Foster children in New South Wales are in a ‘critical’ situation, with the number of active foster carers slowly decreasing across the state. 

From 8 September until 14 September is Foster and Kinship Care Week and highlights the importance of foster carers and the vital role they play in keeping vulnerable children safe and secure. 

CareSouth Illawarra is a community-services organisation that focuses on foster care, NDIS, early intervention, youth support and therapeutic residential accommodation services. 

CareSouth, Julie Heck and Karen Hooper

The organisation currently has 44 young people in their foster care program, Karen Hooper, CareSouth Illawarra Carer Engagement Team Leader says de-stigmatizing the role of a foster carer is crucial to rebuilding the available homes for children in need.

“Foster Care Week is not only an opportunity to thank our wonderful carers but to encourage people to have a conversation about what it’s like to be a foster carer and break down any myths or barriers to becoming a carer,” says Ms Hooper. 

According to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, 23 children were in out-of-home care in the Kiama local government area in 2023. 

The number jumps to 903 across Wollongong, Shoalhaven, Shellharbour and Kiama combined, which accounts for four percent of the total population of children living in the Illawarra region. 

Over the past five years, the number of foster carers in NSW has decreased by 15 per cent, leaving the system vulnerable and children in foster care to be moved around constantly in stressful environments. 

Illawarra foster carers Julie and Peter Heck joined CareSouth as foster carers in 2019 and say it’s the best decision they ever made.

“We’ve got so much love to give, so thought we would go down the fostering path after considering it for a fairly long time,” says Julie. “Then one day we just took the plunge and I made the phone call and we’ve never looked back. Now I can’t imagine life without these two little people in it.”

There is an urgent need for more foster carers like Julie and Peter to provide a loving home for children and young people who are unable to live with their own families. If children are not able to be placed into a stable foster care environment, the effects are alarming.

A harrowing report into the dire alternative care arrangements young people are living in across NSW was released by the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP) earlier this year.

The NSW Government responded with an urgent review into the foster care system looking into how taxpayer finances are being spent in the industry and use of emergency accommodation for children in out-of-home care.

Children placed in these living arrangements recounted their lack of access to ongoing schooling, constant relocation, living in pest-infected rooms and a 12-year-old reported experiencing sexual assault during a stay in a hotel.

Earlier this month, the government announced a ban on all alternative care arrangements for vulnerable children across the state. 

Alternative care arrangements can cost upwards of $2 million per child, per year. These arrangements place children in hotels, motels and caravan parks with rotating shift workers instead of registered foster carers. 

These arrangements are provided by non accredited agencies who are not required to meet NSW Child Safe Standards for Permanent Care.

“As a mum I’m horrified to hear that there are children in the child protection system who feel like they’re animals, being moved from cage to cage,” says Minister for Families and Communities, Kate Washington.

“Under our government, unaccredited emergency accommodation will become a thing of the past, which is long overdue,” Washington continued.

Those interested in becoming a foster carer are encouraged to contact CareSouth on 1300 554 260 or visit www.caresouth.org.au. You can also visit the NSW Government website for more details on how to become a foster carer.