Foster Care Victoria

This week’s edition of ABC’s stateline investigated the future of foster care in Victoria. With interviews with carers Jill Gaitly who has cared for babies up to 3 years for 42 years, Kim Rae who care for adolescent boys as well as Dr. Ray Cleary, CEO of Anglicare Victoria the story questioned a future which depends on the voluntary efforts of community members for the care of our most vulnerable and most trauma affected children.

Journalists pointed out that current carers are adamant they are not in it for the money, although some feel that reimbursements didn’t go far enough.

While it is expected that much of the care provided will continue to be voluntary, Anglicare Victoria believes that “professional carers”, (paid carers with qualifications in child psychology or related fields), are a necessary part of the cohort of people caring for children, especially for children who are seriously affected by trauma and whose challenging behaviors require professional therapeutic interventions.

Another aspect of Stateline’s story focused on the need for carers to be more included in the decisions made about the child. Here it is important the recognise that most decisions are made by the courts and not by agencies. Additionally, there are a number of programs adopting a “Care Team” model which places children in the middle of the circle and includes all the other members of the people involved in the decision making for the child in a circle of care around them. These may include foster carers, case workers, DHS staff, parents, school teachers, coaches or other people with a connection to the child. These have been highly successful and have included both parents and foster carers in a way that changes the ways that decisions are made.