Following discussions with carers, MacKillop Family Services commissioned sector research to better understand how best to support carers and their family when children leave their care.
Delving into the impacts of placement transitions on foster carers and their children, this research provides perspectives from carers and professionals and insights into how the sector can develop its support for carers and their families in preparation for and following the end of a placement.
This report on Grief & Loss: Understanding the impacts of placement transitions on MacKillop foster carers and their children has been prepared by Dr Margaret Kertesz, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
To complement and unpack this important research report, and with funding from Perpetual Trustees, MacKillop created a 5-episode podcast Preparing Our Hearts: A Foster Care Journey. In the podcasts, host Clinician Summah Hemming, interviews Dr Kertesz, experienced foster and kinship carers, carers’ biological children, and foster care professionals to further examine the experiences, challenges, coping strategies and support around saying goodbye to a foster child.
Register your interest in loss and grief training
In collaboration with our colleagues at MacKillop Seasons, MacKillop Family Services is offering loss and grief training to Foster and Kinship Care professionals. This training is designed to increase knowledge and understanding of loss and grief to strengthen the relationship between carer and professional and provide meaningful and impactful support to carers and their families when a child leaves their care.
If you would like to register your interest, or simply find out more about the training, please complete the form below: