6/8/20161 International Kinship Care Damon Martin Manager NSW Office, ISS Australia

6/8/20162 What is International Social Work? Cross border social work support involving 2 or more countries ISS network today Our global community

6/8/20163 International Kinship Care Children having the opportunity to be placed with suitable extended family members overseas “International Social Work is when cases travel abroad – not social workers”

6/8/20164 An International Kinship Care Service Model Identify potential family placements overseas as early as possible Conduct initial assessments (i.e. Police and CP checks) to ascertain viability Facilitating kinship placement assessments overseas

Kinship Placement Assessments Assessor needs to assess: The developmental needs of the child The capacities of the carer to respond appropriately to those needs The impact of wider family and environmental factors on parenting capacity and the children. 6/8/20165

Transition Plans Child moving from one placement to another Jointly develop transition plan, i.e. child’s current carer, CP, ISS, new carer Key principles in developing a transition plan Post placement support 6/8/20166

7 Case Study: Aus & France Andre (9 yrs) living in Sydney Charlize (Andre’s paternal aunt) in France Andre’s father’s death Andre’s mother assessed as an unsuitable carer for Andre Andre’s holiday contact visit with Charlize ISS intervention

6/8/20168 Benefits for Andre being placed with his aunt Charlize in France

6/8/20169 Benefits of using ISS ISS handled international elements of the case, allowing Aus CP to avoid navigating a foreign CP system Liaison between French Central Authority & CP Authority occurs in French – no delays ISS expertise ensured quality assessment

6/8/ Case Study: Aus & Borneo John 6 months old – born Sydney Mother incarcerated in Sydney Indigenous maternal family reside in Borneo

6/8/ Research on international kinship care Research in UK (CFAB = ISS UK) Small sample (9 cases) where children were placed with family abroad of the 9 cases, the children were still with their carer. All children doing well in education, were healthy and strong bonds with carer

6/8/ Challenges in international kinship care Collaboration between professionals from different countries Placement breakdowns Recognition of guardianship Immigration

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