Out of home care – Kinship

Kinship care is care provided to a child by relatives or a member of the child’s social network when the child cannot live with their parents. 

In most instances, you are asked to become a kinship carer or you can offer to provide care for a child whom you know may need care. A member of the Child Protection team from the Department of Health and Human Services will contact you if there is a child in your family or networks in need of care. Potential carers go through a comprehensive assessment including a Working with Children Check and a Police Check. 

Formal care refers to situations where child protection is involved and a child has been removed from their parents care. There may be a Children’s Court order in place or this may be a voluntary arrangement between the parents and Child Protection. A kinship carer is entitled to a Carer Payment from DHHS in addition to material aid to support the placement such as bedding and clothing etc.

Informal care is when child protection are not involved, but a relative or other person in a child’s social network is caring for a child. This includes situations where a parent may drop off their child to a relative and ask them to care for the child for a period of time.   

The goal is always for children to reunify with their parents. When a care arrangement is in place, a plan is usually developed that details changes parents need to make to keep the child safe, nurtured, stable and secure. The reunification plan can last for 2 years. If after 2 years the parent has not made lasting changes, child protection may make a decision for non-reunification.

However all cases are unique and may differ depending on the circumstances. Even if a child is not reunified with their parents and continues to live with a carer, arrangements may be made to help the child maintain a relationship with their parents outside of living under their parent’s care. Kinship Care can be short term or can be permanent under a Permanent Care or Family Court Order issued via the Children’s or Family Courts.

A kinship care worker is there to provide practical and emotional support to the carer and the child. Your kinship care worker will listen to your frustrations and guide you through the complexities of the kinship care and child protection system. Kinship care workers are trained to understand the effects of trauma and how this impacts on a child’s behaviour and development. The worker can help you to understand and manage these behaviours with the child. The worker can also make referrals to counselling programs specific to the child’s needs and acts as an advocate to support you or the child to receive the intervention they require.