Anglicare Victoria is encouraging people to ‘play a part’ this Foster Care Week, running September 11 to 17.
The organisation, which is the state’s largest foster care agency, said it is in need of 90 more carers to meet demand.
Anglicare Victoria chief executive Paul McDonald said there had been a national decline in the number of people putting their hand up to care.
“After a couple of tough years during the pandemic, managing lockdowns, working from home and remote learning, we’ve had a number of carers decide to take a break from fostering,” Mr McDonald said.
“The number of new foster carers needed across all agencies in Victoria alone is estimated to exceed 700.
“The situation is urgent. Foster Care Week is the perfect time to consider helping a child in need by welcoming them into your home. It’s rewarding and it’s life-changing.”
He said without enough new carers coming through the door, kids end up needing to move further away from their local area.
“This obviously has a big impact on their lives. Having a healthy number of foster carers leads to more kids living in safe and secure homes long-term, and more teenagers growing into positive contributors to society. Every community across Australia benefits from this,” he said.
Anglicare Victoria is currently looking for all types of foster carers to get involved.
“Anyone who is able to provide a stable and loving home is encouraged to contact their local foster care provider,” Anglicare Victoria said.
Fostering can take the form of short term care, varying from a few days to a few months, to longer term care, if a young person cannot return home for some time.
Emergency care is usually for a couple of nights before a permanent home is found, while respite care is used to give full time carers a break, “for a weekend each month, or a week during the school holidays”.
“There are fun parts, hard parts, rewarding parts and life-changing parts. Being a foster carer can be challenging, but it is enormously rewarding,” Mr McDonald said.
“Anyone that thinks they might like to play a part should certainly reach out.”
Anglicare Victoria said foster carers are reimbursed for out of pocket expenses related to care of foster kids, and are supported through the processes by dedicated case workers and around-the-clock help via phone.
To enquire about being a foster carer, go to anglicarevic.org.au/fostering or call 1800 809 722.
To donate during Foster Care Week, go to donate.anglicarevic.org.au
