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When the Department of Human Services, Child Protection becomes involved with families following concerns for the safety of a child, often supervised access visits are ordered by a Magistrate, for one or both parents. In these cases, a court order is issued which outlines the parameters of these visits.

The EVC program at Sages Cottage Farm is designed to assist Child Protection clients where there is a need to provide supervised access visits between the parent/s and child/ren.

The Enhanced Visitation Centre (EVC) at Sages Cottage Farm offers families a safe and secure place to relax and enjoy supervised time with their children, as a condition of their court order.

The EVC program is funded by the Department of Human Services and first commenced at Sages Cottage Farm in November 2006.

Sages Cottage Farm is a child focused venue that provides families access to a combination of free time, recreational activities, art and crafts, animal viewing and scenic walks. Families can interact and enjoy the atmosphere together in a peaceful but stimulating environment.

Referrals for the program are taken by the EVC Coordinator on ph 5971 - 5964 and must be approved by the Department of Human Services. Once the referral has been assessed as a suitable referral, contact is made by the EVC Coordinator to the parent/s and the case worker, to arrange a meeting where suitable times for the visits are negotiated. For each visit, the EVC worker will provide a case note to the Protective worker which outlines what occurred throughout the access, any observations that are relevant, and any concerns that may have arisen, along with how they were dealt with by the EVC worker.

The goal of the EVC at Sages Cottage Farm is to provide a family and child friendly venue for access visits to occur, as well as trained workers who provide consistent and quality supervision for families so that they can enjoy their time with their child or children.

To find out more about the EVC at Sages Cottage Farm, please contact:

Kellie Powell
EVC Coordinator
Sages Cottage Farm
85 Sages Road (PO Box 171)
Baxter, Vic 3911
T: +61 3 5971 5964 F: +61 3 5971 5963
M: 0403 452 883
powellk@menzies.org.au