Association of Children's Welfare Agencies

The Association of Children's Welfare Agencies (ACWA) is the NSW non-government peak body representing the voice of community organisations working with vulnerable children, young people and their families.

We work with our members, partners, government and non-government agencies and other peak bodies to bring about positive systemic reform that will deliver better outcomes to the lives of children and young people, including those living in out-of-home care.

Centre for Community Welfare Training

The Centre for Community Welfare Training (CCWT) is the name of ACWA’s learning and development arm. CCWT been operating as a Registered Training Organisation for more than 20 years, delivering quality, cost effective training that is tailored to meet the needs of the NSW community services workforce, particularly those working with vulnerable children, young people and families.

CCWT provides both short courses and in-house training, as well as specialised programs, coaching and supervision.

Latest News

Permanency Support Program Business Rules and Package Overviews

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FACS has updated its Business Rules: Eligibility Criteria for PSP Service Packages to provide greater clarity around the eligibility criteria for each package.  In particular, the eligibility criteria for the Case coordination (post permanency casework support) baseline package has been clarified and a new package, Case coordination (not in placement) baseline package, has been added in […]

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Emerging Practice Knowledge: Current Research and Practice Issues in Child and Family Services

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The latest edition of ACWA’s developing practice journal (Issue 49), guest edited by Dr Wendy Foote (ACWA), is now available. The issue begins with Judi Apte’s in-depth discussion of two key components of collaborative work (collective intelligence and cognitive flexibility) and the importance of leadership capabilities in promoting successful interprofessional collaboration. Judi then provides readers with a practical […]

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ACWA Releases New National Kinship Care Report

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ACWA has released a new report  Support for children in kinship care provided by the Commonwealth States & Territories of Australia as part of its Kinship Care: Making It a National Issue advocacy project aimed at establishing a national policy focus on this growing yet often overlooked form of out-of-home care. Written by Dr Meredith Kiraly (University […]

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Why Do I Need a Qualification?

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Traditionally in the community services sector not every role has required a qualification. This means many workers have been able get a ‘start’ in the sector and decide whether they like the work before moving on to further study. Scenarios like these however are becoming increasingly rare, with government departments demanding qualifications as a pre-requisite […]

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New Child Protection Data Offers a Ray of Hope

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The Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) has welcomed new data showing the rate of children and young people entering out-of-home care in NSW is declining. Figures released this week by the Productivity Commission in its Report on Government Services reveal entries to care in NSW have dropped from 2.3 per 1,000 children in 2015-16 […]

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