The Crisafulli Government is strengthening its commitment to family-based care through a suite of reforms to support existing foster and kinship carers, attract new carers and improve outcomes for high needs children in care.
Under the reforms, a new Foster Care Advisory Group will be established to ensure carers and permanent guardians have a stronger voice in shaping Queensland’s child safety system, as the first step to delivering on recommendation 24 from the Commission of Inquiry.
A recruitment push will support the reforms, encouraging more Queenslanders to offer a loving home for vulnerable kids, delivering more stable care options of children.
The damming Commission of Inquiry into Labor’s broken Child Safety System found 80 per cent of foster carers would not recommend the role to a friend, but the Crisafulli Government is taking immediate steps to restore respect to carers and reform the care system.
This work builds on the Crisafulli Government’s You could be a foster carer campaign, that addressed common questions about becoming a carer and highlighted the training, practical assistance and flexible care options available.
Member for Scenic Rim Jon Krause said the reforms reflected the Crisafulli Government’s commitment to restore respect to foster carers and prioritise family-based care, delivering on the Commission of Inquiry recommendations.
“This is one of the ways we are implementing reform to make children safer and fix the broken child safety system we inherited,” Mr Krause said.
“Foster carers provide safe, stable and nurturing homes for some of Queensland’s most vulnerable children and young people, and we are committed to giving them greater recognition and a stronger voice.”
“These reforms are about backing foster carers and ensuring more children have the opportunity to enter family-based care.”
The new initiatives build on broader reforms to attract, support and retain foster carers, including enhanced training, flexible funding and new pathways into fostering.
To learn more about becoming a foster carer, visit www.qld.gov.au/fostercare or call 1300 550 877.
For more information about the Professional Foster Care pilot, visit www.qld.gov.au/professionalfostercare.