Need for foster carers
A‘critical shortage’ of foster carers has prompted Wimmera support workers to urge people across the region to come forward and help home vulnerable youth as the nation works through COVID-19.
Uniting Wimmera is ‘desperately’ appealing for more people to become foster carers.
The organisation reported numbers of willing foster carers had significantly dropped through the pandemic and between five and 10 children were calling on support every week.
Out of home care manager Philip Yew is urging more carers to come forward as the demand was limiting options to support vulnerable young people.
“There’s a crisis in our community with how we support our vulnerable young people,” he said.
“There’s a big area of resourcing needed to support these young people, who for no fault of their own, have come into the care system.
“During COVID-19 we’ve seen a reduction in the inquiries for people to become foster carers – some of our carers are rightly needing to isolate, which is adding to the challenge.
“You can’t just create placements, it takes time. It’s hard when we have to say ‘sorry we don’t have options available at the moment’.”
Mr Yew said the organisation observed housing young people with extended family members, or ‘kinship care’, as a first preferred option, however, relied more heavily on willing foster carers.
“The best form of care is kinship care because they have a connection with the family, go to the same schools and stay in the region, if possible,” he said.
“If we can’t find a family member who can take care of them, then foster care comes after that.
“When they find a carer, they go into a loving home with people they get to know and develop a relationship with, opposed to going through a residential care facility.”
Mr Yew said foster carers played a key role in maximising a young person’s chance at fully developing or healing from trauma.
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“What we see, for a young person’s identity, is they get this sense that adults carers are really crucial,” he reject them after more than one or two placements,” he said.
“For a young person developing, that typically comes with mental health delays.
“That’s associated to trauma – we try to give them a foster home that might be able to help them heal some of that trauma that they experienced as a young person too.”
Lack of options
Mr Yew said a lack of options meant it was more likely vulnerable youth would fall into residential housing or be referred out of the region – the organisation’s last preferred options.
“We don’t have any vacancies in terms of placements or places these kids can go to, which means for the ones that keep coming through we have to send them out of the region sometimes,” he said.
“That sense of grief and loss from being separated from their parents and then shifting around the state is not a good situation for anyone’s psyche, particularly for a young person trying to learn, grow and develop.
“We want to try to keep these kids in our community as much as possible.”
Mr Yew said people interested in learning more about becoming a foster carer could call Melanie Russell on 5362 4000 or visit website www.unitingvictas.org.au/ foster-care.
“Our training and assessment process takes between three and six months,” he said.
“We are urging anyone with the slightest interest to get in touch now.”
He said the organisation was also looking for people who could provide respite for its existing carers, including overnight or weekend stays.