Martinthi is an Aboriginal Kinship Care Program delivered in partnership with InComPro Aboriginal Association Incorporation.
Kinship Care refers to the placement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people with relatives or with a person from the child’s community. A kinship carer may be directly related to the child by blood, marriage, or according to Aboriginal culture and kinship structures, and placements typically occur as a result of a child protection intervention.
Martinthi Aboriginal Kinship Care aims to support both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal kinship carers, helping them provide the best possible care and guidance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in care.
Kinship Carer Assessments
An allocated Kinship Care Support Worker
Training opportunities in Aboriginal culture
Therapeutic Care for children who have experienced trauma
Assessment within carer’s family/kin network to become carer
After hours on-call phone services
Assistance to access services and other support groups
Social events with other carers and children
We are committed to providing a culturally safe service to Aboriginal children, young people, carers and their families through prioritising children’s connection to family, kin, culture, country and community.
We serve Adelaide metropolitan, Yorke Peninsula and Mid-north.
During the early stages of the program, it was decided to brand and name the initiative to reflect the kinship carers it would support. The name “Martinthi”, meaning “embrace, clasp, hold” in Kaurna language, was chosen in respect of the lands where the program operates.
The artwork was created by Mr Derek Newchurch, a Narungga Elder and activist for the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Derek’s intention behind the artwork was to create a symbol of support and togetherness, showing that kinship carers can walk their journey together.
The original piece is watercolour on canvas, painted with brushes and dotting tools, featuring bright colours like blues, greens, yellows, and whites. It includes meaningful figures such as people (women, men, and children), boomerangs, tjine (feet), tracks, stars, and a meeting place, each symbolising aspects of community and connection.
The Martinthi program is accessed through referrals from the Department for Child Protection (DCP).
UCWB and InComPro cannot accept outside referrals for this service.
If you are an approved kinship carer, including a carer applicant with children in your care under a Temporary Placement Order, you can also request an agency transfer from your current kinship support provider to Martinthi.
Existing kinship carers wishing to transfer should speak with their DCP Social Worker or Case Worker in the first instance.
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