Fostering FAQ
Who needs foster care?
Community Service Organisations provide safe & supportive homes for children & teenagers who are temporarily unable to live with their own families, as well as supporting families in crisis and families who have a child with a disability or developmental delay.
What is the aim of foster care?
The aim of foster care is to reunite children with their own family wherever possible. Where this is not possible, the aim is generally to find a stable, long-term environment in which the child can live (e.g. permanent care, adoption).
How old are foster children?
The age of children & young people in foster care ranges from 0-18 years. Carers can specify the age of children for which they would be willing to provide care.
How long do children require care?
The length of care required varies. Some children need emergency care overnight or for the weekend, others need regular respite one weekend a month, & many need care for months at a time or even years. Carers can specify the length of care they are able to provide. For more information on respite care, please view our post titled ‘What is Respite Care?’.
What makes a person eligible to be a carer?
Anyone who can provide safe, appropriate care for children in need is eligible to apply to be a foster carer. Race, gender, marital status, employment, sexuality and religion do not affect a person’s eligibility to be a carer. You do not have to have your own children to be a foster carer. Foster carers are generally aged between 20 and 80 years.
What sort of care is most required?
People are needed to provide all types of care, from respite to long-term. People are also needed who can look after sibling groups in order to keep children from the same family together. Boys aged between 6-13 years of age are among the most difficult children to find foster care placements for.
Do carers always have a placement?
Carers may go ‘on hold’ or discontinue volunteering as a carer at any time, although potential applicants are encouraged to take into consideration the importance of stability to children in foster care and carefully consider the commitment they are making prior to accepting a placement.
What financial support is provided to foster carers?
Carers receive a tax-free fortnightly reimbursement from the Department of Human Services. The amount of this reimbursement is primarily dependent on the age of the child in care and the type of program the child is involved with (e.g. general, intensive, complex).
What other support is provided to carers?
Casework staff are on-call 24/7 & are available to answer any queries that may arise during placement. They can also refer children or carers to other services or training as required. Many agencies and foster carers also run carer support groups, and some have a Carer Support Team to support foster carers throughout the time they are involved with the agency. To read more about the training and assessment of foster carers, please view our post entitled ‘Foster Care Training’.
What happens if a foster carer goes on holiday?
Many foster carers take children and young people with them on holiday. If they have a current placement, foster carers must notify their agency of when they are planning to take a holiday. Respite arrangements can be made with enough notice if it is not appropriate or practical for the carer to take a child or young person on the holiday. If the foster carer is travelling interstate or overseas it is necessary to gain permission from the child or young person’s guardian in order for them to go.
How do foster children attend school?
If the child is of school age, they will most likely continue attending the school at which they are already enrolled. In most cases, the carer will transport the child to & from school. It is generally preferred that children are placed close to their school.
If you think another FAQ should be added to this page, please leave a comment below.
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is one elegible to foster if works full time?
Comment by Agnes — March 8, 2009 #
Certainly Agnes. Many foster carers, both singles and couples, work full time.
Comment by Josh — March 10, 2009 #
Is the allowance means tested?
We’d love to foster, but my husband earns above average salary. Due to other financial committments, we couldn’t support foster kids on his salary alone. Would be nice if we could still get assistance for their groceries/clothes.
Comment by Molly — May 5, 2009 #
All foster carers receive a tax-free reimbursement regardless of their income.
This reimbursement starts at $251.06 per fortnight but varies according to the age of the child and also the complexity of the needs of the child. So, for example, foster carers who care for a child who has a disability or who is identified as having extremely challenging behaviours may be reimbursed at a significantly higher rate.
Carers may also be eligible for family-tax benefits through Centrelink.
You can also call the foster care hotline on 1800 013 088 for more information.
Comment by Jess — May 6, 2009 #
I have three children of my own, 16,11 & 14 and looking at fostering a child, what age would you recommend to foster ?, my kids are all great children and i know that they would be fine with it, and i have spoken to my eldest about it and she thinks it’s a good idea and said she would be happy to have somebody else come and stay with us. I am going to attend the next meeting about fostering but just wanted to get a rough idea on the age that would be best to foster.
Thank-you, Cathy
Comment by Cathy — May 25, 2009 #
Cathy,
Different people and families find that different ages work for them. Some people prefer to foster only children younger than their youngest, but others find children a similar age work better as they can be more easily integrated into the current family lifestyle.
Look forward to seeing you at our next information session.
Josh
Comment by Josh — May 25, 2009 #
I have a 4 month old baby and am looking into fostering children but should i wait until my child is older and can i chose to only do babys and how many i have in my care and any one time. im all so not working so will that stop my chances of been able to have foster children. Thanks
Comment by Sarah — June 8, 2009 #
Thanks for your questions Sarah.
Foster families come in shapes and sizes; families with children or without, people who are working, retired, stay-at-home parents, students- what matters is your ability to provide a safe and caring environment for children.
In answer to your questions, it’s entirely a personal choice as to whether now is the right time to look into fostering for you. You might feel more comfortable to wait until your baby is a little older or now might feel like the perfect time.
We encourage you to consider the age and perhaps also gender of children you wish to foster. This can vary according to your experience, time availability/ lifestyle and the age and gender of your own children. Some foster carers do have more than one child placed with them, but this is usually in cases of sibling groups. In some cases, very experienced carers will take on more than one child at a time.
The fact that you are not working means that you have a lot of time to offer, especially for babies and infants who need a stay-at-home carer. You should not feel that not working is a barrier to getting involved.
For more information contact the Hotline on 1800 013 088.
Comment by Jess — June 9, 2009 #
Hi I am interested in becoming a foster carer and would like to organise a meeting to discuss further. My contact phone number is 0417 027 250
Regards Maria Washer
Comment by Maria Washer — June 11, 2009 #
l have a nine year old son who is permanent care. He has some behaviour problems. Is he entitled to the same support as a foster care child and if so where do l find out what help we are able to get for him and us.
Comment by Deborah — June 15, 2009 #
Hi Deborah,
Permanent care is quite a different process so I’m unable to really answer your questions specifically. The best thing I could suggest would be to get in touch with the agency you applied for permanent care through and see what they offer. Otherwise you might find parenting programs to be useful, Anglicare Victoria runs a great program called “Parentzone”, find out here http://www.anglicarevic.org.au/index.php?sectionID=5995&pageID=6519
Comment by Jess — July 15, 2009 #
Hi,
I am a full-time student currently studying to be a primary school teacher. I have been interested in becoming a foster carer for some time now, but I am not sure what I need to have to be able to provide care for a child. Some questions I am hoping to have answered are:
~I am 22, am I eligible to be a foster carer?
~I currently live in a one bedroom flat on my own. Is this sufficient to look after a female child in the age group of new born to about 5?
~Do you get to choose the gender of the child you care for?
~Do you receive a centrelink payment to care for the child? Or any other financial help?
~I am a full-time student, not working, is this a problem?
~I am single, not married. Is this a problem?
Thank you. I greatly appreciate any information you can help me with.
Comment by sarah — August 17, 2009 #
Hi I live in rural victoria I am 26 years old and I have just compleated cert 4 community services at tafe i am interested in fostering primary aged childeren. I am singlel and living in rental accomadation. is it realistic to want to work part time or casual and foster children. how do employees feel about this?
Comment by joanie — November 8, 2009 #