Foster Care Coffs Harbour
The decision to become a foster carer is one that requires a great deal of thought and commitment as you are putting your hand up to care for somebody else’s child for a set period of time.
Children and young people come into care for lots of different reasons. Sometimes these reasons are very serious such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Domestic violence or people abusing drugs or alcohol may also make it unsafe for a child or young person to stay at home.
Other children come into care because their full time carer is sick or needs to go to hospital so is not able to care for them for a short time. Homelessness, relationship breakdown and other family crisis are also reasons kids need out-of-home care.
Foster care also provides a break for parents and other carers who are on their own or who are caring for a child with high needs such as a physical or intellectual disability or difficult behaviour. Foster care helps families stay together whether their child returns to live with them or stays with a foster carer until they are old enough to be independent.
As an Aboriginal organisation Abcare Out-of-Home Care, Aboriginal children and young people and their families are a priority and we aim to ensure that those children requiring foster care are placed in a culturally appropriate placement.
What types of foster care are there?
- Respite care
- Emergency care
- Interim / restoration care
- Long term foster care
- Programs for children
Why become a Carer with ABCARE Coffs Harbour?
- Dedicated Caseworker
- Fortnightly Allowance
- Foster Carer Support Group
- Carer Training
- Annual Carer Reviews
- Whole of Service Events
How to become a carer
Becoming a carer involves a number of steps. You have taken the first step in making your enquiry.
If you have called us we have registered your enquiry. We would like you to read this pack carefully. If you are still interested in applying to be a carer, send us the Registration of Interest form attached to the covering letter. When you do that we will arrange an initial “Information Sharing Session”.
The “Information Sharing Session” gives you and the people in your household an opportunity to meet with workers from our agency and an experienced carer.
After this session you can decide whether you wish to continue the process of becoming a carer by participating in a training program and a series of assessment interviews. The assessment interviews are not something you pass or fail. We work with you to discover together whether fostering is a suitable option for you at this time.
Once you have been approved as a carer, you will be approached when a child or young person is matched with the type of care you can provide. You will have the opportunity to discuss any issues that may be raised for you and your household if you accepted the placement of that child or young person. Sometimes it is possible for you to meet the child or young person before you make the decision about taking that placement.