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

2. Mackay Whitsunday Region – North Queensland

4. 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)

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

6. “… 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)

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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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

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

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

14. 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

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

16. 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

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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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

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

22. “… (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)

23. “… 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)

24. 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

25. Love Vs Professionalism

26. 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

27. “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).

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

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

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

31. 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)