Types of foster care

Emergency placements are for children who need an urgent place to stay because there are concerns for their immediate safety. These placements can occur after-hours and on weekends. Emergency carers need to be able to provide care for very young children at short notice, and typically only for a short period of time.

From time-to-time parents and carers need a break from their caring role. Respite care is for short periods, such as school holidays, weekends, or during the week.

This can last anywhere from a few months to two years. These placements have a strong focus on reunifying children and young people with their families.

There are different ways a child can have a safe, caring, and permanent home. These are called permanency pathways and can involve placements longer than six months. If a child cannot return to their family on a restoration pathway, there are a range of other permanent placements to help children feel safe and supported.

These pathways include:

• Long Term Care: Where children and young people live in a long-term placement with foster carers for more than two years.
• Guardianship: To meet the long-term needs of a child in care, a relative, kinship carer or foster carer may apply to become a guardian through an application to the Children’s Court. If approved, the foster carer/s has the legal responsibility of caring for the child or young person until they reach adulthood.
• Open Adoption: This is for children in foster care who cannot safely return to their birth family. Through an application to the Children’s Court, the child becomes a legal member of a family providing a safe and loving home for life.
• Relative or Kinship Care: This is where a child or young person lives with a relative or someone they know through family and/or community connection.

It is important to note that there must be a commitment and ongoing focus on connecting and maintaining strong family and sibling relationships throughout all pathways.