ABC Life Matters tackles foster care
April 16, 2008 at 10:41 am | In Issues for Fostering, Links, Media |Tags: ABC, Kinship Care, Life Matters, Summit
This morning on Radio National’s Life Matters two issues related to Out of Home Care were raised in very interesting ways.
The first came from a (former?) foster carer who was raising the problem of bureaucrats vs what she calls “realocrats”- those people with real experiences of the issues on the ground. Helen Kinniburgh certainly made a good case for what I think many of us have been frustrated with after seeing report after report, recommendation after recommendation without avenues for the voices of foster carers and other volunteers (and workers in various fields I should add) being heard.
While we certainly advocate for changes as we see fit, the summit would have really benefited from some of this rich experience.
The second was from CBC in Canada and looked at Grandparents who care in a kinship care arrangement. Again, I think it is vitally important for these under the radar issues to be given a platform in the hope that supports will follow.
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Hi Jess - I came across your blog and wanted to clarify that I haven’t been a foster carer, but for the last few years I have been regularly visiting foster care families as a volunteer for the Pyjama Foundation in Queensland. The Pyjama Foundation supplies resources and trains the volunteers to support literacy development as a means redressing the pretty bad stats for kids in foster care in achieving literacy ‘benchmarks’. As volunteers we are aware that foster carers are themselves reading with the kids and encouraging literacy but as they have so many tasks and issues to deal with, and often with a number of kids in their care and/or special needs/challenges, it was seen by Bronwyn Sheehan (founder of Pyjama Foundation) that some additional support would be helpful. The Pyjama Foundation is intending to go national next year. I was not speaking on their behalf, but having as a volunteer seen close up the conditions and challenges that foster carers work with, I was inspired/compelled to speak up and they happened to give me a go.
I too was really pleased that Life Matters (and other programs I believe) have given quite a bit of attention to the need to support foster carers.
All the best, Helen
Comment by Helen Kinniburgh — May 6, 2008 #
Sounds like a fantastic program, Helen, and I hope to hear more about the Pyjama Foundation as it grows.
Comment by Jess — May 7, 2008 #
[...] for letting us know about this organisation, Helen, what fantastic [...]
Pingback by Pyjama Foundation « Foster Care Victoria — May 7, 2008 #