Key information
- Out of Home Care includes:
- Family based care
- kinship care
- intensive supported foster care
- respite foster care
- emergency foster care
- short-term foster care
- long-term foster care
- Salaried Care
- therapeutic residential care
- salaried care placements
- Family based care
The out of home care system works to support children and young people to have somewhere safe to live and feel stable while they can’t be with their parents.
For information on what the Child Safety Service does, go to the Guide to Tasmania’s child safety services section of the website.
The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997 provides the framework and mandate for government and non-government services, community members and families to respond to situations, where:
- children may have experienced abuse or neglect, or
- where it is considered they may be at risk of suffering harm within their family.
Where the Child Safety Service assesses that a child or young person is at risk in their home, they will seek a court order for short or longer term care. An out of home care arrangement will be made for their day-to-day care and long-term we will find the child or young person somewhere safe to live if they can’t safely go back home. The Secretary of the Department for Education, Children and Young People then becomes responsible for the care and protection of those children and young people under their custody and guardianship.
Out of Home Care services
Children and young people are at the centre of the out of home care system which provides a range of care and accommodation services.
There are teams of dedicated child safety officers whose role is to provide support to children and young people and their carers across Tasmania.
Out of Home Care supports the placement of children into family based foster care or salaried care.
Family based care
Family based care settings provide children with a family environment for as long as needed until they can return to their families or until they exit care, generally at 18 years of age.
Family based care
Family based care can help children and young people feel stable by giving them a place to live in a family home when they are unable to live with their own families. This can be for as long as needed until they can return to their natural families or until they exit care as young adults. We know that feeling stable helps children and young people to have a good life.
Family base care includes:
- Emergency foster care
- Respite foster care
- Kinship care
- Short-term foster care
- Long-term foster care
- Intensive supported foster care.
Read more about family based care.
Salaried care
Salaried care includes therapeutic residential care and salaried care.
Therapeutic residential care
Therapeutic residential care is group-based accommodation and support to older children and young people who have high or challenging needs and where foster or kinship care is not available or appropriate. It is provided by CatholicCare Tasmania. Young people in residential care are often supported to learn the skills they need to live independently as they transition to becoming young adults in their own homes.
Salaried care
Salaried care is provided by non-government organisations for children and young people with complex needs that for a short or longer period can make it too challenging for them to live in a family home with foster or kinship carers. Salaried care is in a home setting with care provided by staff on a rostered basis.
Therapeutic interventions are provided to children and young people in care who have experienced trauma. The Australian Childhood Foundation provides this service and also provides training and supports to carers and staff.