WA Foster Care Week (8 – 12 March) is an annual celebration of the outstanding foster carers who provide safe, nurturing homes for vulnerable children. This year, local foster care agency MacKillop Family Services (MacKillop), is highlighting the critical shortage of foster carers in WA who support the ever-growing numbers of children in need of a safe home.
More than 5000 West Australian children are in out of home care and the number of children who need care is rising faster than agencies can find and train people to become foster carers.
Renee and Mike Matich from Henley Brook in Perth’s Swan Valley have been foster carers with MacKillop for over two years and continue to support an eighteen-year-old girl who has lived with them for the past two years.
“Even though Alisha* officially ‘aged out’ of the care system once she turned 18, we know that she continues to need support and guidance, so she remains at the property with us. To help her lead her own life and become independent, she has her own accommodation that she is responsible for, but we are close at hand as a back up when she needs some advice, or just wants someone to talk to.
“When Alisha came to live with us, she had been in care since the age of four and had lived in a number of different homes. Understandably she was wary and it took a while to build trust between us. We are so proud of the amazing young woman she has become.
“She knows how much we care about her and that even though she is 18 now, it’s not a case of ‘OK, see you later,’ she’s always going to be part of our family and she knows we will always be there for her,” said Renee.
Kellie Goes, MacKillop’s WA State Director, is keenly aware of the struggle to attract more foster carers.
“It’s never been easy to recruit foster carers, but it has become increasingly difficult to find enough people to look after the children in WA who need safe homes. When people do think about foster care, they see it as a problem somewhere else and not on their own doorstep. We work really hard to keep kids in their own locality, but to do that, we need people from all over Western Australia to think about how they too could make their home a haven for kids in their community.
“Carers like Renee and Mike are the backbone of the foster care system because they want to make sure children and young people have a safe place to stay each night. We need a much larger bank of people who understand the needs of vulnerable children and can provide a nurturing home. I wish more people could see the difference foster care makes to a child’s life and how rewarding giving support to vulnerable families can be.
“Foster carers come from all walks of life. They can be working, not working, or retired; married or single; in same-sex relationships; and can own or rent their home. The most essential criteria are that they care about creating a safe and nurturing home, and that they have room in their home and their hearts to support vulnerable children,” added Kellie.
MacKillop supports foster carers with comprehensive training, ongoing advice, respite care and an after-hours helpline.
For further information on foster care, visit MacKillop’s website at www.mackillop.org.au or call 1300 791 677
*name deidentified to protect privacy
