Legal responsibility of Aboriginal children on child protection orders is being shifted from government departments to Aboriginal-led teams through a new groundbreaking program.

Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative is leading the Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care program for the Ballarat region and workers say it could change the future trajectory for dozens of Aboriginal families.

Program manager Angela Heard said Gobata Burron, meaning 'taking care of children' in Wathaurong language, created a more culturally safe model of care for families and children.

"It allows us to provide strong advocacy for our people in a space where we have not had this before," she said.

"Usually things would all happen behind closed doors in the department (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing), where now we are part of that.

"From the caring for the kids on the ground level up to the strategic level, we have places at the table in spaces where we wouldn't have had opportunities to advocate for our people before."

Gobata Burron has been working with 10 children and their families who are on a child protection order since July.

The plan is to expand to working with 18 families next year.

PAST COVERAGE: Supporting Aboriginal children in out of home care

Gobata Burron team leader Jess Wall said the program meant Aboriginal people would become a part of decision making for families, with a more therapeutic and cultural lens.

Ms Heard said case managers supported families to meet court ordered conditions, which could help reunite families faster.

"For many years parents have been handed the court conditions and then left to address these, such as referrals to counselling, alcohol and other drug services and family violence services," she said.

"Arranging these things without support and guidance can be overwhelming and as much as parents want to succeed in getting things done, they sometimes don't.

"We walk alongside them, ensuring they have every opportunity to achieve their court ordered conditions. We work with the parents and children to meet their goals."

Ms Heard said this different approach was crucial to improved family outcomes because Aboriginal families had complex layers of trauma that was different to other groups in society.

This trauma stems back to periods in history including the stolen generation.

Aboriginal children are over-represented in out of home care.

Data shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were eight times as likely as non-Indigenous children to have received child protection services in Australia in 2018 and 2019.

Poverty, assimilation policies, intergenerational trauma, discrimination and forced child removals have contributed to the over-representation.

Data shows Aboriginal people have lower rates of high education and home ownership and higher rates of homelessness and chronic health issues.

Smaller case loads in the Gobata Burron program allow more time to work one on one with families.

"It is about having workers that understand that we need to work differently," Ms Heard said.

"If we call three times and they don't answer we don't just close their case, we find out what is going on and what we can do to support.

"That was happening with the department and families then never get their babies back.

"There is lots of shame for our people when children are removed. But it is not forever. It is about what do we do now to get you back on track so the kids can return.

"There is never any judgement."

Gobata Burron case manager Tracy Walters said she had seen families engage more through BADAC than when they were previously case managed by the department.

"Each family is different and has a different history with services," she said.

"There can be longstanding strained relationships with the department and that may be why they have not been engaging in the past.

"They have started engaging with us. We are building rapports, relationships and trust so they will engage and keep engaging knowing we are listening."

BADAC offers a holistic suite of services, which means families do not have to retell their stories multiple times to different service providers.

Ms Heard said it meant workers could be creative in the supports provided.

She referred to one example where BADAC was now supplying home cooked frozen meals to a young boy and his family in the Gobata Burron program.

"This little man will have lots of care and support around him now," she said.

"His mum has had a history of having children removed, but we are hoping at this point with this little person we are going to break that cycle," Ms Walters said.

"That is why everyone is putting their hand up to do whatever we can, thinking outside of the square, making meals. It was an idea that just happened.

"Hopefully these little things will all add up together and that will be enough for mum to get herself back on track."

Ms Walters worked with another young mum this year and helped her get into a university course.

"She is still going and she got to keep her baby," Ms Heard said.

"It is things like that that will create change because her child will see mum went to uni. That is a really beautiful story.

"It is about helping them believe they can do and be who they want to be. A lot of our parents grew up in care, so many think that is just how it is.

"There is a lot of judgement also on our families. That is where we come in and say that is outside noise, we can't listen to that, it is about what you do now. It is about empowerment."

Ms Heard said Aboriginal voices will become stronger and louder in advocating for Aboriginal families as the Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care program continues to grow in Ballarat.

Ms Walters sad she 'absolutely' believed the program could change the trajectory for Aboriginal children.

"That is why we are doing it and putting so much hard work into it. That is the aim for sure," she said.

"We want to see these little people stay with their families or return to their families."

The Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care program is already well established in Bendigo and Echuca, with teams of up to 50 staff that includes case managers, team leaders and lawyers.

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