“Foster Care in Australia in the 21st Century” - Anne Butcher Dept of Child Safety Mackay Queensland

Mackay Whitsunday Region – North Queensland

Media Headlines “Children in Foster Hell” (The Courier Mail 18/06/03) “Foster Children Remain at Risk” (The Courier Mail 19/06/03) “New Family Faces Sex Claim” (The Courier Mail 30/06/03)

History of Foster Carer Training in Queensland 1990 British “Parenting Plus” trialled in South East Qld 1992 Copyright for “Challenge of Foster Care” purchased – ‘Australianised’ and implemented in Queensland as the first formal foster carer training  1996 “Sharing the Care” Foster Carer Pre-service training implemented in Queensland (Accredited training 1997 – 2003) 2004 “Quality Care: Foster Carer Training” (non accredited)

“… there is no big picture of training, there’s no commitment to it, there’s no funding for it, um, and, it’s just a disaster…” (Foster Care Queensland, interview)

Research Participants 40 Foster Carers 12 Indigenous 28 Non – Indigenous 6 Relative Carers 28 Females 12 Males

Research Participants 21 Other Key Informants National & State Peak Bodies Govt & Non-Govt Child Welfare Agencies Shared Care Agencies Volunteer & Training Organisations Social Science Experts

Key Findings Av age 46.2 years Av age Relatives 55 years Av Educational Level 9.5 years

Foster Carer Training 50% had not completed pre-service training 100% relative carers had not completed pre-service training 15% of carers have never completed any training at all

Foster Carer Training Est. need for not only initial training BUT also consistent and ongoing training 98% of foster carers wanted accredited RPL Foster Carer views supported by other key informants

Existing Accredited Courses Certificate IV in Community Services (Protective Care) - for ‘Foster Parents’ Diploma of Community Services (Protective Intervention) - for ‘Foster Care Workers’

Research interviewees Suggested Training for Foster Carers Certificate or Diploma of Foster Care RPL for qualifications and life experience

Foster carers believe that being qualified would afford them: Treated with more respect Have views taken more seriously Listen to by departmental officers and other welfare professionals

Foster Carer T raining 65% Foster Carers specialist training 100% other key informants also believe foster carers should have specialist training

Social Science Experts: Believe specialist foster carer training is essential for good outcomes for children in care This view is supported by other research on this topic

Payment for Training 80% full reimbursement for all expense 35% also paid to attend training 15% also reimbursed for lost wages

Other Key informants supportive of: Foster carers being adequately paid Should be a stepped payment scale reflecting foster carers’ training attainment level Children matched with foster carers according to their level of training and the needs/challenges of the child being placed with them.

Training Topics 65% Non-Indigenous – behaviour management 40% Non-Indigenous – info re: self care & protecting self & family from allegations 40% Indigenous – work, communicate, and deal with Dept. 24% Indigenous – more cross cultural training

Support 97.5% 24hr Support – or help line 50% Training & specialist information 40% More support from Dept. 27.5% Listened to by Dept. 25% Respected and trusted by Dept. 37.5% More info about child 22.5% Respite

Volunteerism and Professionalism in Foster Carers Area of concern: Voluntary status of fostering role

“… (the) foster carers one is a difficult one, cause I know that, um, … there are some views out there that foster carers are volunteers, and there’s another set of views out there which say well, no, they’re not, um, and I think it’s probably a little bit difficult to fit foster carers squarely in the definition of volunteering…” (Volunteering Australia, 2003)

“… I guess strictly speaking, no, in that the united nations, or the international association and the volunteering Australia’s definitions of volunteering, ah, is that volunteering is an activity that’s undertaken without monetary reward…” (Volunteering Queensland, 2003)

Volunteerism & Professionalism in Foster Care 80% of Foster Carers believe fostering should be professional 82% of all female carers thought fostering should be a professional role Other Key informants supported this view

Love Vs Professionalism

Professionalisation of Foster Care Already occurring in the UK and the USA Paid a professional fee Helps recruitment and retention of skilled carers Improves quality of placement

“I explain to young people that it’s my job to “parent” them “I explain to young people that it’s my job to “parent” them. I am not doing them any favours, they deserve the best and if I don’t do my job properly, I won’t be allowed to do it” she says, “I find this makes for a much more equal relationship” (Wylie in Hilpern, 2004:15).

Foster Carer Role Confusion Are they volunteers? Are they clients? Are they staff? Are they professionals?

Summary Nationally Accredited Foster Carer Training Best practice – linked to practice standards Competency based RPL Indigenise all training curriculum

Implications of Specialisation of Foster Carer Training Skills development Payment Valuing and respect Status Professionalism

Research has proven that foster care provided by qualified and specialist foster carers greatly improves the quality of care and the future life outcomes for children in their care. (Barbell & Wright, 2001)