Foster Care Victoria

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What is foster care?
The aim of foster care is to find safe & supportive homes for children & young people who are unable to live with their own family for a period of time. The primary goals of foster care are to protect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people and to reunite them with their own family wherever possible.

What types of people can be a foster carer?
Foster carers:
* come from a range of different backgrounds & cultures
* are aged between 20 and 80 years of age
* are married, single, in a defacto relationship, gay, straight or bisexual
* are employed full-time or part-time, unemployed, retired or a student
* have different religious beliefs or do not subscribe to any particular belief system

How long do children stay in foster care?
This can vary from overnight to several years.
Respite care gives parents or foster carers a regular break, perhaps for a weekend every month, as needed or for a week in the school holidays.
Short-term care can be anytime from overnight to up to six months. In this situation, there may have been a family crisis or children may be waiting on the outcome of a court order before their future can be decided.
Long term care is arranged when it becomes apparent that a child will not be able to return home for some time.

What kind of commitment is required to be a foster carer or a Friend?
People who wish to become foster carers and Friends make an initial commitment to undergo pre-service training & accreditation. Training for foster carers and Friends is slightly different.

Foster carers are able to decide what best suits them (for example, a foster carer may determine that they are only available every second weekend to provide respite).

Foster carers are able to go on hold as they require. Foster carers are also able to withdraw from the program at any stage, although foster carers are asked to think carefully before they commit to a placement, as stability is extremely important to children in care.

What support & information is available to foster carers?

Depending on what agency you work with, the following will often be available...

- 24 hour seven day a week support via pager system
- Fortnightly non-taxable reimbursement
- Case workers
- Friends / volunteer support
- Carer support groups
- Newsletters

Can I ask to have a child of a certain age or gender?
Yes.

Why do some children need foster care?
There is a range of reasons why children come in to care including:

- Poverty
- Illness / mental illness
- Family difficulties or crisis
- Abandonment
- Emotional, physical or sexual abuse
- Neglect
- Drug or alcohol issues
- Disability
- Imprisonment of primary carer
- Death of primary carer

What are foster children like?
In lots of ways,foster children are just like other kids. Often they experience a lot of emotional disruption in their lives & may have lost trust in adults & family life. Moving from a familiar environment into the home of a foster family may be scary & it may take a child some time to settle in. Because of their experiences some children may have problem behaviours & low self esteem.

What happens for brothers & sisters?
If at all possible, brothers & sisters are kept together. However, due to the lack of carers able to take on sibling groups, this is sometimes not possible.

Do foster children have contact with their natural family?
Whenever possible and appropriate, children are encouraged to see their parents and siblings. The guidelines for this contact may be set out in a court order if the placement has ordered through the court system.

What sort of reimbursement is available to foster carers?
Being a foster carer is a voluntary role & therefore there is not a salary involved. Foster carers receive a fortnightly non-taxable allowance for each night that they have a child in their care from the Department of Human Services. This is to help meet the costs of food, clothing & general living expenses for the child. The actual amount paid differs depending on the age of the child, whether the child has a disability or complex behaviours, the length of the child’s stay & so on.

Is there a chance of adopting a foster child?Generally this is not possible. One of the aims of foster care is to reunite the child with their birth family.[/b]
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