Foster Care Week highlights need for crisis carers

There is a desperate need for more crisis and short term carers to help children removed from their families due to abuse or neglect, says ANGLICARE Sydney.

On any given day, more than 3,700 children and young people in NSW are in the care of others for many reasons. Parents may be unable to care for their children due to physical and mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency, domestic violence or imprisonment. In other circumstances, children may be neglected or abused and need to be protected.

For more than three decades ANGLICARE Sydney has been looking after children through their foster care program and recruiting and supporting carers has been a vital part of that work.

"Our program has however expanded significantly and we now have the opportunity to care for a greater number of children," says Sue Madden, manager of ANGLICARE’s Foster Care program.

"We are also finding there is a particular and growing need for families who are willing to look after primary school aged children and sibling groups."

Highlighting the emotional vulnerability of children at the time of being removed and placed into care Sue says "The bond between siblings can be significant and we don’t want to disrupt these unnecessarily. Siblings often have a shared history that can support a sense of stability, identity and connection. Quite often it can be a protective factor against placement breakdown."

Northern Beaches resident Di Waddington and husband John have been mum and dad to almost 30 children during the last eight years. As temporary foster carers, they have provided care for children placed in their care, requiring crisis overnight stays to placements lasting over 18 months.

"We look after children from 0-5 years old. The oldest child we cared for was four when he came into our care and six when he left," Di explains.

"We looked after a two year old who was abandoned when his parent left him in the care of an elderly woman they just met. Another came into our care when their father started beating their mother while they were in hospital.

"As a foster carer it’s hard to watch them deal with these issues at such a young age. You shouldn’t have to worry about where you will live or wonder who your new mother will be when you’re five. I don’t think we fully realise the effect our actions can have on children."

The concern however is that people often exclude themselves as potential foster carers, thinking it would take a "super-parent" to look after these children.
"While their background circumstances might sound daunting, there is no specialised skill that’s needed in order to care for these children other than consistency, stability and understanding," says Sue.

"Typically our carers simply provide nurturing and care for children and want to see their time with them as a positive experience."

Di agrees. "We are definitely not super-parents. But we always loved children, so when the opportunity came up to help in this way, we took it.

"What we’ve found helpful for everyone was simple consistency and routine. For children over two especially it’s been very important to set regular times for things like meals, to explain what we were doing and why."

As a foster carer, Di also admits there are going to be good days and bad days. However, Di explains it has also been incredibly rewarding to see the difference that consistency, routine and enormous amount of love can bring to a child.

Furthermore, for the Waddingtons, their Christian faith has played a large part in their decision to become foster carers. More than just another way to give back to the community, the Waddingtons believe that being a foster carer is a way of helping that’s a part of Christian service and an opportunity to show Christ’s love to people in need.

If you love children and are interested in making a positive difference in the lives those in need, contact ANGLICARE’s Foster Care team on (02) 9890 6800. ANGLICARE Sydney is looking for more crisis and short term carers to meet the needs of children removed due to abuse or neglect.