CORONAVIRUS — COMMUNITIES — FOSTER CARERS
248. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the Leader of the House representing the
Minister for Child Protection:
(1) Since the
current outbreak of COVID-19 began in December 2021, how many foster carers
have reached out to the Department of
Communities—child protection and family services—to request
help in managing the spread of the virus at home and protecting members
of the household who have tested negative when one or more householders has a positive
case of COVID-19?
(2) If yes to
(1), how many requests for assistance has the department received?
(3) What advice
has the Department of Communities provided to foster carers for managing the
spread of COVID-19 at home?
(4) What support
has the Department of Communities provided to foster carers whose households
have confirmed cases of COVID-19?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) There
is no differentiation between requests for assistance from foster carers and
other members of the community. Any additional supports provided on top of the
standard welfare response are recorded on individual case files and not
collated centrally. Emergency welfare support is provided to eligible people with COVID-19 or those required to self-isolate.
This emergency support is subject to a welfare assessment.
(3)–(4) The
Casework practice manual provides policy and practice direction for
managing COVID-19 in the home, which is regularly updated in accordance with
health advice. Communities also provides advice to carers to support children
dealing with isolation, including a dedicated section on the WA government's
website titled ''COVID-19 coronavirus: Out of home care''. There
has been ongoing liaison with the Foster Care Association of WA to gain
information on any concerns being raised with it by carers and for those concerns to be addressed by Communities.
If the carer is too unwell to provide care, Communities will source
alternative arrangements, firstly, by a natural support—friends and
family—then through formal avenues, that is, another carer, and will
maintain contact with the carer. In 2020, $3.6 million in one-off COVID-19
support payments were made to assist foster carers with buying essential items
and covering additional expenses to ensure children remained safe, healthy and
connected to school as part of the WA recovery plan.