About Family Works

About Family Works

Family Works South Canterbury is child centred and family-focused.  We deliver social services to support children and families to learn, grow and thrive.

Family Works helps families and whānau to be

Safe 

Children and young people feel secure and protected

Strong

Families have the resources and skills to face challenges with hope

Connected

People feel supported and included in communities

Family Works provides services that help people work through challenging issues and become stronger. We work with children, families / whānau, schools and in the community to find a new way forward and a positive outcome for all involved.

Find out about Our Services

Our Vision

“Aotearoa is the best place in the world to raise our children, our tamariki.”

Our Mission

“We want all children/tamariki to flourish so we work to support them and their families and whānau, and to champion their cause in our communities.”

Our Philosophy

“Family Works knows that our children/tamariki flourish when families and whānau function well.”

We believe that children/tamariki, family and whānau deserve a decent chance; that every family and whānau has strengths, but now and again need help; that they will flourish when they are helped to build upon their strengths; that New Zealand will be better off when children/tamariki are raised in flourishing (strong, healthy, nurturing) families and whānau.

Family Works New Zealand

Family Works South Canterbury, along with the seven other Presbyterian Support Family Works regions, is part of the Family Works New Zealand Trust.

The seven Family Works regions work together in the following areas:

• shared practice framework
• national contract tendering
• national representation

Each of the seven Family Works regions works autonomously to implement national policies through the provision of services locally that are designed to best meet the needs of their communities.

To support our shared mission, each region works locally to contribute towards these indvidual, whānau and community results in our work with children, young people, families and whānau:

• Children and young people with choices
  Children and young people develop skills to make good choices for themselves so that the outcomes for them are improved and that they build positive relationships within their family and whānau, schools, peers and wider community.
• Strong, healthy families and whānau
  Families and whānau have the supports and strengths necessary to deal with complex challenges around parenting and family and whānau circumstances so that their children flourish and family relationships thrive.
• Parents with choices
  Adults in a parenting or caregiving relationship with children and young people have the resources and understanding to support them to develop to their full potential and to overcome past parenting practices which may have caused complex challenges for the children and family.
• Safe children and young people
  All adults who interact with children and young people in their families and whānau, or wider community are able to deal with complex challenges that may compromise their ability to ensure their safety and prevent them from flourishing.
• Safe communities
  Children and young people flourish when all of the systems that surround them have, as their foundation, enhanced social functioning for all members of the community.

More information about Family Works nationally.

More information about services offered by Family Works South Canterbury.