Become a Foster Carer
You can make a difference
Foster Carers are ordinary people who make an extraordinary difference in the lives of the children in our local community.
Any responsible adult can apply to become a Foster Carer. Single people, married people, people with or without kids, and older people can become Foster Carers. You need a commitment to children, and a willingness to give it a go. Foster Care can be provided in many ways. These include Emergency Care, Respite Care and Long Term Care.
Foster Carers are ordinary people who:
• come from a range of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences
• have skills and are willing to develop new skills to look after children
• can communicate with a wide range of people
• are flexible and can work as part of a professional team
• can ask for help from family and support networks
• can provide safe and supportive accommodation
• are willing to develop positive contact with the child’s natural family
Foster Carers need to be willing to develop their skills and to learn about children coming into care who may have lived in troubled family relationships and who may have faced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect.
Glenhaven Family Care delivers nationally recognised foster care training and assessment using the Shared Lives training package, and the Step by Step assessment process.
Do you have room in your heart for a child who needs it?
Find out more: Click Here
Short and Long Term Care
Children need your help
There are currently in Australia over 40,000 children living in out of home care environments with the number of children entering the system far exceeding the number of children leaving the system.
In Tasmania, there is a desperate need for foster carers so that children can live in stable home environments that support their development and emotional needs. Without new foster carers, the children of our local community are at a significant disadvantage to have a chance at a positive future.
Becoming a Foster Carer will positively impact your home and your heart, but above all, it will change the life forever for the child you foster.
Find out more by clicking here
Questions to Ask Yourself
It can be hard to know if you and your family are ready to become a foster family.
Below are some questions you can think about that may help you decide if you are ready. If you still feel unsure, please contact us to chat more about your situation and what foster care would look like for your family.
• How will my children feel about sharing their home with another child?
• What will it cost to have another child under my roof?
• Do I have what it takes to care for someone else’s child?
• How will I feel when a child returns to their own family?
Start the conversation
about Foster Care
today.
Common Questions About Becoming a Foster Carer
- What are the rewards for caring for Foster Children?
- What types of Foster Care can I provide?
- Can I choose the type of Foster Care I Provide?
- Do I need a Working with Children Check?
- What support is there for Foster Carers?
- Are there any financial payments?
- How do I become a Foster Carer?
There are a range of personal rewards when you become a foster carer. Read more about how foster care has impacted other families in our testimonials below.
• making a real difference for a child or young person
• providing care and support to a child or young person going through a difficult time
• working as part of a caring team
• helping children to be reunited with their family
• helping to plan for the future of children in your care
• access to ongoing training
There are several placement types available. We will work with you to identify the placement types that would best suit you. Foster carers can apply to provide one or more of the following types of care:
- Respite – Gives full-time foster carers, parents or guardians a regular break
- Emergency – For children who require a placement immediately due to concerns for their safety or a crisis in the family. Due to the urgency of these placements there is usually very little notice before a child is placed with the foster carer.
- Long term – For children who cannot return to their biological family for an extended period or when it is anticipated that the child will be unable to be reunited.
- Specialist Foster Care – is a home based foster care program that addresses the therapeutic needs of children and young people and carers receive specialist training to meet the needs of the child/young person
We are seeking carers to provide:
- Respite care
- Emergency care (for children who require an immediate placement)
- Long – term care
- Specialist foster care
You can nominate the type of care you would like to provide and, as part of the application process; Glenhaven Family Care will work with you to help you make a final decision on the option that best suits you.
Caring for children and young people in our community who cannot live with their families due to safety and care risks is a significant contribution that you make, and share with Child Safety (CSS) services. The Tasmanian Government has a responsibility on behalf of the community for ensuring that children and young people are looked after in the best possible way. One of the ways it has done this is by introducing a law that requires all people working with ‘unrelated children’ to have a Working with Children Check.
All carers will have to register for a Working with Children Check by 1 October 2015. Any person over the age of 16 who lives with you in your household will also need to be registered for a Working with Children Check. Whilst formal kinship carers are ‘related’ to the children they care for, the law still requires these carers to be checked because children in their care are especially vulnerable. For that reason too, any person aged 16 and over who lives with you in your household will also need to be registered for a Working with Children Check.
Stories from Our Foster Carers
Foster Care Story – A weekend at Cradle
My two sons and I, provide weekend respite care for children (well, for their adults of course). We had the pleasure of taking one of our regular foster children on a weekend trip to cradle mountain. This child had never seen the mountain or been on a bushwalk in a...
Foster Care Story – We aren’t super-humans..
Our story, We fell into foster care with a precious 6-month-old baby girl. For us fostering has been a journey of incredible joys, sorrows and a million precious normal moments in between, constantly sending a message of love & acceptance to all our children. My...
Foster Care Story – It’s a weekend for the kids
My Story, I have been a respite foster carer for 5 1/2 years and love it! I have had many kids, some just once but also many regulars. I have a few things that I make sure of before having kids for the weekend. Because it is ‘their’ weekend I...
Carers don’t have to be extraordinary…
They just have to want to make a difference.
Start the conversation about Foster Care
North West Office
Camp Clayton Facility
41 Clayton Rd, Ulverstone, Tas 7315
Northern Office
Door of Hope Complex
Glen Dhu Street, South Launceston 7249
Kentish House
16-18 Station Street, Sheffield 7306
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