are experienced practitioners who specialise in working with children and their families. They support children and their families to help find solutions to issues that impact on their education and well-being. This is a confidential service that is based in schools during normal school operating hours.
Social Workers can work with school staff, other support workers, offer parenting strategies and discuss referrals to community-based services or counsellors.
Our social workers can help provide support in relation to bullying, peer pressure family relationships, family harm mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, grief and self-harm.

Parenting programs

Our parenting programmes are designed to provide practical strategies, ideas and insights to inspire and equip you with your parenting journey. These are suitable for all ages and stages whether a baby, toddler, primary or high school.
The programme is held over 4 weeks in a relaxed small group setting with an experienced facilitator.
Each session will support you to engage with the resources provided and will leave you with a range of activities and strategies to try at home.
We do not want cost to be a barrier for anyone. So if you are unable to contribute financially to attend, please contact us to discuss options.
For those who are able to contribute, the cost is $80 per person or $120 per couple.

Strengthening families

Strengthening Families pulls together support for families/ whänau. The people helping your family may be a budget advisor, truancy officer, social worker, medical specialist, counsellor, teacher or other support worker.
You work out together what support your family/ whänau needs and what each service is going to do. It is set up so families/ whänau tell their story once to everyone at the same time. Then everyone agrees on a plan to move you forward.
Strengthening Families is free and 100% voluntary.
Strengthening Families might be right if you are facing challenges like:
Finding a warm, comfortable home for your family/ whānau
Getting help with your child or young person’s health or behaviour
Financial problems
problems at school
Coping with stress at home.
Family relationships
Family harm

Strengthening Families is there to help your family/ whānau before any problems get too big. Families often get help with several of these things.

Is it for your family/whānau?
Strengthening Families is for families when:
More than one service is or could support your family/ whānau
Your family/ whānau has a child, children or young person (s) in your care

Social work services

Central Lakes Family Services has a team of social workers that can support you to make positive change within your family. Our social workers can provide comprehensive assessments to help identify strengths and develop achievable plans to improve your situation. We help families deal with family harm, sexual harm, mild/moderate mental health, parenting strategies, maternal mental health, home based support and behaviour problems with children. We aim to empower families to change and develop long term strategies.
Our work can vary from practical support and linking families with other community supports or intensive multi-disciplinary approaches for families who may be suffering from generational abuse, long-term neglect and limited parenting skills. We aim to build capability and resilience to enable positive outcomes.

Mild/moderate mental health

Central Lakes Family Services works alongside you to support your recovery at your pace. We can assist to find supports from running a household, keeping a job, building friendships or being part of a community.
We’ll work together to develop a plan to achieve to achieve your goals.
Plans are flexible to meet your changing needs as you gain new knowledge and skills. It might even include connecting and working with other organisations who can offer added value to your plan.

Community Education

Child Protection Workshops
These workshops are available for anybody that works or volunteers with children and young people. It will help you to recognise when families are vulnerable, who to talk to and how to report your concerns.
Participants will be provided with information regarding all aspects of child protection including:
 Different types of child abuse
 Indicators of child abuse
 How to respond to disclosures of abuse
 Understanding your role when supporting children or young people
 Reporting concerns of child abuse
 Supports available in your community
 Self-care strategies, dealing with your own emotions when supporting children
 Child protection policies

This is a 3 hour workshop and groups will be kept to a maximum of 20 participants.
Cost per person $30

Family Violence Workshops
Central Lakes Family Services deliver family violence training to many organisations each year. Training sessions range from two hour general awareness sessions to full day training sessions depending on what information is required.
Participants can expect to learn and increase knowledge regarding:
 Understanding the dynamics of family violence
 Effects of family violence
 Why people remain in violent relationships
 Professional boundaries
 Impact on children
 Safety planning
 Responding to disclosures of abuse
 Support in the community

Our facilitators have in-depth knowledge regarding child protection and family violence and are experienced in delivering training packages. We can also provide tailored training for organisations that are wanting to upskill their staff in relation to domestic violence and child protection if required, please contact us to enquire further.
Cost per person:
$20.00 for two hour awareness sessions
$30.00 for three hour workshop
$60.00 for six hour combined family violence and child protection workshop

Email info@clfs.co.nz

Workplace Family Violence Training
Work performance effects the workplace and impacts negatively on employers as people that experience abuse from a partner are most likely to have their concentration affected, productivity reduced, not able to cope with conflict, distracted and need time off to attend court, counselling, medical appointments, programmes or attend Police interviews. In addition to this, victims are quite often scared that the offender may show up or try to stalk them getting to and from work. Offenders of violence will also require time off work and can also spend a lot of time trying to contact the victim during work hours by constantly sending multiple text messages and phone calls.

One in three New Zealand women are assaulted by a partner in their lifetime so any employer could have staff that are either victims or offenders of family violence.

Central Lakes Family Services has developed a workplace family violence training package specifically designed to help employers to respond appropriately to staff affected by violence in the home.

The programme improves the workplace response to family violence by helping employers to develop appropriate family violence policies, training management and HR staff and raising awareness of the issue among staff.

Each programme will be tailored to suit each individual workplaces needs and the time they have available.

Staff participating in the programme will learn:
 How to develop and implement workplace policies and procedures for supporting employees affect by family violence
 To create a safe workplace where staff can be supported to make positive changes in their lives
 What supports are available in the community
 Setting professional boundaries whilst supporting staff

Costs for this programme will differ depending on what each business needs are. For more information for your business email: info@clfs.co.nz

Refund Policy for all Training Programmes:
If a participant withdraws 2 weeks prior to the workshop, they will receive a refund of the total course fee minus a $5 administrative fee (per person)

If the participant withdraws from the workshop within 2 weeks, but before five days of the course, they will receive a 50% refund
If the participant withdraws from the workshop within five days of the course, they will receive no refund of the course fee; however, the participant may nominate a replacement at any time before the course commences.
Central Lakes Family Services will refund total payments made by a participant if the course is cancelled.

Counselling

We have a range of qualified counsellors that have a wide range of skills and specialised knowledge. Most of our counsellors are ACC registered and provide support for people affected by sexual and family harm. We provide counselling for children, families and adults for issues such as grief and loss, relationship difficulties, anxiety and depression.
Counselling can help to support you to explore and understand your experiences, assist to develop new skills, resources and coping strategies, provide non-judgemental support, help you set personal and professional goals.
Counselling charges are based on a sliding scale based on your household income. In some cases i.e: you are a beneficiary or low income earner, you may be eligible for counselling at little or no cost.