Mums are the word

FOSTER mum Katie Wells has cared for more than 60 children over 15 years, and has loved all of them.

The 49-year-old from Lenah Valley is happiest when surrounded by kids, including her own six biological children who range in age from 26 to 4.

“What our family loves most about fostering is knowing that you’re changing someone’s life, someone who may not have been enabled in the past to know how much they are capable of,” she said.

“You realise what a difference you can make.

“Having foster children grows your own children in a way that no other experience can. It’s been incredibly rewarding for all of us.”

Ms Wells says her foster- ing journey started when she and her husband decided they wouldn’t adopt, but still had a yearning to help.

Currently, there is a shortage of foster carers in Tasmania.

Dr Kim Backhouse, of the Foster and Kinship Carers Association of Tasmania said there were 430 active foster carers in the state.

However, more than 150 new carers were needed over the next three years to keep up with demand.

“We don’t actually have enough foster carers at the moment in Tasmania. And nationally there’s a decline.”

To encourage potential carers to enlist and to support existing carers, a handbook from the Tasmanian Foster and Kinship Carers Association has been launched.

“This is really important because we have an ageing demographic of carers in Tasmania and a lot of the kinship carers don’t have access to the internet,” Dr Backhouse said.

“We wanted to distribute a resource they could go to for information.”

The handbook covers information on sleeping, schooling, health, complaints, day-to-day care concerns and also self-care.