Strong Foundation to support Cafs Farm

CHILD and Family Services Ballarat, better known as Cafs, has launched its new fundraising arm.

Called the Cafs Foundation, money gathered by the philanthropy effort of the non-religious, not-for-profit, locally run social service provider will go towards furthering development of the Cafs Care Farm.

Over 154 years Cafs has become known for work in the social welfare space, specifically around foster and kinship care, but the agency also offers more than 40 other programs.

While money raised by the Cafs Foundation will go towards the Care Farm, the facility is closely linked to many of the organisations core offerings.

“There’s so many kids coming into out-of-home care, kids who aren’t engaged in school, who are victims of family violence, and there’s a whole lot of kids brought in via the child protection system. A lot of those kids have suffered trauma, which has an impact on how they can function as people,” Mr Joy said.

“We need a different approach to deal with the trauma, put in place solutions, and help them deal with their lives.”

That’s where the Cafs Care Farm comes in.

“It’s different from what we already do,” Mr Joy said. “It’s complimentary to what we already do, but it’s based on a few different premises.”

The Cafs Care Farm was established in 2017 at the old Tangled Maze at Springmount and development of the site is ongoing.

“It’s a staged process over five years,” Mr Joy said. “Many of the things could be done concurrently if someone came along and said, ‘yes, this is worth supporting.’

“We hope to accelerate the process through community and philanthropic support.”

One of the core approaches of Cafs is a focus on research and evidence-based practice and outcomes.

The organisation currently has three PhD candidates located at its Lydiard Street North offices, while work at the farm is underpinned by research and there’s plans to build partnerships for further result reporting.

“It’s very important what we do at the Farm is measured and evaluated,” Mr Joy said. “Through doing that we hope to be able to demonstrate outcomes.”

The Cafs Foundation is now accepting donations.

For more information visit cafs.org.au.