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.