Foster carers come from all backgrounds and walks of life. They can be young, old, working full-time or not working at all. Anyone over the age of 21 can apply to become a foster carer. For Gippsland couple Rose and David, it was after their children had grown up and left the nest that they decided to take the first step in their fostering journey.  

Rose and David first became foster carers in 2017 and have since fostered over 30 children through respite, emergency, and short-term care. The couple had considered fostering before, but it was after their children had grown and moved out of home that they made the choice to open up their home to children in their community. They connected with a local foster care agency, Anglicare Victoria, in Morwell and have never looked back. 

"We were empty nesters and feeling a bit lost when our children left home. We have this beautiful house with lots of bedrooms and felt we needed to share it." 

When Rose and David first decided to become foster carers, they chose shorter-term and respite care. As a foster carer, you can choose the types of care that you provide to best suit your circumstances.  

Respite care is short-term planned care provided for children living with full-time foster or kinship carers or parents. It often involves one or two weekends a month or a week during school holidays and is designed to give full-time carers a break. 

"We've had sibling groups come to stay; some children have stayed for several months and then come back to stay for respite." 

Rose and David liken their role as respite foster carers to that of grandparents, emphasising that any additional adult who can provide a supportive and nurturing home environment is invaluable in a child's life. "Fostering is providing a child with safe stepping stones. You aren’t going to be by their side every day until adulthood, but you can give them a safe place for a moment in their life." 

As a nurse and teacher, they both bring relevant skills into their role as carers but say that the training they received through their agency set them up for success. 

"In our training, we learned the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) method, and we apply it time and time again. It helps us to be calm and patient when we are working through children's different behaviours. We undertake a lot of training through Carer Kafe to help increase our knowledge as carers." 

Foster carers are part of a child's broader care team, alongside their foster care agency and are provided with support day and night.  

"We really appreciate our agency's 24-hour phone line and knowing that we always have someone to call, even in the middle of the night. It takes a village to raise a child, and that’s really the case in foster care." 

Supporting family reunification 

Foster care is the temporary care of children and young people. Foster carers play an important role in supporting family reunification, if and when it is safe to do so. Rose and David consider some of the most rewarding experiences as carers to be supporting children to reunify with their family. 

"Sometimes our role is helping children navigate grief from being separated from family, and that can be hard, but it's important to support them and help them understand their parent does love them but they just can’t provide care right now." 

While each child's circumstances are different, Rose and David have at times been able to support contact visits with birth families. "It was really important for us to be encouraging of their relationship and to be able to support that reunification." 

In some cases, they have also been able to maintain contact with the family after the placement has ended, hearing about how the children are doing at school and attending their dance concerts. "When it comes to children returning home to their family, we have been fortunate enough to stay in contact. This isn’t always possible with every family or child, but when it has happened, it’s been very special." 

Creating foster care communities through the Mockingbird program 

As experienced foster carers, Rose and David are proud to be involved in the launch of the first Mockingbird program in the Gippsland area, taking on the role of 'Hub Home Provider'. 

The Mockingbird program brings six to ten foster and kinship carer families together into a community network called a Constellation. The Constellation is supported by an experienced foster carer who takes on the role of Hub Home Provider. 

Each child in these carer families is welcomed by the Hub Home Provider for visits, sleepovers, and social events. Carers are supported by the Hub Home through connection, information, training, and emotional support. 

"We are really proud to be part of the first Mockingbird Constellation in Gippsland. Being a consistent person in these children’s and families' lives gives them that predictability and another constant adult figure in their life that they can lean on for support. And also a chance for their regular carer to take time for themselves." 

Interested in becoming a foster carer?   

All kinds of kids need all kinds of foster carers.   

Whether you’re single, partnered, young or old, working full time or not working at all, if you have a spare bedroom and want to play a part in a child’s life, then you’ve got what it takes to get started.  

To learn more about becoming a foster carer, give us a call on 1800 013 088 or enquire online.