NSW Professional Support Co-ordinator
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BICULTURAL SUPPORT WORKER Background Bicultural Support formerly known as the Casual Ethnic Worker Pool has been established since 1981 and is a free, state wide, time limited service, available to Australian Government approved Children’s Services. The Bicultural Support is run by Ethnic Community Services Co-‐operative for Children’s Services Central. Children’s Services Central is the Professional Support Co-‐ordinator in New South Wales and is an initiative funded by the Australian Government under the Inclusion and Professional Support Program. What does Bicultural Support provide? Bicultural Support provides support, either on or off-‐site or a combination of on-‐site and off-‐site, from an appropriately experienced interpreter, or other persons able to provide specific language and cultural assistance to eligible education and care services free of charge. Support strategies delivered by Bicultural Support may include: Facilitating communication between education and care services and families by: •
Who is eligible for support? •
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Long day care services Outside school hours care (including vacation care) Family day care Occasional care In-‐home care Flexible/innovative services Mobile education and care services Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Services Indigenous playgroups Indigenous outside school hours care Innovative education and care service centres Assisting educators in communicating with culturally diverse families and children (for example, interpreting meetings between parents and educators, providing verbal translation of enrolment documents, and providing educators with key words and phrases that can be used to communicate with the child). Facilitating cultural awareness by: How does Bicultural Support operate? Eligible education and care services can make requests fo Bicultural Support through the ISA, PSC or IPSU. The request must be accompanied by an IIP, approved by an ISA (or with a commitment to complete the IIP as specified in the IPSP Guidelines, 2013-‐2016, p.65 •
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Assisting eligible education and care services to better understand particular ethnic backgrounds, cultural experiences and child rearing practices of the children and families. Enabling the exchange and sharing of information between educators and parents about the child and family life. Supporting the implementation of programs that assist newly arrived children and families from Refugee background. Bicultural Support in NSW is delivered by Ethnic Community Services Co-‐operative on behalf of Children's Services Central, the NSW Professional Support Co-‐ordinator. The Inclusion and Professional Support Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. NSW Professional Support Co-ordinator
Supporting resources and linkages by: • Providing the service with information, where available, about relevant community resources and services to support the inclusion of culturally diverse children and families. Bicultural Support cannot be used for: •
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Regular interpreting and translating assistance for families or eligible child care services Supervision of a child or group of children (eg, to meet staff-‐to-‐child ratios or to provide staffing to relieve child care workers) Providing settlement and community support services to families and children Providing support that is available through existing programs eg clients of the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) using child care while they are attending English language tuition. !