Carers
With 41.2% of children in out-of-home care Aboriginal, we need more families to becomes carers to provide the culturally rich care that Aboriginal children need to thrive.
An Aboriginal child’s cultural identity is an important part of who they are. Children who are strong in their culture have higher self-esteem, confidence and expectations of what they can achieve. Wherever possible we try to place Aboriginal children safely within their extended Aboriginal family, community, or with other Aboriginal carers who can support Aboriginal children to build their identity and sense of belonging. We support all carers of Aboriginal children to provide culturally enriched care and maintain children’s connections to their family, community, culture and Country.
Do you have what it takes?
You can apply to become a foster carer if you’re over 18, have Australian citizenship or permanent residency, and are in good physical and emotional health.
You can be:
- single, married or in a de facto or same-sex relationship
- a home-owner or renter
- working or not working
- from any culture and with a diverse range of life experiences
- a parent or someone with no biological children.
While there is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ carer, people interested in becoming carers will need some of the following qualities:
- Flexibility and adaptability: be able to learn new things, experience new situations and be prepared to have days that don’t always turn out as you had planned
- Tolerance and patience: be able to take things one day at a time, and work towards goals while appreciating it may take a long time to get there
- Perseverance: be able to ‘hang in there’ and appreciate that things often do take a while to change
- Understanding: be able to put yourself in ‘someone else’s shoes’ and appreciate how a child is feeling or understand the reasons for their behaviour
We need your support
Over one-third of children in care are Aboriginal, but there are not enough Aboriginal carers to support them. AbSec is committed to ensuring our children and young people remain connected to community and culture to keep their identity strong and alive.
If you are interested in becoming a carer, please contact AbSec or an Aboriginal out-of-home care agency to discuss the next steps.
Aboriginal foster carers play a vital role in the lives of Aboriginal children and young people by raising them in a safe, secure, loving environment that is strongly connected to culture.
An Aboriginal child’s cultural identity is an important part of who they are. Children who are strong in their culture have higher self-esteem, confidence and expectations of what they can achieve.
Aboriginal Foster Carer Recruitment Manual
The Aboriginal Foster Care Recruitment manual was developed as a guide to assist Aboriginal out-of-home care agencies in the recruitment of Aboriginal foster carers.
Throughout the manual there are ideas and steps to help in the recruitment of foster carers for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in NSW.
It is now apparent that the recruitment and retention of foster carers requires not only specialist skills and knowledge, but also creativity, flexibility, intuition, empathy, passion, and the engagement of current foster carers in the process.
This guide aims to provide a framework for recruitment efforts, practice wisdom, food for thought, and practical tools for staff whose work involves the recruitment of foster carers. When it works best, foster care recruitment is a whole-of-agency activity that is likely to include chief executive officers, media and communications staff, managers, team leaders, case workers and volunteer foster carers.
The changing nature of technology and the advancement of social media as a means of communication, means Aboriginal out-of-home care agencies need to be innovative and flexible in their approach to recruitment in the 21st century.
Everyone will gain something different from this manual. Promoting foster care is unlike promotions or marketing of any other kind. Foster care will change the lives of the people you recruit, perhaps forever, and for many it will be a big commitment for years of their life.
Find out more through the Aboriginal Foster Carer Recruitment Manual.
