Family based care

Emergency care is provided for a short period, usually a few days, when children or young people need urgent care to ensure their safety.

Emergency carers need to be prepared to support children and young people through this uncertain time.

The period of emergency care may be busy with many appointments and meetings to attend.

The circumstances for children in emergency care arrangements may change quickly. If a child requires ongoing care, the Child Safety will seek to place children with family, through what is called a kinship placement.

Respite care is provided for children and young people for short periods of time on a regular basis, for example, one weekend a month. Respite placements provide the child or young person and primary carers with a network of support.

Wherever possible respite carers are identified to provide regular respite for the child or young person.

Respite carers are an important part of the child or young person’s Care Team. They ensure consistency of care and routine when the child or young person is not with their primary care giver.

Kinship care is an arrangement, similar to foster care and is provided by members of the child or young person’s extended family or an adult who is known to the child and their family (e.g. a close family friend).

Wherever possible, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander must be placed with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander relatives or extended family members (kin).

Kinship carers are assessed and approved to ensure the child or young person’s safety within the placement.

There are two types of kinship care – formal and informal:

• Formal kinship care is where children and young people live with family when they are unable to stay with their birth parents. These children and young people are under a formal care and protection order. The kinship carer is assessed and approved to ensure safety within the placement.
• Informal kinship care, or informal family arrangements, are where children or young people live with and are cared for by extended family or friends. These arrangements exist without legal intervention and can have varied custody or guardianship arrangements with the birth parents. They are not under the custody or guardianship of the Department.

Children and young people may need care for a short period of time prior to being restored to their families or while a longer-term care arrangement is being organised.  

Carers may be asked to:

• attend appointments
• support the child or young person to spend time with their family
• support the child or young person to attend school and stay involved in existing activities, like sports or hobbies
• join Child Safety Service and others in the Care Team to share information and plan for the child or young person’s needs.  

During this time, children and young people may feel anxious about their families, pets, toys or want to return home. They need flexibility and patience, as well as the support of a consistent, safe and trustworthy adult.

If children and young people are not able to be restored to their families, they may need a long-term carer. This provides them with a stable, supportive home in which they can feel included and valued. This may be until the circumstances of their families change, or until they exit the out of home care system, as young adults.

Children in long-term care need ongoing assurance that they are welcome and feel like they are part of the family.

Intensive supported foster care provides a child or young person the opportunity to live in a family home while receiving therapeutic support. It provides them with the chance to build real and meaningful relationships, in an environment that supports stability and responds to complex trauma needs.