By Gabriella Vukman
With this year’s Foster Care Week being celebrated from September 8 to 14, agencies are encouraging the community to think about becoming foster carers.
According to the Foster Care Association of Victoria, this year there has been a net loss of 93 carer households dedicated to housing children and young people.
A Gembrook resident and mother of over 200 foster children said, “I have raised five of my own kids and three grandkids and have always worked in childcare. I ran a family day care for just over 35 years and then when all my children were old enough and had left home, I went into fostering.”
“I’ve always worked with kids and I’ve always enjoyed it. I just love to see the kids smile and be happy and enjoy life. Get out of it what they can and that is a reward in itself,” they said.
“I’ve fostered over 200 kids and a lot of them still contact me. Some even come into the state twice a year to see me. They’re teenagers now. I foster because kids are great and I enjoy working with them.”
Fostering children anywhere from six months to up to four years, the Gembrook resident said, “Most of them go back home to their parents or a family member. It is hard to give them up.”
Some of the reasons for children to go into foster care are family violence, drug and alcohol related issues as well as social and economic factors.
Currently, 9000 children across Victoria require out-of-home care.
The Gembrook resident said, “The Australian foster system does the best they can with what money they have got. They need more foster carers. It has to work with your family, your children and your husband or your partner.”
“Foster care is important because kids need to know that they are safe and respected and that people listen to what they need. They cannot be left to wander the streets, be abused or taken for granted. All kids, no matter what age, need to know that they are loved and that you want them around,” they said.
“Foster care is a rewarding pathway to take. A lot of the kids I’ve had in care still visit even 20-30 years later. Most of them ring twice a year to see what I’m doing and tell me what they are doing and I’ve got two teenagers that get sent in to state twice a year because they want to see me.”
The Gembrook resident has officially been a foster parent for about six or seven years but fostered children unofficially years before that.
The first step to becoming a foster parent is to apply to an agency such as the MacKillop Family Services and the Lighthouse Foundation. The second step is to pass an induction course.
The Gembrook resident said, “Anyone can become a foster carer but to be a foster carer you have to be patient, considerate and be able to listen to the problems of all different aged kids and keep them to yourself but try to help them.”
For more information on how to become a foster carer visit the fostering connections website at: fosteringconnections.com.au
