Our training equips you with the knowledge and skills to care for a child in Out-of-Home Care. It provides a solid foundation to help you feel confident in your role, access valuable support networks and better understand the child or young person in your care.
Our initial carer training covers:
- An introduction to being a carer, your rights and your responsibilities.
- The legislative requirements of being a carer in your state.
- The impact of trauma on a child’s development, behaviour and self-esteem.
Our Carer Trainer adapts the training process to meet carer applicants’ availability. Carers are thereafter provided with ongoing training opportunities.
Foster carers can reach out with questions or for assistance at any time. Your dedicated Foundations Care Caseworker will be available to take your calls 24/7.
Whether you need advice, someone to listen, or strategies to handle a challenging situation, you will have on-call support readily available when you require it.
Our team are here to ensure you have the resources and guidance you need to provide the best possible care.
Foster and Kinship carers receive a tax-free allowance to support the needs of children in their care. The carer allowance is designed to cover the day-to-day costs of caring for a child. This includes:
- Food and clothing
- Basic medical expenses
- Educational expenses
- Household needs
- Hobbies and entertainment
- Gifts
Rates of allowance will vary depending on your state or territory, the needs of the child and the number of children or young people in placement. Respite carers receive an allowance in proportion to the amount of time they provide care for a child.
Our foster and kinship carers are important to us. Caseworkers provide support to foster and kinship carers as needed, maintaining regular phone contact and conducting home visits.
We send out newsletters with information about foster care, parenting tips, upcoming local events and foster carer training and carer gatherings. This information is also communicated through our casework team, social media and website.
Other carers are often the best form of support. At Foundations Care, we organise regular events, including morning teas and luncheons, where our carers can connect and share their experiences, challenges and successes.
These events are also an opportunity for us to access valuable feedback on ways we can improve our care support and a way for our carers to form connections with their local Foundations Care team.
At Foundations Care, we pride ourselves on remaining flexible and responsive. Each year, we send out a survey to get feedback about how we can best support the needs of our foster and kinship carers.
We’re always looking for ways to continually improve our service and the support we provide our carers.
We perform regular home visits to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your family and the child or young person in your care.
These visits provide another opportunity to ask questions or discuss any additional support needs.
Foster and kinship carers can access respite care, provided it is also in the best interest of the child. Respite care allows foster and kinship carers, and their families, to take a short break from their carer responsibilities.
Our specialist staff will work with you and the child or young person in your care where additional support is needed. We offer Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and behavioural support specialists.
Our foster and kinship carers can access counselling through the Employment Assistance Program (EAP). Access is confidential and at no cost.
