Specialist Foster Carers (Long-Term)
Job No:
51694
Location:
Adelaide Metro & SA Country Regions
- Are you a compassionate, nurturing person or couple with a safe home environment and time to give?
- Are you looking for a change, and a new challenging yet highly rewarding path to take in your life?
- Do you have experience caring for or working with children, and would like to make a positive difference to the life of a child in need?
- Every child has the right to a safe, loving and secure home. There are children in your community who need your help.
- Become part of an award-winning not-for-profit organisation to support vulnerable children and young people in need.
- Extensive support, on-going training and access to 24-7 on-call support provided and weekly tax-free reimbursement of $650
About the Organisation
Life Without Barriers (LWB) is a not-for-profit organisation working to support children and young people in crisis. The organisation is a leading provider of care in Australia and New Zealand and is renowned for its flexibility, innovation and strong community focus. Since inception in 1995, LWB has expanded into every Australian State and Territory and is now expanding into New Zealand. We provide support services in the areas of Out of Home Care, Disability, Mental Health, Homelessness and Refugees and Asylum Seekers. LWB has experienced rapid growth and a dramatic increase in demand for services.
WINNER: 2007 Australian Business Awards - Innovation
WINNER: 2007 and 2008 MAP Marketing - Fastest Growing Business
Foster Care at Life Without Barriers
Foster care involves caring for children or young people who are not able to live safely with their family. Life Without Barriers in SA provides specialised or ‘therapeutic’ foster care to children and young people aged between 5 – 17 who require long-term care (i.e. until they reach the age of 18). Children and young people in care have often experienced trauma, grief and loss. As a result of this, these young people often have high and complex needs and behaviours.
At Life Without Barriers, we train and support Carers to provide therapeutic care, with the aim of helping children and young people to heal and recover from the effects of trauma in their childhood. A carer’s relationship with a child is the core element of therapeutic care and the key to growth and positive change. Therapeutic carers have a high level of empathy and patience, and have a willingness to see past a child’s behaviours and learn about their underlying emotional needs. Life Without Barriers focus on providing the highest level of support to the carers who provide this invaluable care to children in need. We offer a very high level of personal support and guidance from dedicated support workers, on-going specialised training, in-house clinical services and our innovative therapeutic “Living Arts” program.
Sometimes there are groups of siblings who require therapeutic foster care. Life Without Barriers in SA has developed a highly regarded model of care to cater for the needs of sibling groups with high and complex needs. Developed on the premise “it takes a village to raise a child”, and our agency’s commitment to ensuring siblings in care keep in contact, the “Community of Care” model involves carefully matching groups of carer households who live in close geographic proximity to form a network of care for a sibling group (e.g., a sibling group of three, across three carer households). Children are carefully matched to each of the carers, and carers matched to each other. A high level of individual and group-based support is provided by our experienced support workers and clinicians. The siblings’ relationship with each other is maintained and strengthened through the group of carers providing formal and informal supports to each other in the form of babysitting, sleepovers, car pooling, informal sibling catch ups on weekends or in holidays, and also larger group activities during the year (e.g. Christmas and birthday get-togethers).
About the Opportunities
Life Without Barriers currently has exciting opportunities for compassionate people to become Long-Term Specialist Foster Carers and welcome a child into their home and family.
We also have opportunities for new carers to become part of a “Community of Care”, which has demonstrated positive outcomes for siblings who require specialist care (see “Foster Care at Life Without Barriers” above for further explanation).
Carers can be single males or females, couples or same-sex couples, with or without their own children. We are looking for caring people who are willing to make a long-term commitment to nurture a child or young person, help them to experience positive family life and form positive relationships, and find a place to belong as they grow into young adults.
Life Without Barriers Foster Carers receive a high level of training, support and reimbursement to reflect the specialist care they provide:
- Life Without Barriers carers receive a tax-free reimbursement of $650 per week
- All carers have regular and ongoing advice and support in person (fortnightly) and over the phone from a dedicated Support Worker, and access to 24-hour support.
- Our carers receive a high level of accredited training, on-going professional development opportunities, and training that is specifically tailored to help them meet the needs of the young person in their care.
- You have access to respite on a fortnightly or monthly basis (as needed), our innovative arts therapy program, mentoring for the child in your care, and experienced clinicians (available to work with the young person and/or the family).
- Life Without Barriers supports carers to help the child in their care develop their sense of identity and maintain connections with their family of origin, language, religion, cultural heritage and community links.
- Carers also enjoy access to regular networking events including picnics, morning teas and peer support events where you can meet and share experiences and ideas with other carers.
Foster carers are the heart of our program; they play a vital role in the positive outcomes achieved for vulnerable children and young people in care.
Responsibilities and Eligibility/Selection Criteria
As a long-term Specialist Foster Carer, your duties and responsibilities will include:
- Providing a nurturing, stable and supportive home for a child or young person aged 5 – 17 years;
- Providing a high level of emotional support and care to meet the young person's day-to-day needs;
- Supporting the child or young person in his/her educational and recreational activities, as well as cultural and religious needs;
- Participating in ongoing training and development of skills and knowledge regarding the issues faced by the young person in your care;
- Working with the Life Without Barriers team to achieve goals and plans for the child or young person;
- Supporting a child or young person to maintain their connection to their communities of origin.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria:
- Under government requirements, you must be 25 years of age or older to be considered.
- Applicants may be single females or males or couples, with or without children (please note: children of your own must be over the age of 6).
- You must have a suitable spare bedroom in your home for a foster child.
- You will be able to provide safe, hygienic, and smoke-free home environment, ensuring that any smoking is done outdoors and away from children.
- You will be able to demonstrate that you are calm, patient, resilient and flexible.
- You will demonstrate willingness to work with a team of professionals including Social Workers/Support Workers and Psychologists from Life Without Barriers, Families SA and other agencies.
- You will demonstrate a commitment to engaging in ongoing training and development of your skills in providing therapeutic foster care.
In selecting Foster Carers, Life Without Barriers will consider each applicant's maturity, health, capacity and experience in working with or caring for young people with complex and challenging needs.
All successful applicants will be required to undertake a Screening and Licensing Check before commencement of the assessment process.
Life Without Barriers are committed to Aboriginal children and young people in our care receiving culturally appropriate care that supports their identity, culture, connection to family, country and community whilst maintaining their safety. At the moment, we have a number of Aboriginal children and young people needing Foster Carers. We strongly encourage people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background to apply for these positions.
Becoming a Foster Carer is a challenging yet extremely satisfying and rewarding role, where you will make the world of difference in the life of a child and truly make a positive impact within your community.
All applications are considered by the Life Without Barriers Out-of-Home-Care Pre-Placement Team. Successful candidates will be contacted by telephone to arrange an information session. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed by telephone or in writing.
You can phone 8415 6900 if you would like to speak to one of our friendly Pre-Placement Support Team members to find out more.