What is Fostering?

Foster care provides safe and supportive homes for children and teenagers when they are unable to live with their own families. The aim of foster care is to reunite children with their own families where possible.

In Victoria, foster care is provided by members of the community who are involved with a community service organisation, or CSO, which is commissioned by the Department of Human Services to provide these services.  Some children who are unable to live with their parents may live with extended family members.  This is known as ‘Kinship Care’.  Kinship carers are usually supported by the Department of Human Services.

There are several types of foster care programs in Victoria. Some CSOs provide a variety of programs, and some provide only one or two. Some of these programs are:

* General Foster Care – for children aged 0-18 years. 
* Disability – respite & full-time foster care for children & young people 0-18 with a disability or developmental delay
* Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) – for children & young people with complex needs
* Adolescent Community Placement (ACP) – for young people aged 13-17 years

There are a range of reasons why children come in to care, including poverty, lack of support, disability, mental illness or medical issues, homelessness, family crisis, abandonment, neglect, drug or alcohol issues, or emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

All children in foster care live in different circumstances, and therefore have different needs. Children can require safe, loving & supportive care:

* immediately
* in a few weeks
* overnight
* one weekend a month  (for more information our post ‘What is Respite Foster Care?’)
* for a few months
* for several years

Foster carers may choose the length of care they are willing to provide, and may even specify the age or gender of children they are willing to provide care for.

Foster carers are people from the community who are:

* from all backgrounds & cultures
* single, married or in a de facto relationship
* working full time, part time, studying, or not in paid employment
* living alone, with family, or in a shared household or rented property
* childless or have children
* aged between 20 – 80 years

Foster carers are able to decide what best suits them, and are able to go on hold at any stage for any length of time, although potential carers are asked to think carefully before they commit to a placement, as stability is extremely important to children in care.

Foster carers are volunteers.  However, foster carers receive a fortnightly non-taxable allowance for each night that they have a child in their care. This is to help meet the costs of food, clothing, & general living expenses for the child. The actual amount of reimbursement varies depending on a number of factors. You can read more about the training and assessment of foster carers in our post on Foster Care Training.

Intensive foster carers (who care for children & young people with intensive needs) receive a higher rate of reimbursement than do general foster carers, as well as extra training. This includes children & young people in the Disability program (who have an intellectual disability or developmental delay), with additional physical, emotional or behavioural needs.

Complex foster carers receive the highest rate of reimbursement & training. These carers usually provide one-to-one care for children & young people aged 7-18 years who have extremely high, complex needs, and require specialised care and support. This includes young people in Enhanced Adolescent Community Placements and children who supported through Therapeutic Foster Care programs.

To find out more, call 1800 013 088 or click on one of the agencies listed down the right hand side of this blog under the heading ‘Where can I foster?’.  You can also view our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page.