Minister for Family and Community Service Pru Goward along with South Coast MP Shelley Hancock and Kiama MP Gareth Ward announced funding for the organisation which provides a range of family support services would continue until 2020.

NFSS will receive almost $590,000 in 2017 funding, including $484,183 for early intervention services, a figure which the government has committing to each year until 2020.

Mrs Goward said the funding provides surety of the service well into the future.

“We have been able to fund some programs for three years and others for 12 months,” she said.

“Every year we have been able to give more and that’s a reflection on the how wonderful this service is. How comprehensive it is and so important for women and children.”

NFSS manager Pam Arnold said without the funding the service “wouldn’t exist.”

“It provides an amazing home visiting service for close to a thousand families across the northern and southern Shoalhaven,” she said.

“We are very happy we have been funded for the drug and alcohol in pregnancy and parenting service. However we are hoping we will get an extension of funding for that program for more than 12 months.

“It is vital, if we are seeing pregnant women we need to see them of a period of at least three years to achieve the sustainable outcome we are aiming for.”

Another issue and program Mrs Arnold raised with the minister was Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

NFFSS is both a charity and incorporated association that has existed in the Shoalhaven for more than 35 years.

The community based management committee, employs workers in Nowra and Ulladulla to undertake home visiting for families with children up to 12 years.

“Families that might be experiencing some challenges be it parenting, employment or perhaps a disability,” Mrs Arnold said.

“It is a multi-faceted program. On top of that we run parenting educational programs and vocational programs for women wanting to get back into the workforce.”

Mrs Hancock said NFSS had received $1,418,321 in early intervention funding from the government over the past three years.

“This announcement means they can continue to deliver vital support services to families in the Illawarra and South Coast region now and into the future,” rs Hancock said.

“That’s why we are committing to investing an additional $484,183 in early intervention funding to NFSS each year until 2020.

“That’s more than $3,350,000 in total early intervention funding between 2014 and 2020.”

Mr Ward said he was proud to be part of a government assisting organisations such as NFSS to allow them to continue to support families across the region.

For more information on Nowra Family Support Services (NFSS) visit: www.nowrafamilysupportservice.org.au.