SPEAKERS

Meena Nathan, Ikran Aden and Lena Ford (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH))

Topic

The Cultural Engagement Program (CEP) is a state-wide service that works with children, young people and families from multi-cultural and multi-faith backgrounds who are in contact with Victoria’s Child Protection program.  

The CEP was established in 2018 to support child protection working with culturally diverse communities including refugees, migrants and asylum seekers from new and emerging communities. The CEP has evolved into a successful program providing an information and advice service for DFFH programs as well as direct support to children, young people and families who are involved with child protection.  

The team is developing a pilot program, which aims to ensure that children and young people in out-of-home care are connected to their culture, language and faith and, where possible, returned to the care of their kinship community. 

About the speakers

Meena Nathan

Meena is a Cultural Engagement Practitioner with DFFH. She has seventeen years of experience working with children, youth and families in a range of positions within Australia and the United Kingdom. Meena holds a family violence portfolio with the cultural engagement program and continues to advocate for intersectional practice approach when working with culturally diverse families. Meena has acted in a supervisory role, within the cultural engagement program. She holds considerable experience in practice within Victoria’s Child Protection system.

Ikran Aden

Ikran is a Cultural Engagement Practitioner within the Cultural Engagement Program. She has worked in various projects across the child protection system, working with both clients and carers. Her lived experience as a humanitarian immigrant underpins her practice approach and service delivery when working with culturally diverse families. She also holds the faith and spiritual lead practice portfolio within the cultural engagement program and is an advisory group member for research addressing systemic disadvantages for Muslim communities during child protection interventions.

Lena Ford

Lena is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and Program and Practice Leader of the Cultural Engagement Program.  She has worked in the field of children, youth and families for 25 years, in both government and community settings.  A significant focus of her work has been alongside culturally diverse communities, as well as refugee and asylum seeker communities in Australia and in the UK. 

VTMH seminars are open to individuals, from all disciplines and working in all sectors, who are based in Australia and interested in diversity and mental health.  

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