Working with Family Members

Family connection

Maintaining safe connections between young people in care and those people who are important to them increases their wellbeing. This is the case, both while they’re in care and during their transition to adulthood.

Young people in care have individual responses to their families. Some will have established ongoing relationships, others may want to reconnect and others may want no contact at all. Whatever the young person's relationship is with their family, don't make assumptions about what you think is best for them. Support the young person so they can:

• recognise and experience healthy relationships
• make decisions about what is best for them when planning family connection.

Consider providing the young person with this resource from the CREATE your future website Reconnecting with Family in a safe way: Tips for young people from young people.

Many young people will go home to their parents at some point while in care or as adults. Equipping them to make safe decisions about visiting or living at home is an important part of preparing for adulthood. This may require safety planning and the involvement of safety and support networks. Other important family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins may be useful in helping to maintain family connection.

Understand the ways the closeness and connectedness of families and communities can work towards creating a supportive and safe environment for the young person’s transition to adulthood.

Be careful and sensitive about how we describe the living arrangements and relationships that young people develop and take the opportunity to teach them about safe and healthy relationships in these circumstances. Rather than using terms such as ‘birth’ or ‘natural’ family, let the young person lead and guide in their use of language and description of their family members.

Family is central to connection to culture and community for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. We need to take active steps to ensure connection to family, culture, community and country is maintained—and established where it does not exist. For more information about this, refer to Kin and community as a resource for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

Relational permanency into adulthood

The principles of relational, physical and legal permanency recognise that all young people need:

• consistent, predictable and loving relationships
• a sense of connection and belonging to families and communities
• stable care arrangements.

Young people transitioning to adulthood also need to continue existing relationships and establish new, enduring relationships.

Existing relationships can be maintained through family contact, cultural and community connections and relationships at school, while new relationships can be formed with carers and their communities and networks.

For young people in care, continuity of a care arrangement on its own is unlikely to result in permanency. Care arrangements need to meet the young person’s social and emotional needs to have the best chance of achieving relational permanency.

Family finding

If the young person is unable to identify safe and positive relationships, we may need to undertake case work based on the Family Finding model. This model offers methods for locating and engaging relatives and community connections for children who are involved in the child protection system.

Using the model allows staff to seek, build or maintain a ‘lifetime family support network’ for all young people. The process can assist Child Safety to identify relatives and other supportive adults, estranged from or unknown to the child, especially those who are willing to become permanent connections for them.

Application of this model can contribute to positive outcomes for young people which may include increased reunification rates, improved wellbeing and care arrangement stability, transition out of the child welfare system, decreased re-entry rates and a stronger sense of belonging for children (Campbell).

Involving the family

The concepts of child abuse and neglect are very much western constructs, and it may be difficult for family members to understand the basis for the department’s involvement with their child or young person.

To ensure we are practicing in a culturally responsible way, it is important that we ensure the young person and their family understands the purpose of our involvement with them. We need to be aware of the barriers that someone from a different culture may experience when they come into contact with Child Safety so families can meaningfully participate in child protection processes and maintain their relationship with their young person.

When working with families during the transition to adulthood phase, we may need to ensure that family members fully understand what worries are held about the young person when building connection, arranging face-to-face contact and involving family in safety and support networks.

Sibling connections

Sibling relationships are a priority for a young person's current and future wellbeing (unless they are extremely harmful). Siblings provide a natural support network into adulthood and are often lifelong companions and supporters.

Unfortunately, the care system can make it hard to keep siblings together. This highlights the importance of always keeping family connection at the forefront of our practice.

With careful family connection/contact planning in collaboration with carers and parents, sibling relationships can be maintained and strengthened while in care.

My care journey started when I was 14 years of age. I had been the mother to my three beautiful young sisters since they were born as my mother wasn’t able to look after us. When we came into care my sisters and I were separated, I can recall the time, date and name of the worker but more so I can remember the sharp pain I felt in my heart when I was told to give my 12 month old sister to a stranger.

Bec, 20 years (CREATE (e))

Watch the following 8-minute video and hear what children and young people in out-of-home care across Australia have told CREATE about living with their brothers and sisters.