The closure of foster care provider Berry Street's office in Horsham represents another loss to community services in the region, Uniting Wimmera said.
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Uniting Wimmera out of home care manager Phillip Yew said about 120 children and 66 carers across the Wimmera currently accessed its foster services.
He said there were probably four to five requests for foster care placements a week.
"When we lose an agency we lose that face-to-face conversation that we can have with them," he said.
Berry Street closed its Horsham office in early January and now delivers its services for the Wimmera from Ballarat. It has said that clients in the Wimmera would be unaffected by the change.
However, Mr Yew said it was possible that Uniting Wimmera might have to step in to provide more on-the-ground support.
"We believe the best way for us to serve the area is to be based here, out of Horsham," he said.
"But we totally respect them. We have time for Berry Street and everything they do and want to keep collaborating with them wherever they are. They're a good agency and we have worked with them over many years."
Mr Yew said the closure contributed to the perception that rural areas were losing out to regional areas on service provision.
"Particularly specialised types of services like paediatricians, psychology, drug rehab, homeless and domestic violence shelters."
A Berry Street spokeswoman told the Mail-Times that "Berry Street is committed to delivering high-quality services to children, young people, and families across Victoria to address the effects of violence, abuse, and neglect".
"We continue to deliver our foster care and Take Two services for Horsham and surrounding areas from our Ballarat office, and made an operational decision to close our small office in Horsham this month," she said.
"We assure all of our Take Two program participants in the region that they will continue to receive high-quality services, and we have spoken to all of our foster carers in Horsham and surrounding regions to assure them they will continue to receive high-quality support from Berry Street.
"This includes 24-hour support and practical help from experienced staff through regular phone calls, emails, and home visits, and ongoing training and access to programs."
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Eliza Berlage
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
Eliza Berlage made the move to Horsham to report for the Wimmera Mail-Times in October 2019. Originally from Sydney, she has a sociology background and spent two years working in the press gallery in Canberra.
