Newsletter | January 2019

Happy new year to our My Forever Family members Welcome to our first edition of the My Forever Family NSW Members’ Newsletter for 2019. This is an exciting year, we hope to welcome new foster carers, guardians, kinship carers and adoptive parents, as well as continue to support our existing carers.

After launching mid-2018, we are excited about what 2019 holds. We look forward to assisting with a better experience for NSW Carers, through support, training and advocacy.

Finding more carers to assist with Emergency Care and Restoration Care will be a key focus in 2019, as we continue to see an urgent need to find homes for children across NSW.

With your help, we can spread the word and inspire potential carers to foster a child. That’s why My Forever Family NSW is always keen to hear from you. Please send through any stories, questions and/or feedback to our team anytime. Your experiences will help inspire others to follow your example.

Thank you for being part of the My Forever Family NSW journey, and caring for kids!

Peter Goslett Head of Operations & Advocacy

BACK TO SCHOOL DISCOUNTS! Registered foster and kinship carers, guardians and people who have adopted children from out-of-home care can be entitled to some great discounts when they shop!

If you sign up as a My Forever Family NSW member you will receive member benefits including discounts at major retailers – at over 1,000 retailers across NSW. Stores include Woolworths, Coles, Caltex, Kmart, Target, Hoyts Cinemas, Bunnings, JB Hi Fi, Priceline, and David Jones to name a few.

Benefits that come with carer membership include: • Free attendance at most My Forever Family and

partner events

• Discounts at supermarkets, on fuel, at cinemas, clothing stores and more retailers across NSW

• Access to advocacy, support and information for your role as a carer during business hours.

You can join the My Forever Family member community by visiting the Membership section on the website .

Members’ approved carer status will need to be verified before they can access loyalty rewards. Discounts vary from 5% on groceries and fuel, to 10% on stationery and up to 37% on movie tickets. This membership with My Forever Family is open to carers from all agencies regardless of how long they have been a carer, provided they are an authorised carer at the time of registration of the membership.

MFF TRAINING CALENDAR 2019

Our training calendar for February to April 2019 is now up on our website. Have a look at what training is available in your area and book your place online.

Information about Carer Support Groups around NSW will now be located on a new page currently being developed on our website. If you are involved in a group that we are not aware of please contact us and we can add your contact information and meeting dates.

Join today!

We hadn’t planned on being parents – we’ve been together since our twenties and as a young same-sex couple having a family was not on our agenda.

Once we’d hit our mid-forties however some of our friends had started fostering kids. It was Tony who brought it up first as a possibility for us. He was inspired by how much difference our friends were making to the children’s lives. Des was not so sure at first, and we felt it was crucial that we were both committed so it took a couple of years of thinking about it and talking to our friends who are carers before we were both on the same page. We also wanted to make sure that we could manage financially.

Now, in our late fifties we have been parents to three siblings, two girls and a boy, for 11 years. This story has a happy ending, but it’s been tough and there was a time during their second year with us when we thought we’d made a mistake as the kids had such trouble adjusting to our home and to school. It was impacting our relationship and we felt that the kids were unhappy with us. We stuck with them and with each other though - with a lot of help and advice from our carer support group and a great psychologist.

All of them are teenagers now, and although it’s still challenging at times, we are so happy we didn’t give up on them. Our oldest is 19 and about to leave home. She’s found the transition from school to adulthood tough, but she’s getting support from a caseworker as part of her leaving care plan. The caseworker is helping her manage the practical parts of life, and we will be ready with the hugs, the hot meals, laundry, emotional support and family time.

BECOMING DADS LATER IN LIFE

Carer Case Study

PARENTING FEATURESelf-care for CarersAre you stressed and run down? Maybe you find you are spending a lot of your time cleaning up, transporting, managing children’s emotions and behaviours. You are doing a great job feeding the kids healthy food and settling them to sleep, and yet you may not be factoring in your own nutritional and sleep needs. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed by some of the things the children in your care have experienced.

The children and young people in your care need you to be emotionally and physically well. When you are parenting children and young people with attachment and trauma related issues, it is even more important that you prioritise looking after yourself.

Self-care is mostly about taking practical steps to keep your life running smoothly, putting your own health first, taking the time for those things that keep you strong and well, and fitting in the occasional indulgence.

Our carer support team have put together some advice on how to build strategies and routines into your life to help you stay healthy and well – and so that you can be there for the kids as long as they need you.

Get organised Creating a routine and sticking to it might sound like hard work but it will pay off. Predictable routines help children and young people to feel safe and stay calm, your household run more smoothly, and save you time and stress. Best of all, you can schedule in regular time for yourself.

Stay healthy This isn’t rocket science, but it’s so easy to put your own physical needs last. Getting regular exercise, making sure you are eating well and having enough sleep is vital for everyone’s well-being.

Have a life away from the kids Schedule in time for seeing your friends and keeping up your own activities. This might mean the kids spend a weekend a month with a respite carer or family member, or you could schedule in some time when they are at school or day care.

Ask for practical help No one can do it all on their own. Ask friends and family if you need help with shopping, babysitting, or picking kids up from school. You will be role modelling good strategies to the children in your care, and helping them to feel part of your community and wider family.

Skill up Take opportunities to attend training and read up about parenting children with trauma and attachment issues, navigating the system, and managing your relationships. See the MFF statewide training calendar and the resources section on our website for more information.

Reach out The carer journey is often quite isolating and at times it is hard to find people who understand. Make regular times to talk to your case-manager, join a carer support group, or speak to a psychologist or counsellor.

Remember, the MFF Carer Support Team provide free and confidential support to all NSW foster and kinship carers, guardians and parents who have adopted children from out-of-home care.

Question:Does an assessment of restoration have to take place before we can apply to adopt or become guardians?

Answer:There is a hierarchy of care options for children in out of home care in NSW. Considering or pursuing restoration is the first option after family preservation, and forms part of best practice case management. This will typically have already been explored before the option of guardianship or adoption is considered for a child.

If you are applying for guardianship or adoption, this will be in relation to children who have guardianship or adoption as their case plan goal. If the child has been in long term foster care with you, this is an option that can be discussed with your case manager.

MYTH BUSTER!Question:On the FACs website it states that an adoptive parent applicant must be at least 18 years older than the adoptee. Is this correct?

Answer:the person must be at least 21 years of age, and 18 years older than the child.

The Adoption Act 2000 (section 27(2)) provides for the basic requirements to adopt. The age requirement of an adoptive parent is as follows:

(2) Age requirements The Court must not make an adoption order in favour of one person who is not a birth parent or relative of the child unless:

1. the person is 21 or more years of age and 18 or more years older than the child, or

2. the Court considers that in the particular circumstances of the case it is desirable to make the order even though the person does not fulfil the age requirements.

Schedule 1 of the Adoption Regulation 2015 (the Regulation) requires an accredited adoption service provider to notify the Secretary and Children’s Guardian of any changes to the criteria that are used to assess the suitability of the applicants to adopt a child and must make those selection criteria publicly available.

TELL US YOUR STORY!

Do you speak another language? Are you a city carer? Regional carer? Do you have a child in care or a sibling group?

We’d love to hear from you, whatever your story. Please tell us about your experience as a foster or kinship carer, guardian or adoptive parent.

We are looking for real stories from all types of people. Your story will inspire others to open their homes and their hearts to a child.

All stories will protect your identity and that of the child/children mentioned. Please send your story (up to 300 words) via email: evelyn.santoro@myforeverfamily.org.au

SPREAD THE WORD IN YOUR COMMUNITY!Help others to consider the foster carer path, we have over 18,000 children and young people in the foster care system in New South Wales.

Please download our posters and pin them on noticeboards in your local community groups. We also have ads you can include in school, community groups and local council newsletters. Grassroots action is the most effective!

If you need ads in picture format ( jpg) please email us.

FAQs

The My Forever Family NSW newsletter is produced by the Communications team.

Disclaimer: The information and advice provided in this document/website is general information. It may not apply to a particular case, and as such, must not be taken as legal advice.

Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm

CARER SUPPORT LINE 1300 782 975

CARER SUPPORT enquiries@myforeverfamily.org.au

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