It’s a discrepancy that can place a strain on legal resources available to parents and children.

When the Department of Health and Human Services deems a child’s situation as “high risk”, or have applied to remove a child, the legal process can happen quickly.

The process can be confusing and intimidating, given the prevalence of family violence and disadvantage in these matters.

A pilot program developed with the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre has helped more than 200 people with child protection matters in the region since October 2015.

Now, its funding from Victoria Legal Aid has been extended by four years.

LCCLC child protection lawyer Christie George said their service was about giving vulnerable people a greater understanding of their rights, and connecting them with other services.

“We can also give legal advice to people who aren’t actually at that stage of going to court with the department, but maybe they’ve had some communications,” she said.

“A report might have been made on their case, or they’ve been interviewed – we’re able to give them legal advice at that stage, earlier on.

“Private lawyers won’t get funding to do that work.”

Under the pilot program, family violence was present in 59 per cent of the matters, and 81 per cent of those assisted had little or no income.

More than three-quarters of the people who accessed the service were women, 37 per cent had a disability, and 15 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The pilot was developed as a way of addressing the city-country divide that existed for access to holistic legal support. LCCLC can take on the case from start to finish, help out with associated legal issues, and refer people to other community services.

LCCLC provided client feedback in attempting to extend the program, which found 93 per cent of their clients felt respected by their lawyers, 87 per cent found their legal advice easy to understand, and 80 per cent were happy with the overall service.

ARC Justice executive officer Hayley Mansfield said they were delighted to receive continued funding, as it gave their clients certainty into the future.

“We don’t just open and close a case, we try to hold onto it until the person is in a better position and can have ongoing wellbeing to have their matter resolved,” she said.

“Our biggest point of difference is knowledge of the community sector, and the ability to address underlying issues.”