Bourke’s Maranguka organisation has been selected to deliver a new Aboriginal Child and Family Centre (ACFC) as part of a $100 million NSW Government initiative to strengthen services for Aboriginal families and children across the state.

The ACFC, to be located at the integrated Yanmali site, will provide culturally appropriate early childhood education, health services and family supports. It is one of three new centres announced on Friday, alongside facilities in Broken Hill and the Central Coast, under the Aboriginal Child and Family Centre Expansion and Enhancement Program.

Maranguka Executive Director and Founder, Alister Ferguson, said the new centre would help create stronger connections between early learning and community services.

“The addition of the ACFC at the integrated Yanmali site will allow for additional spaces for health and community to work with the early childhood services in a connected and collaborative way,” he said.

“This will continue to improve outcomes for our First Nations community members. All community partners in the Maranguka Early Childhood and Parenting Working Group are delighted by the investment of the NSW Government in furthering the Yanmali Early Childhood development for Bourke.”

The program aims to provide early intervention and reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care, who currently make up nearly 45 per cent of all children in the system despite being just 3.4 per cent of the state’s population.

The expansion will eventually see six new ACFCs across NSW, with funding also allocated to enhance nine existing centres, broadening access to culturally grounded education and family support services.