Office for Children and Portfolio Coordination
The Office for Children and Portfolio Coordination supports the delivery of the Government's agenda for an integrated Department, focused on the learning, development, health and wellbeing of all young Victorians from birth to adulthood.
The Office consists of nine Divisions:
- Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
- Communications
- Data, Outcomes and Evaluation
- Early Childhood Strategy
- Executive and Ministerial Services
- Portfolio Governance and Improvement
- Programs and Partnerships
- Services Development
- Strategy and Coordination
Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Division
The role of the Principal Medical Adviser is to focus on providing specialist medical advice to guide strategic policy innovation and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people across Victoria.
This area acts as a knowledge and evidence broker across the Department and across Government on the evidence about children and young people's health and wellbeing and how this impacts on the achievement of better outcomes for Victoria's children and young people.
Communications Division
This Division provides communication services to Ministers and the Departmental executive, and builds communications capacity across the portfolio.
The Division is responsible for:
- providing expert advice on communication planning, marketing and research, event management, print and online publishing, and corporate communications
- identifying opportunities for Ministers and the Secretary, coordinating ministerial events and visits, and preparing speeches and presentations for major Departmental events
- developing written content for print and online publications
- providing specialist editorial and quality assurance services
- developing, coordinating and managing major promotional campaigns and public events
- managing departmental input to whole of government communication processes
- managing all media matters
- managing corporate visual identity and branding and the department's online and corporate communication strategies
- managing the Department's public web presence
- responding to public telephone and email queries.
Data, Outcomes and Evaluation Division
The Data, Outcomes and Evaluation Division delivers high quality evidence-based data and analysis that supports planning and action to improve outcomes for all children and young people in Victoria. The Division offers a powerful evidence base on the health, development, learning, safety and wellbeing of children and young people. It monitors how children and young people in Victoria are faring; undertakes analysis to inform policy and strategy development and provides a wide range of data profiles and reports.
Early Childhood Strategy Division
This Division's major role is to provide a focus for strategic and cross-government work both within Victoria and nationally to deliver Victoria's early childhood strategy development agenda.
The Division focuses on developing the knowledge and evidence base of the Office in early childhood research and services, and leads the Office's contribution to the national policy process through the Council of Australian Governments via a focus on how the new / emerging national vision for early childhood development can be achieved.
Executive and Ministerial Services
The Executive and Ministerial Services Division provides information and decision-support services to Ministers, the Parliamentary secretary, the Department Executive and other government departments in relation to:
- legislation, cabinet and parliamentary matters, freedom of information, privacy, whistleblowers and ombudsman matters
- the coordination of responses and submissions to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee
- ministerial correspondence and briefings
- records management, including physical and electronic files in accordance with the Public Records Act
- legal services and the use of the legal services panel
- support for Ministers' offices.
Portfolio Governance and Improvement Division
This Division provides services to ensure adequate transparency, efficiency, risk management and corporate accountability protocols are followed. The Division also ensures the Department continues to focus on the full integration of education and early childhood services.
The Division is responsible for:
- improving governance processes and practices
- increasing compliance with governance frameworks
- building knowldege, skills and capacity to achieve regulatory responsibilities
- improving integrated risk and control capacity and practices across the Department's operations
- implementing internal and external audit and fraud control regulatory requirements
- reducing red tape
- promoting integration across the Department.
Programs and Partnerships Division
This Division provides a focus on partnerships with the early childhood funded sector. It also provides a consolidated focus on the development of integrated children's services, including an infrastructure strategy; development and implementation of the Council of Australian Governments Universal Access Agreement; further development of the Maternal and Child Health Services; continued reform of the kindergarten service, together with the reform and implementation of services for children with a disability or developmental delay.
Services Development Division
This Division provides a focus on regional accountability and support, and has a particular emphasis on services delivered by our Department's regions.
The Division is responsible for the finalisation and implementation of the review of Children's Services Regulations, together with the ongoing management of the regulation of children's services. In addition, responsibility for the School Nursing Programs (both Primary and Secondary), School Focussed Youth Service and parenting programs rest with this Division.
Strategy and Coordination Division
This Division provides strategic advice to the Secretary and maintains a focus on strategic coordination and corporate planning and reporting.
The Division is responsible for:
- supporting high-level governance bodies including the Children's Services Coordination Board, the Victorian Children's Council, the Aboriginal Children and Families Advisory Committee, the Secretaries' Committee for Education and Training and Statutory Authority Board meetings
- aligning strategies and contributing to the longer-term strategic directions across the education and early childhood portfolio
- delivering specific projects at the request of the Secretary
- identifying and meeting the needs of Victorian families and children, particularly Aboriginal families
- supporting the Strategic Think Tank
- overseeing the processes and building capacity and compliance in corporate planning
- managing the relationship between the Department and external agencies.