The ideal place for a child or young person to be raised is within the family of origin or the extended family. At times it may not be possible for a family to adequately meet their child’s needs. This may involve a child or young person living with other family members for a period of time or in one of the out of home care services which are available.

Families often make their own arrangements for assistance or respite care or place their children with another relative until they feel in a better position to provide care themselves. Sometimes a young person may leave home and live with friends or find a place in a youth shelter.

When these solutions are not possible, and a family is unable to meet their child’s needs, the Queensland Government Child Safety Services has the statutory responsibility of ensuring the safety of the child or young person. This may involve removing the child or young person from the family for a period of time, and placing the child or young person with other family members or in an out of home care service, usually foster or kinship care or residential care.

UnitingCare Community describes any living arrangements outside the immediate family as “Out of Home Care”.  There are a range of these kinds of services offered by Lifeline Community Care.

Youth hostels are usually funded by the Department of Communities and provide accommodation and other support services to assist young people to develop independent living skills. They may also provide assistance with education, employment, legal matters and finding stable accommodation.

Foster care, respite care and specialist foster care 

Foster Care provides placements in the home of approved carers for children and young people who are on child protection orders or placed with parental consent. Short term and long term care is provided in a family environment by a primary carer who may or may not be related to the child.

UnitingCare Community Foster Care Services provides training, assessment, professional and practical support to foster carers and their families. Specialist Foster Care provides a higher level of training and support to carers who care for children with complex needs to provide consistent support and guidance and commit to their overall care.

Respite care provides support to primary carers by offering regular breaks and giving children the opportunity to experience another social network, new experiences and interests. 

Foster carers are everyday people who volunteer their family and their homes to assit in raising some of the most vulnerable children in Queensland. If you would like to learn more about becoming a foster carer please read the information on the Department of Communities, Child Safety website. 

Residential care

Residential care typically provides placements for children and young people in houses where care is provided by a team of rostered youth workers. Children and young people are usually referred to the residential care program because foster care is not appropriate at the time due to a history of foster care placement breakdowns, challenging or aggressive behaviours, sexualised behaviours or social skills deficits.

Residential care is a transitional program with the child or young person progressing to either foster care or re-unification with their family of origin.

UnitingCare Community's Out of Home Care services aim to support young people to build resilience and increase their capacity to reach their potential by assisting in developing a positive sense of identity, social skills and the ability to participate actively in the community.

UnitingCare Community adopts the following principles in providing  Out of Home Care services:

• Children, young people and families who have experienced abuse and trauma require therapeutic interventions to enable them to integrate experiences, provide opportunities for change and growth, and for hopeful futures.
• Of paramount importance is the safety of the child/ young person.
• The out of home care options must maintain links to the child’s family, kin and culture  to ensure ongoing attachments critical to the appropriate care of the child are maintained.
• Wherever possible Indigenous children should be placed with Indigenous carers

UnitingCare Community's Foster Care and Residential Care Services include:

• Foster Care Services - North Brisbane, Cairns, Atherton, Innisfail
• Foster Care for Children with Disabilities (SCAFS) - South East Queensland
• Residential Care Services - North Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Goodna, Toowoomba

For more information on residential care, please read Lifeline's Residential Care flyer, or visit the Department of Communities, Child Safety website.

Reading Material

Foster Care was featured in a beautiful article in the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend Magazine on the 09/04/2011. To read this article please click here.