Where Passion meets Purpose.
​
Tribe is an Australian-born, social enterprise with a sole focus on using emerging technology, human-centred design, and exceptional customer experience, to make a real and lasting change in the foster care industry.
​
We've created tribe out of a shared passion for enhancing the lives of young people and children in the out-of-home care system in Australia.
​
​
​
Our Purpose
​
Our Mission is to use innovation, technology and social enterprise values, to build tribes of humans who contribute to better outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care.
​
​
​
Our North Star
​
Our collective passion is to harness emerging technology, to develop and deliver solutions that remove the barriers that cause low rates of suitable foster carers.
​
We want to and will ensure those members of the community who can and should become foster carers are channelled to services quickly. In turn, we can enhance the life outcomes for children and young people in care.
​
​
​
Our Tribe
​
Mel James: [Co Founder] An experienced Social Worker with a background in Child Protection both in Australia and Internationally for the past 20 years. Mel’s drive for change was born out of working on the frontline of foster care, witnessing and experiencing placements breaking down, namely due to lack of clear and structured assessment process for those carers and appropriate matching for children in their care.
Mel owns a successful, national foster care consultancy, training and assessment company with over 40 practitioners who are equally passionate to drive sustainable, long-term change.
Its within this role that Mel met Mason, through Mason speaking at a panel event as someone with lived experience in out-of-home care. Together they share a strong desire to “do foster care differently” and disrupt the current system to make real sustainable change.
It’s from this desire and drive, tribe was born.
​
​
​
​
Our Tribe
​
Mason Andrews: [Co-Founder] An accomplished, experienced business owner, enterprise executive and social entrepreneur, you would never guess that Mason has significant lived experience in the out of home care system in Australia.
​
Having lived in out of home care for most of his childhood in Foster Care, Respite Foster Care, Residential Placements, Crisis Accomodation as well as spending a portion of that time homeless, Mason knows something needs to change.
​
He has spent the last 12 years working in Executive positions across Digital, ICT and Marketing across Government, Private Sector and Not for Profits delivering complex digital programs and designing solutions to meet real human needs.
​
Mason brings to tribe his passion for Human Centred Design as well as his experience as a Social Entrepeneur to ensure his experience has an impact on real sustainable change to the landscape, in Australia and beyond.
​
​
​
Our Story
​
In Australia there is not one central, independent, unbiased place for potential foster carers to go to gain accurate, straight-forward information about fostering. Not-for-profit fostering agencies and government departments across all States and Territories have competing, confusing, competitive websites, ad campaigns and slogans; none of which help those wanting to foster find clarity or build a sense of trust in the system. Add to it the barrage of negative media about foster kids, it was not unexpected to hear there are more foster children than placements, with more carers leaving fostering than commencing for the past few years.
As passionate thought leaders in this space, we wanted to invigorate foster care recruitment, training and support, to help potential foster carers who are ready now, AND support those who ‘aren’t quite ready yet’, so that when you make your decision to open up your home, your heart and your ‘village’ to a child in care, you are ready. You have information. You are confident. You are supported.
You are part of our tribe.
​
​
​
It takes a village to raise a child.
Find out how you can join, create or support a child's tribe, today.
​
​
​
​
​
