An $800,000 Government boost will strengthen children services in Darebin.

Minister for Children Sherryl Garbutt, who launched the initiative at Oakhill Family Services Centre in Reservoir, said the funding over four years for a Best Start project would improve the health, development, learning and well-being of children by boosting support for young families.

'High-quality early childhood services are critical for children to get the best possible start in life,' Ms Garbutt said.

'The Darebin project is part of a $10.8 million, four-year commitment in last year's State Budget to expand the Best Start program to 11 more local governments and four Aboriginal communities across the State.

'Best Start is improving the access by families to early childhood services, increasing parents' confidence in parenting and promoting child-friendly communities.

'It will also help us to better coordinate and identify any gaps in early childhood services to make Victoria an even better place to live and raise a family.'

The Department of Human Services and the Department of Education and Training oversee the program.

'The Best Start partnership finds ways to support parents, the community and early childhood services to work together,' Ms Garbutt said.

'The Darebin Best Start project could, for example, fund ways to improve co-ordination and access for families to early childhood services such as maternal and child health services and kindergartens, set up culturally-relevant playgroups for children or deliver more support and advice for parents.'

The Darebin City Council has taken a leadership role in bringing together key local groups to identify and prioritise community needs to deliver the Darebin project.

The Best Start program was launched in 2002 and 13 Best Start projects already operate across Victoria.