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Foster care

• About foster and kinship care
  • What is foster care?
  • What is kinship care?
  • Who needs care?
  • Provisionally approved carers
  • Specialist foster care
  • Non family-based care
• Becoming a carer
  • Expression of interest
    • Register your interest
  • Questions to consider
  • Rewards and challenges
  • Steps to becoming a carer
  • Blue card for carers
• Carer training
  • Foster carer training
    • Foreword
    • Procedures and guidelines
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Orientation
    • Learning outcomes
    • Pre-service training
    • Learning journal
    • Standard training
    • Advanced training
    • Recognition of prior learning
    • Acknowledgments
    • Forms and templates
  • Kinship carer training
• Support for carers
  • Carer handbook
  • Federal Government allowances and benefits
  • Foster and kinship care support line
  • Foster and Kinship Carer Card
    • Business Discount Directory
      • Tips on using the card
      • Nominate a business
    • ADSS Shopper
    • Information for businesses
      • Business proposal application form
      • Terms and conditions
    • Frequently asked questions
  • Financial support
  • Support care
  • Support groups
• Rights and responsibilities
  • Standards of care
  • Statement of commitment
  • Charter of rights of a child in care
  • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Case planning for a child in care
  • Child Health Passport
  • Children and young people with disabilities
  • Education Support Plans
  • Family contact and reunification
  • Long-term guardianship
  • Placement Agreements
  • Transition from care
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
  • Child placement principle
  • Recognised Entities
• Regulation of care
  • Screening and assessment
  • Matters of concern
  • Community Visitors
• Contacts
  • Community foster care agencies
  • Indigenous foster care agencies
  • Peak bodies and advocacy groups
  • Foster and Kinship Carer Card contacts
• Library

Support care

Support care is an essential support for foster and kinship carers when they need a break from caring, time to deal with personal matters or recover from illness.

Support care is also an important support for children and young people in care, giving them opportunities to extend their support network.

Support carers provide short periods of care, either through regular ongoing visits or in emergency situations that temporarily impact on the carer's ability to provide care.

Support care is suitable for people who can provide short-term care but may not be able to provide ongoing day-to-day care for a child. It can be for a few hours, a weekend or even a few weeks. Support carers determine their own availability, for example, weekends or holidays.

Whenever possible, regular support care should be provided by the same person. Ideally, this will be someone the child or young person already has an existing relationship or with, or someone they can develop trust and a connection with.

Support carers work with foster and kinship carers, our department and other non-government care services as part of an important team of people committed to providing a safe, stable and supportive environment for the child or young person in care.

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Last updated

6 June 2008