Foster care

About foster care

Foster care provides a safe and supportive home for children and young people when they are unable to live with their own families. Children can be in care from overnight to several years, depending on their circumstances. When you become a foster carer, you can specify the length and type of care you provide.

Children and young people in foster care are just like any others, except that they’ve typically experienced some form of trauma. They come into care at all ages, across all cultural, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds.

In Victoria each year there is a significant shortfall of foster carers, more foster carers are always needed who can provide a safe home for children and young people.

Family rights and responsibilities

Foster and other out-of-home care can result from a:

• court order
• voluntary arrangement between the child’s parent and a foster care agency.

If the placement is voluntary, the birth parent remains the responsible parent of the child. If the placement is court ordered, the rights and responsibilities of the parents and the child will be outlined in the order granted by the Children’s Court, including when the parents can have contact with the child.

Support services for foster carers

The Victorian Government funds foster care agencies (also known as ‘community service organisations’) to operate foster care programs, including specialist adolescent and therapeutic programs.

Foster care agencies are responsible for supporting foster carers. You can expect the foster care agency to offer you support through telephone calls, home visits, after-hours support and regular supervision sessions. Your foster care agency can also provide ongoing training to help you develop the skills you need to meet the challenges faced as a foster carer.

Foster Care Association of Victoria

The Foster Care Association of Victoria offers an information and support service for foster carers.

Visit the Foster Care Association of Victoria website to find out more about the Carer Information and Support Service, and submit an online enquiry or call the helpline service on Tel. (03) 9416 4292.

Financial assistance for foster carers

The Victorian Government provides foster carers with a range of financial supports, including a fortnightly care allowance. The fortnightly care allowance contributes to the costs of the child’s food, clothing and day-to-day expenses. Foster carers may be eligible for other financial supports to support extra-ordinary costs outside of the care allowance.

You may also be eligible for a Foster Child Health Care Card.

For more information visit:

• Department of Families, Fairness and Housing – Support for home based carers in Victoria
• Services Australia – Support for non-parent carers
• Foster Care Association of Victoria – provides a number of useful information sheets on its website, including some on financial assistance for foster carers.

Carer KaFÉ

Carer KaFÉ provides learning and development opportunities to statutory kinship carers, accredited foster carers and permanent carers across Victoria. Delivered by expert trainers and based upon principles of therapeutic care, trauma, healing, and connection to culture, Carer KaFÉ ensures there are many valuable opportunities for those just starting their caring journey, to carers with years of experience.

Contact Carer KaFÉ for more information and the training schedule.

Care Support Help Desk

The Care Support Help Desk is available for new and existing kinship and foster carers where there is Child Protection involvement.

The Care Support Help Desk provides a range of supports, including ensuring carers have the critical documents they need when starting a care placement. The team also help existing foster and kinship carers to track vital documents for children in care.

Care Support Help Desk contacts

The Care Support Help Desk team are available via phone during business hours, 9 am to 5 pm:

• South Division Tel. 1800 319 503
• North Division Tel. 1800 319 507
• West Division Tel. 1800 319 510
• East Division Tel. 1800 931 757.

Becoming a foster carer

Fostering Connections is a joint initiative of foster care agencies across metropolitan and regional Victoria to raise awareness about the need for foster carers and provide Victorians with information about how to become an accredited foster carer.

To ask any questions you have about becoming a foster carer or to connect with a foster care agency, you can call 1800 013 088 or enquire on the Fostering Connections website.

Where to get help

• Your local foster care agency
• Foster care – DFFH Services Tel. 1300 475 170