Foster Carers

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A different type of foster care…

Foster Carer with a young person.

Late last week, ‘The Sun Herald’ published an article by Amber Schultz that outlined that “NSW’s foster carers are leaving the system in droves, with nearly 1,000 authorised carers quitting in the past year. There were 17,623 authorised carers in December 2022, compared to 16,643 in December 2023. 

Foster carers that were interviewed by ‘The Sun Herald’ claimed that they were struggling with the low payments they received, limited support for children with behavioural issues, poor communication with agencies (which placed the children in their care and the lack of an independent body to oversee the sector). 

The Department of Communities and Justice manages 45 per cent of the households in the Carers Register, non-government organisations manage the other 55 per cent. 

There are 11,976 households with one or more registered carers and nearly 15,000 children in need of care and protection. According to the article in ‘The Sun Herald’, just one third of these children are placed with foster care families. 

Out-of-home care is provided to children and young people who are unable to live with their own families. Foster carers take on the ‘parent like’ responsibilities for a period of time, to provide a safe, nurturing and secure family like environment for children and young people needing care.

Reform of child protection system

The NSW Government is “embarking on significant reform of the child protection system, and a critical element of that reform will be more support for foster carers.”

“Each year, 600 new foster carers are needed in NSW to take care of children who can’t live safely at home. Carers can be family members or foster carers, and come from a diverse range of backgrounds and all walks of life,” states the Department of Communities and Justice media release from September 2023.

The Department of Communities and Justice established a team in November 2023 to move children from High-Cost Emergency Arrangements (HCEA) to more suitable arrangements. HCEA’s place children in hotels, motels, serviced apartments, or rental accommodation, where they are cared for by a rotating roster of shift workers. These type of arrangements can cost up to $2 million a year for each child.

Through intensive “family finding, where caseworkers search out possible family connections who might be able to care for the child under kinship care arrangements, matching children to newly recruited emergency foster carers, working with NGO partners to fill vacancies in their contracts with government and re-negotiating the amount paid to HCEA providers.

Foster Care - Foster Carer with teenage boy.

The Department of Communities and Justice is “working to reduce reliance on alternative care arrangements, where for-profit labour hire firms provide staff to supervise children.”

The Burdekin Foster Care difference

The Burdekin Association helps young people who, for various reasons, can’t live with their family. A Burdekin foster carer provides young people with a safe, positive, nurturing home to live in, a listening ear and practical day-to-day assistance.

The main difference? At The Burdekin Association, we can provide a home RENT FREE or pay some of the rent/mortgage for foster carers. We adapt and work with foster carers to ensure that they are provided with weekly wrap-around support and do not need to shoulder any financial burden. That way, they can focus on the most important thing – giving our young people what they need. 

The length of commitment as a foster carer can be tailored to the foster carer’s needs – if they can only commit for a couple of years – we can absolutely work with that, and any longer is an absolute bonus!

The Burdekin Association provides foster carers with a team of support professionals, 24 hour on-call assistance, regular respite and ongoing training. 

The Burdekin Association specialises in fostering teenagers (sometimes tweens), when they are at their most vulnerable and need the most support.

Burdekin Foster Carers are: 

  • Supported 24 hours a day with on-call assistance. 
  • Able to receive 24 days respite per year.
  • Able to receive a carer allowance to meet the needs of the child or young person placed in their care.
  • Able to undertake fostering within a Burdekin property, should their own home not be suitable.
  • Are supported weekly by Burdekin staff and provided with preparatory and ongoing training throughout their foster care journey.

Foster carers do not receive formal wages. A foster carer allowance is provided to help ensure the child has everything that they need.  This allowance is based on the age of the child being cared for.

As with all parents, foster carers may be eligible for financial assistance through Centrelink, depending on their work and financial circumstances.

Want more information? 

There are six steps to becoming a foster carer with The Burdekin Association. Find out more here… 

Foster Care and Kinship Week 2023

Foster Care and Kinship Week 2023

“More than 100 vulnerable children and young people are living in alternative emergency housing, such as hotels and motels, as the child protection system faces a dire shortage of Foster Carers,” reported Amber Schultz in The Sun Herald on September 10, 2023, the start of Foster Care and Kinship Week.

According to the report in the Herald, “There are around 15,000 children and young people in the NSW child protection system. The shortage of Foster Carers has resulted in an increasing number of children being housed in residential care.”

The Department of Communities and Justice estimates that an extra 600 Foster Carers are needed a year to take care of children who cannot live safely at home.

NSW Minister for Families and Communities, Kate Washington has used Foster Care and Kinship Week to make an urgent plea for more parents to sign up as Foster Carers.

“Each year, 600 new Foster Carers are needed in NSW to take care of children who can’t live safely at home. Carers can be family members or foster carers, and come from a diverse range of backgrounds and all walks of life.

All carers receive training, support and an allowance to help them throughout their care journey.”

Kate Washington, NSW Minister for Families and Communities.

Learn about becoming a Foster Carer here

The Burdekin Association hosted a stall at the Addison Road Community Markets in Marrickville on Sunday September 10, 2023 to discuss volunteering and foster caring opportunities at The Burdekin Association.

“The Burdekin Association loves to be a part of the local community. We want to partner with people who would like to understand the work that The Burdekin Association does with young people aged between 9 and 24. We believe that people in the community generally wish to help young people who haven’t had the best start in life – to have an opportunity to develop their skills and their confidence. The Burdekin Association provides that opportunity for the right people,” said Jill Wrathal Strategic Projects / Volunteer Manager with The Burdekin Association.

“Being Foster Care and Kinship Week, The Burdekin Association is looking for Foster Carers who have the right attributes, who love teenagers, and who are also very patient.”

Jill Wrathall, Strategic Projects / Volunteer Manager with The Burdekin Association.

The Burdekin Association provides free accommodation to Foster Carers. We rent houses all around Sydney in locations that are mutually agreed. As a Foster Carer, once you have received the training and been assessed as suitable, we are able to match you with a young person and provide a house for you in a location that meets both the needs of the young person and of you and your family situation.

“Foster Carers provide the ideal environment for a young person to thrive in. Foster Carers can be people at all different stages of life – we can have people in their 20’s, people in their 70’s. What they provide is a stable, consistent, loving home environment for a young person who has experienced not so many good things in their life. Often there has been trauma, abuse, neglect and these young people need to be given a stable, consistent home environment where they have their own bedroom, feel safe, and where the Foster Carer provides a consistent framework of support for them and they can engage with education and work opportunities as any child growing up in a family would want to do.”

Jill Wrathall, Strategic Projects / Volunteer Manager with The Burdekin Association.

Foster caring isn’t easy, but for the right people, it can be so rewarding to make a difference in the life of a young person. That’s why The Burdekin Association has its volunteering program. It’s a gentle entry point, with some volunteers going on to become Foster Carers.

Some ways that people in the community can volunteer as mentors to young people, is by helping them with:

  • Their education
  • Obtaining a driver’s licence
  • Learner driving supervision
  • Learning to cook
  • Learning to catch public transport
  • Developing their skills and their confidence

Take the quiz to see if you can become a Foster Carer

Home Stretch Make it 21 Campaign Update

Home Stretch Make it 21

The Home Stretch advocacy began in 2016 when 160 organisations joined forces to lobby for significant reforms for young people in out-of-home care.

At the end of 2022 the NSW government announced universal extended care to 21 years for young people in State Care from February 2023. The announcement means that every state and territory government in Australia agreed to provide vulnerable young people in foster care with support to the age of 21 years. At the time our CEO, Justene Gordon, said:

‘We thank all the young people, those with lived experience and others, who championed this effort. Ensuring young people in care have a fair, equitable, robust and real opportunity for all that life brings is what we all strive for’.

Since reform

  • States and Territories began to legislate reform to foster care to implement the age change.
  • Advocates say, the changes are too slow and much more needs to be done.

Talking about it recently in the media the Chair of the Home Stretch coalition, Paul McDonald said:

There is still a lot of work to be done. Supports for young people differ between states and they continue to have problems accessing housing. It’s time for the Australian Government to step up and help with this.”

Mr. McDonald also calls for a push for increased housing and social support for young people transitioning out of foster care.

There are also reports that the rising cost of living is exacerbating the foster carer shortage as providing care and support is getting more difficult because of the rising cost of living.

National Youth Homelessness Conference

The next National Youth Homelessness Conference takes place 24-25th July and will focus on child and youth homelessness. Organisers say, it is time that the Australian government committed to developing a national plan to address child and youth homelessness. This conference will mobilise a collective commitment to developing a joint government-NGO strategy to address child and youth homelessness nationally.

We are delighted that our Patron, Prof. Brian Burdekin AO, will deliver the opening address and our CEO, Justene Gordon, will also present at the conference.

Celebrating our Volunteers

Burdekin youth support services

Our Volunteer Program was launched in 2020 during National Volunteer Week and every year since, we celebrate our volunteers and their contribution to the organisation with a nice meal, warm words and certificates of appreciation. Check out the photos below, it could be you next year if you want to become part of our Burdekin family.

We have all been inspired by our Burdekin volunteers this week. Our regular volunteers act as role models and mentors to a young person. They turn up consistently for two hours each week to do an agreed activity e.g. cooking a meal, L driving hours or education support. We also celebrated with our very special volunteers, our Foster Carers ,who have been thoroughly assessed and authorised as Burdekin Foster Carers and have given a young person a caring, nurturing home.

One of our foster carers shared:

“I have always wanted to foster a teenager but just this year, the time has become right to do it. Even though it’s been challenging at times, it is so worthwhile to provide a safe home where she has been able to relax and feel she belongs.”

We are so grateful for people in our community who step out of their comfort zone and choose to connect with a young person who needs trusted adult role models in their life.

We need more volunteers in South East and Inner West Sydney, to inquire, please email us at: volunteer@burdekin.org.au.

Causes of youth homelessness – bereavement

Youth Homelessness - parental bereavement

According to CREATE Foundation, there were 45,000 children and young people living in out-of-home care across Australia between June 2018 to 2019. However, this number changes every year as children and young people come in and out of the care system… you can read more here.

What is the leading cause of homelessness in young people?

According to AIWH, in 2019–20, three of the main reasons young people aged 15–24 sought assistance from specialist homelessness services were a housing crisis (17%), family and domestic violence (17%) and inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (12%).

Bereavement

Another reason we might not hear about is parental bereavement. Did you know that 1 in 20 children in Australia will lose a parent by the time they’re 18?

Death of a parent can be an extremely stressful time for a child or young person even if they have the support of the other parent. What if they don’t – who takes care of the children? Usually it would be settled by the court in consultation with family but in the event there is nobody able or willing to, then the child would be placed in out of home care and the agency would try to find a suitable foster family.

When the bereavement happens with a young person they may come to Burdekin, where we offer wraparound, therapeutic care for the child or young person.

We recently listened to Dr Justin Coulson’s Happy Families podcast with his guest speaker Kristy Thomas, Co-Founder of Feel the Magic and the topic of Helping Kids Cope With Grief. Kristy says’ Feel the Magic was borne out of her own and her husbands bereavement and lack of resources in Australia.

Feel the Magic hold virtual and face-to-face camps teaching emotional literacy, coping strategies, tools to self-regulate and self soothe and they also get to meet others who are going through the same thing. Anxiety, dysregulation, overwhelm, isolation, withdrawal and risk-taking behaviours. A child who has had a significant bereavement before the age of 18 is six times more likely to die by suicide. Have a listen. Helping Kids Cope With Grief

We acknowledge the Aboriginal people of the Cadigal and Gayamaygal Clans. We acknowledge the Country on which we live, work, and gather as being Aboriginal land.

We acknowledge the lands, waterways and skies that are connected to Aboriginal people. We honour them and pay our deepest respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We respect their rightful place within our communities, and we value their ancient cultural knowledge and practices.

Aboriginal Flag
Torres Straight Island Flag

We deeply respect that this will always be Aboriginal land and we will honour and follow the first peoples’ values in caring for the Country and for preserving their culture.

We deeply value that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the oldest living culture in the world and we will continue to work with their peoples and communities to ensure their cultures endure and remain strong.