Working with foster and kinship carers

Foster and kinship carers are a key component of the child protection system, with Child Safety, carers and family based care services working in partnership to meet the significant needs of children and young people in care. Regular recruitment strategies and the provision of responsive support and training leads to the best outcomes, that is, the retention of carers and increased security and stability for the children in their care.

Family based care services are funded by Child Safety to recruit, train and support carers.

Consider the use of  solution-focused questions when supporting a carer. (Refer to Solution-focused questions for engaging carers.)

Recruitment of carers

In all Australian states the gap is growing between the numbers of children needing care, and the number of qualified or approved carers.

In Queensland, there is a critical need for more foster and kinship carers.

Successful carer recruitment and retention can create a cycle where satisfied carers generate interest in others through ‘word of mouth’. Word of mouth has been identified as the most effective strategy for recruitment, through a person either knowing or meeting other carers (Thomson et al.). 

Other important ways of recruiting carers is to:

• include current carers in recruitment campaigns
• focus on recruiting carers for a specific child in need of care, particularly a child known to the potential carer, as this is likely to be more effective. (Osborn et al.). 

Refer to Family based care for information about the approval process for carer applicants. 

Training

Training for both foster and kinship carers, is a significant way that carers can be provided with support. 
Foster carer applicants are required to complete:

• foster carer training
• ‘Getting ready to start’ training as part of the approval process
• ‘Starting out’ training and ‘Water safety awareness’ training in the 12 months following approval

This training is provided by the family based care services.

Kinship carers are not required to complete ‘Getting ready to start’ and ‘Starting out’ training, but they are required to complete ‘Water safety awareness’ training.

While it is not mandatory, kinship carers are encouraged to attend foster carer training to enhance their knowledge and skills. 

In addition to the foster carer training, there are many training programs, workshops, conferences, online modules and non-government organisation-provided training programs family-based carers can attend to increase their knowledge and skill sets to provide care for vulnerable children.

Child Safety and Family based care services work in partnership to identify these training opportunities and support the carers in attending.

Information about Child Safety’s ‘Getting ready to start’ and ‘Starting out’ training packages is available on the Foster carer training page of the Child Safety website.

Partnering and relationships are key

Partnering with carers is essential to achieving better outcomes for children in care. Ensure to include carers in all decision-making processes about care arrangements. It is important that the significant relationships we build with carers are strengths-based, collaborative, informed and genuine.

Some of the key concepts for partnering with carers and for carers partnering with parents and Child Safety to achieve a successful care arrangement for a child in family-based care are discussed below.

Family contact   

Child Safety has a legislative requirement to facilitate family contact for children in care. 

We partner with carers and parents to make family contact as safe and beneficial as it can be, to maintain and grow relationships between the child and their parents, the child and their siblings, the child and their carers, and the carers and the parents. 

Two agents are critical in providing support for children and young people in care to maintain contact with family members. First the case worker responsible for the care arrangement is in the best position to organise and implement contact visits and to oversee their outcomes. However, carers have a role in facilitating the whole process and supporting the child through any ongoing social and emotional issues such contact may generate. (McDowall (d)). 

The type and extent of family contact will depend on the type of child protection order the child or young person is on and the family context. If safety concerns have been identified, the CSO, carer and family members will work together to develop the most suitable options for contact. Further reviews of safety may occur over time, with everyone involved in safety planning where needed. The child’s need for safety, belonging and wellbeing is kept at the centre of each discussion and decision point.

Family based care services are expected to be supportive and actively participate in these arrangements, regardless of their relationship with the parents. Some of the ways carers can play an important role in family contact include:

• speaking positively of the child’s family to the child at all times
• encouraging safe family contact, including sibling contact
• supporting family connection by helping transport the child to and from family contact (reimbursement of travel and accommodation is available—refer to the procedure Child-related costs (CRC)—Child and young person support (645)
• nurturing the child after family contact to help with feelings of grief and loss
• attending family contact to hand over the child and collect the child directly from the parents
• meeting the parents and extended family members
• placing phone calls to parents to celebrate momentous occasions (for example, the child scoring a goal at football)
• taking photos for parents of special occasions
• inviting parents to attend the child’s activities, such as sporting games
• advising parents of upcoming events for them to attend, such as school sports day
• having parents attend doctors’ visits
• providing parents with the child’s school art, craft, paintings and drawings.

Carers partnering with parents

The single most identified factor contributing to positive outcomes for children involves meaningful connections and lifelong relationships with family (Campbell, as cited in the Intensive Practice Module series). Enduring relationships with biological family members and carer family members are vital in achieving better outcomes for children in care. 

There are many ways carers can partner with parents to co-parent children while they are in care, as mentioned in the Family contact section, for example, meeting the parents at family contact visits and inviting the parents to their children’s doctors’ visits.

Carers and family reunification

Some carers struggle to support reunification if their preference is to provide long-term care. It is important that their preferences have been assessed as part of their approval.

Carers who support reunification are more likely to partner with parents. It is important to discuss your expectations of the carer regarding their role in reunification before placing children with them. This will allow you to address any issues that arise. 

It is also important that carers understand the aim of concurrent planning, that is the practice of simultaneously pursuing more than one option for permanency for children and young people in care when the primary permanency goal is reunification. Carers need to understand that an alternative permanency goal (that is, a long-term care option) is explored with the child, young person and family, and pursued at the same time as reunification actions and tasks are being undertaken.

Carer support

To help carers respond to the complexities of looking after children in care, they require individualised and multi-dimensional support. While being a carer can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience, a range of stresses associated with looking after a child with multiple needs, and navigating different elements of the care system, can influence how long an individual or family stays in the carer role. (Thomson et al.)

Foster and kinship care services are funded to support carers, but a practitioner may also provide support to carers as part of supporting a child’s care arrangement. The important thing is that there is consistency in the delivery of support to carers. To achieve this consistency, we need to be clear about what support means, how the support needs of carers are determined, and what activities constitute support.

There are two types of carer support that are required:

• the support required to meet the specific case plan and care arrangement goals for a particular child
• the broader, more general development and support needs specific to the carer’s overall role and responsibilities.

It is important to understand what support carers need to be able to provide care for children in need of protection while maintaining the health and wellbeing of their own family.

Understanding how fostering impacts on families

Becoming involved in fostering affects every part of family life, however the impact on the biological children of carers is often unrecognised or overlooked (Noble-Carr et al., Hojer et al.). These children make a significant contribution to the fostering experience and face challenges and changes that must be acknowledged (Noble-Carr et al.).

Key findings emerging from research into the impact of fostering on the children of foster carers (Hojer et al.) found that:

• involvement in the initial decision to foster increases their understanding around how they themselves may be affected and influences how they will adapt
• ongoing relevant information about the fostering process as well as about the children who will be placed with their family helps them to feel involved and be prepared
• there must be caution around sharing sensitive information
• children need time alone with their parents
• children should be given space and opportunity to discuss any problems or worries
• it is necessary to prepare children of carers, where possible, that a care arrangement is going to end. 

(Hojer et al.)

Problem Solving

There are many complex issues arising in relation to children’s care arrangements. It can be helpful to distinguish between practical problems and adaptive challenges. Being aware of the difference and how to respond can help ensure your response is the most appropriate for the situation.

Psychologist Ronald Heifetz (1994) made the distinction between technical problems and adaptive challenges. In this practice kit we refer to technical problems as practical problems.

Practical problems are problems that you can get a ‘right’ answer to through the application of an appropriate and pre-made plan. 

An adaptive challenge does not have a clear, pre-made, particular or certain answer. Adaptive problems are real-world problems where data is uncertain, conflicting or ambiguous, where people can reasonably disagree about appropriate actions to resolve the problem or where personal ethics or values are in conflict.

The table below identifies the characteristics of practical problems and adaptive challenges. 

When you hold a position of authority, people inevitably expect you to treat adaptive challenges as if they were practical—to provide a remedy that will restore equilibrium with the least amount of pain and in the shortest amount of time. That puts an enormous amount of pressure [on practitioners] to have an answer rather than raise (and sit with) the really tough questions. (Heifetz).

Being rigorous in critically reflecting on our work and searching for solutions with carers and children is key when working through adaptive challenges.

Examples of practical problems in a care arrangement include:

• A carer has not been given an authority to care for a child. This can be fixed by the carer being provided with the authority to care.
• A child is not enrolled in Medicare and does not have a Medicare number. Advise the carer to keep all receipts (both medical and pharmaceutical) and claim the rebate once the child’s Medicare number is known.

Examples of adaptive challenges in a care arrangement may include:

• The carer and the child's parents have differing opinions on what is best for the child, such as in relation to schooling needs, cultural practices or medical decisions.  Work in partnership with the carer, the child's parents and family to resolve and navigate complex emotions, values and relationships to facilitate a solution that is in the child’s best interests.
• A child entering a new care arrangement may have trauma, disrupted attachments or mistrust of adults. This requires carers to adapt their parenting approach, learn trauma informed responses for this child and also manage their own emotions. 

Being aware of the difference practical problems and adaptive issues helps ensure your response is the most appropriate for the situation. This will contribute to increased partnership between Child Safety and carers, leading to better outcomes for children in care.

Solution-focused questions for engaging carers

Solution-focused inquiry provides strategies for practitioners to effectively facilitate a change process by asking questions that elicit a vision for change ([CS-OCP] IPMS Module 3 Solution-focused and strengths-based approaches). Below are some examples of solution-focused questions you may be able to use when speaking with carers.

Exception questions

• How would you say that you are different when you are less stressed with your home life?
• You are saying that the demands of family contact and doctors’ appointments were constant for four days last week. How did you get it all done?
• Tell me what is different for you at those times when you are confident about an upcoming family contact visit. At those times what was your CSO doing to support you?
• You have successfully cared for many children over the years as a carer. What helped get you through those times when you had little sleep and the children in care were upset and not sleeping? What were others doing to help during that time?

Miracle questions

• Suppose one night there is a miracle while you are sleeping and the problem that contributed to this situation has been resolved. Since you are sleeping, you don't know the miracle has happened or that the problem has been resolved. What do you suppose you will notice that is different the next morning that will tell you that the problem is solved?

Follow-up questions may include:

• If the miracle happened, what would be the first thing you would do?
• If the miracle happened, what would be the first change you would notice about yourself/your family/the child you are caring for?
• What would your family notice that is different about you?
• If you were to take these steps, what would you notice that is different at home?

Scaling questions

• On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 meaning you have every confidence that this problem can be solved and 0 meaning no confidence at all, where would you place yourself today?
• On the same scale, how hopeful are you that this problem can be solved?
• What would be different in your life if you moved up just one step?
• What’s the most important thing you need/have to do to keep things at a 7 or 8?
• What would you need from Child Safety/your foster and kinship care agency?

Relationship questions

• If you were the child’s mother, how would you like your child to be cared for in a carer household? 
• When you think of your childhood and the good experiences you had when you were growing up, how can you mirror this for the children in your care with their biological family members?
• If your mother/best friend was talking with us today, what would she say about this situation?
• If you were the child in this situation, what do you think you would want to happen next?

Retention of carers 

With the pressure on family-based care arrangements for both foster and kinship care increasing, the need to retain carers is vital. Reliable and responsive support by CSOs for family-based care arrangements is critical to the retention of carers and stability for children in care.

By maintaining and building a larger pool of carers, Child Safety and foster and kinship care services have the opportunity to better match a child’s needs with the most suitable carer. An increased pool of carers ensures more long-term, successful and rewarding care arrangements for children who are unable to live with their own family.

There are several factors that impact carer retention, including:

• the level of satisfaction a carer experiences in the role
• the carer’s family circumstances
  and
• the extent carers receive financial help, training and support, including support from other carers (Thomson et al.).

The level of support provided by Child Safety is also critical, as identified through exit interviews and surveys undertaken with carers by Queensland Foster and Kinship Care. There is opportunity to strengthen partnerships and collaboration between CSOs and carers to ensure carers are a respected, valued and supported as part of a child’s safety and support network and care team.

Standards of care concerns

 Child Safety has a responsibility to work collaboratively with the child’s carer, their family based care service (or their non-family based care service) and safety and support network to ensure the child is safe from harm and that appropriate action is taken to resolve any standard of care concerns when:

• it is indicated that the standards of care may not have been met for a child
  or
• the child has experienced harm or it is suspected that they have experienced harm.

The standards of care are outlined in the statement of standards (Child Protection Act 1999, section 122). 

There are two levels of response when concerns are raised about the standards of care:

• Standards of care review—The concerns indicate that there is a reasonable suspicion that the care the child is receiving has not met, or is not meeting, one or more of the standards of care.
• Harm report— when there is a reasonable suspicion that a child in care has experienced harm caused by
  • a carer, an adult household member or staff member of a non-family-based care arrangement or
  • another adult or child aged over 10 years with capacity to understand the consequences of their actions, and it is reasonably suspected that the action or inaction of the carer, adult household member or staff member contributed to the child experiencing harm.

The process for responding to these matters in outlined in the procedure Provide and review care, Respond to concerns about the standards of care or harm to a child in care.