QFKC + The Tribe Project 🤓

So many carers (and kids!) in the child protection and foster care space tell us how confusing and often overwhelming it can be to have so many new people, so many strangers, coming into their lives and their homes, having a say in how to best support a child in their care. I like to emphasise that sometimes it's ‘more people, the better’ as it ensures that we as a sector have a shared responsibility for the wellbeing and care of children in the foster system. When there are more eyes on a child, then hopefully if something is not quite right, someone will pick it up and address it. Whether that’s a poor care / home situation, or whether it’s an undiagnosed disability, a looming mental health issue, or the need for an adjustment or improvement in a case plan. While having a lot of people in a foster carer and/or a foster child’s life can be daunting, normally, if it's explained who they are and why, that elevates some of the stress.

In today’s blog, I want to introduce you to a Qld-based organisation who is a strong voice for carers in the Qld system; Qld Foster and Kinship Care. The following is from Carissa Inglis, QFKC’s Service Support Manager. Like Tribe, QFKC is eager to see more carers come into the system; to be better informed when they enter and to be better supported while they are in it.

Queensland Foster and Kinship Care (QFKC) is the peak organisation for foster and kinship carers across Queensland, but we are unique as a Peak because of what we can offer carers; click here to find out how we may be able to help you.

The vast majority of Peak organisations in Queensland have a role of systems advocacy; Peaks rely on their members and on the community sector to inform their advocacy pathways to bring about positive change.

QFKC has the added benefit of offering direct service delivery to carers right across Queensland and as you can appreciate, this along with listening to our members and the community sector drives our focused advocacy in the issues that really matter to carers.

Here at QFKC we are driven by a Management Committee who are all carers themselves. We have a small staffing group which include four experienced case officers in Brisbane and one based in Townsville. Carers are provided with day to day support through their fostering and kinship care service and should also feel supported to meet case plan goals for children and young people placed in their care alongside their Child Safety officer and other care team members.

Parenting in the context of a Statutory system however can and will be very difficult at times, with issues arising that cannot always be resolved within the Care Team or advise needed that the care team just may not have the answers to. This is where any approved foster or kinship carer in Queensland can contact QFKC and speak to one of our Case officers who will provide advice, support and advocacy services to work through the identified issues. This could take many forms, sometimes carers contact us because they just want access to the most recent and accurate legislative, policy or procedural advice relating to matters such as finance, carer approval processes, permanency options, family contact obligations, Standard of Care Review and Harm report processes and the list goes on.

In these instances, we are able to provide all relevant information to carers and they can use this information to advocate for the best outcomes for the child or young person in their care and their carer family as a whole. Sometimes carers need support to do this and in these instances they can ask Case officer to support them through a process and in some instances advocacy is required to ensure that processes such as Standard of Care processes occur in a way that is fair and just.

QFKC also offers many other services including a limited legal service, training to carers and the sector, our FAST program who are carers themselves who have been trained and who are supported to provided advice, advocacy and support to fellow carers and we also run both the Recruitment program and Exit program on behalf of carers. All of these services ensures that our small team of Staff are very experienced in the journey of carers, from the beginning point of enquiry, through the challenges that fostering and kinship care brings and to the Exit point when carers choose to leave the system.

If you would like to be a member of QFKC and receive up to date information relating to the Child Protection Sector, visit our website and become a member for a small $15 fee a year.

You do not have to be a member to access QFKC’s services, to access a case worker call our office on 3256 6166.