Foster Care
A supportive family environment can go a long way towards shaping a young person’s life.
We manage a Foster Care program for children and young people, as well as short term care options.
The program stretches across the metropolitan area, mid-north and Fleurieu Peninsula and operates alongside our residential care services.
Carers are assessed based on the best interests of the child, with a focus on the carer’s ability to provide a secure home and the best possible care. Our carer assessment criteria is not determined by sexuality, gender, relationship status, race or religion.
Get in Touch
If you are interested in fostering a child, we would love to hear from you.
Foster Family Stories
FAQs
Foster Care provides a child or young person, who is unable to live with birth parents, a different family who will provide them with a safe, secure and caring home free from abuse and neglect.
It is always the hope that a child will live with their biological family or where possible, transition back to them over a period of time, when it is safe for this to happen. Where this is not possible, a child will need care until they turn 18 years or beyond.
Caring for a young person in Foster Care will be different depending on their needs. Short term can range from a few days to a few months; long term can be from months to several years, or could even become permanent.
Junction supports Specific Child Only (SCO) Care and General Foster Care placements in the greater metropolitan Adelaide region and the Fleurieu peninsula.
As a foster carer, you will receive a reimbursement designed to help cover the day-to-day costs of caring for a child.
The payment is not classed as an income and does not need to be listed in:
- Tax returns
- Commonwealth benefits applications
- Loan applications
Carers may be eligible for an additional payment to help with the extra costs of caring for a child with special needs.
Collaboration is one of our organisation’s key values. This extends to our foster carers – as the most important part of the care team for the child they have opened their home – and heart – to.
We see our role as being as supportive to our carers as possible, with the child’s health and wellbeing our shared priority.
This includes helping foster families provide a safe and stable environment for the child and providing education and resources to carers to give the child or young person opportunities to maximise their potential
Importantly, we work with carers to build connections within the child’s community to strengthen lifelong bonds.
Referrals to other Junction services, programs and initiatives can be made at any time. Just speak with your Support Worker for help or more information.
Junction’s Child and Youth Services employs therapeutic specialists who have a deep understanding of the impact of trauma to the brain and help us to respond to behaviours associated with this in ways that are supportive to the child or young person’s development.
Your support worker will be a key source of support for you and your child. They will help develop and maintain positive and transparent communication lines within the care team, as well as provide practical advice, assistance, support and education as you need.
As mentioned above, through our partnership with Inspired Psychology, you will also have access to therapeutic specialists. Specially trained and experienced Inspired Psychology staff have a deep understanding of the impact of trauma to the brain and help us to respond to behaviours associated with this in ways that are supportive to the child or young person’s development.
Together we work closely with the child’s DCP Case Worker to ensure the child continues to receive support and resources to thrive and grow.
Yes. We have an On Call Service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including public holidays. Our After Hours number is 0488 886 255.
You can contact us via our feedback page (junctionaustralia.org.au/feedback).
