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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 229 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 6 April 2022 by Mrs L.A. Munday

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

FOSTER CARERS

229. Mrs L.A. MUNDAY to the Minister for Child Protection:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's commitment to supporting foster carers in Western Australia and to keeping children safe. Can the minister update the house on the initiatives this government is delivering to provide support to foster carers who are looking after Western Australia's most vulnerable children?

Ms S.F. McGURK replied:

I thank the member for the question and also the support she gives carers in her electorate. I have spoken to her many times about some of the network and support organisations and I know she is very engaged with them.

Western Australia is home to a number of quiet heroes—people who step up, often outside the limelight and with not much fanfare, and do an amazing job. Foster carers in our state are amongst those quiet heroes. These people take children in care into their homes and into their hearts. Often they do that for short periods knowing that the child protection system path and plan for those children is for them to be reunited with their families, provided, of course, that it is safe to do so. At other times they will take children into their homes and families for a number of years. I know that in their time, many members would have met foster carers and carers who have cared for scores of children in their foster caring lives. We are very grateful to them as a government and also as a state.

We take our responsibility to work with those foster carers very seriously. Since becoming the Minister for Child Protection, I have worked very closely with individual foster carers and the Foster Care Association of Western Australia to ensure that we are giving the right support. The Foster Care Association provides not only individual case support for foster carers, but also advocacy. Those of you who have met Fay Alford, the head of the Foster Care Association of Western Australia, will know that she is very forthright; you will never die wondering with Fay Alford in her advocacy role. In 2019, we gave $150 000 to the Foster Care Association to employ three new additional part-time staff members to increase its level of support. Since this initial grant, the Department of Communities has continued to provide funding to the association to boost these additional supports. I was pleased to be able to ring Fay Alford the other day to tell her that a further grant of $225 000 has been allocated to the association to fund the continuation of these additional support services through to June next year.

In addition, the Department of Communities has appointed a new director of fostering and family care to ensure that there is a focus on ensuring a culturally appropriate, inclusive and supportive approach to recruiting and retaining foster and family carers in our state. We are conscious that when people express an interest and make some inquiries to be a foster or family carer, it can take time to get approvals through because we need to go through a proper process. Sometimes that can take time and we are trying to expedite that and make it as quick as possible. But this new position of director of fostering and family care will provide focus to ensure that we get those processes done as quickly as possible.

The Foster care refresh project report, which we tabled in Parliament in August last year, was an opportunity to look at improvements to our system. The partnership between the Department of Communities, the Foster Care Association, the Commissioner for Children and Young People, and the Child and Family Alliance WA is all part of a network of organisations designed to improve outcomes for children in care and to work with foster carers and family and significant other carers, with community sector organisations all working together and across government agencies. Last time we were in Parliament, I mentioned the $3.5 million Health Navigator pilot, which is a really significant investment by Health, understanding that we have particular obligations to young people in care. I am grateful to my parliamentary secretary, the member for Swan Hills, who will help us work through that process to ensure that we have some dedicated health professionals in two districts—one in the metro area and the other in the regional area—to help, as the name implies, to work their way through the health system and make sure that the health needs of children in care are met.

Thanks again to foster carers in our state; we are very indebted to you and we hope that we are demonstrating as a government that we are providing resources and attention to your needs so that you can best provide support for children in care.