Current ACTCOSS Projects:

• Defining Diversity: ACTCOSS Conference 2010
• Sector Development Program
• Home and Community Care (HACC) Program
• Raising the Standard
• "Building Better Boards": The Governance Program
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Project (Gulanga Program)
• Mental Health Carers Network – Peer Support Program For Mental Health Carers
• Auspice: Women and Prisons Group
• Auspice: Community Development Network

Past Projects

4 - 5 November 2010

The 2010 ACTCOSS Conference was held on 4 - 5 November 2010 at K Block, CIT, Reid. The conference explored a variety of themes including Climate Change, Indigenous Development, Housing and Homelessness, Corrections, and Community Sector Viability. The Diversity Ball was then held on Friday 5 November at the CIT Restaurant. Over 90 community sector workers and consumers joined together to celebrate the achievements and work of the ACT community sector.

Find out more, including conference workshop materials and ACT Community Sector Awards winners.

The ACTCOSS sector development program provides information, training and support to community organisations to help them develop their organisation and services. The program includes the provision of professional development seminars on relevant topics, providing one-on-one support to community organisations to assist them with challenges in their organisation, small projects that identify and support capacity building, as well as the development of resources that organisations can use to improve their services.

For more information on sector development, visit the Organisations Information Kit, or contact us. The sector development program is supported by the Community Services Program which is funded by the ACT Government.

The ACTCOSS Home and Community Care (HACC) Program provides networking opportunities, training and support to organisations funded through the HACC program. The HACC program is a joint initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments to provide support and dignity to older people, people with disabilities and their carers, particularly through the provision of services to allow people to remain in their own homes.

ACTCOSS facilitates the Home and Community Care and Disability Services Network and Working Group, which both meet monthly to provide networking opportunities, information sharing and collaboration between HACC and Disability funded agencies to better support the users of their services. We also provide professional development opportunities developed for the staff of HACC services, and one-on-one consultancy services to provide customised support to organisations to overcome the challenges they face. The program also hosts an annual HACC sector planning day, and you can download the reports of these days from the Home and Community Care section of our Papers and Reports webpage.

For more information on the Home and Community Care program, please contact us.

ACTCOSS provides training and support in the use of "Raising the Standard": a manual to guide quality improvement in ACT community service organisations. "Raising the Standard" was developed by the ACT government in consultation with the community sector to provide a process and reference document to help organisations implement good practice, and includes a range of tools that support the self-assessment and planning process.

You can download copies of "Raising the Standard" from the Standards page of our Organisations Information Kit. ACTCOSS conducts seminars on implementing Raising the Standard, as well as providing consultancy services for organisations wanting individual support.

For more information on "Raising the Standard", please contact us. Our "Raising the Standard" service is supported by the Community Services Program which is funded by the ACT Government.

ACTCOSS provides seminars and consultancy services to help improve the skills and professionalism of community sector boards and management committees. In an increasingly complex world of funding agreements, regulation, financial systems and legal responsibilities having some help with understanding your role as a board member and developing skills as a board member can pay dividends well into the future for your organisation.

For more information, please contact us, or visit the Boards section of the Organisations Information Kit. The program is supported by the Community Services Program which is funded by the ACT Government.

The Gulanga Program (previously known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Project) is designed to assist ACT Homelessness Service Providers to improve the systemic response to support the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers within the homelessness sector.

Find out more at the Gulanga Program page.

This peer support program for Mental Health Carers expands on the experience and networking already delivered by the Mental Health Carers Network. With the ability to offer peer-support developed over many years of first hand experience this project engages carers new to the mental health system. The network offers information and advocacy for other mental health carers, particularly to those new to the role. The Mental Health Carers Network convenes meetings which include regular speakers from support agencies; an email discussion network; and, volunteer work at Calvary Ward 2N meeting new carers as they arrive at hospital for the first time.

For more information about the group, contact us.

ACTCOSS auspices the ACT Women and Prisons Group by helping manage their finances and supporting their meetings. The Group works alongside women with lived experience of the criminal justice system to advocate for their rights, provide emotional and practical support and inform them about relevant women’s services.

For more information about the group, contact us.

ACTCOSS auspices the ACT and Region Community Development Network, by managing their finances and providing a meeting space for the group. The network hold forums and supports discussion around the theory and practice of community development, and helps community development workers stay in touch and communicate.

The network is well known for its popular e-mail network, CDNet, which you can join by visiting the CDNet homepage. For more information, please contact us.

• Adult Literacy Project
• Food and Nutrition Project
• Poverty Data Project
• Organisations Information Kit (online resource kit for organisations)
• SAAP Referral Guide
• SAAP Referral Guide Updates - September 2006
• Community Sector Futures: ACTCOSS Conference 2008