THE need for more caring adults to open their homes to babies and children as foster carers will be highlighted at The South East Field Days.
“Sadly the number of foster carers supported through our network across country South Australia to care for local children unable to live with their birth families is not enough to meet the demand for diverse young people in need of safe homes and positive relationships,” ac.care placement support worker Deb Salt said.
“We will be at the field days highlighting the need for more carers and opportunities for caring adults concerned about the welfare of children to bring new meaning into their lives by sharing country life with young people in need of support.”
ac.care formed in Mount Gambier in 1986 and has grown to provide services across the Limestone Coast, Riverland, Murraylands, Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula as the region’s local foster care agency.
“We have staff based locally across the regions to support people with training to become foster carers and are available to provide 24/7 support as part of a care team for young people,” ac.care foster care recruitment, assessment and training work Lisa Fry said.
“Our staff support carers across the regions, ensuring they are supported and have opportunities to learn, meet and connect with other carers as part of a shared focus on providing positive outcomes and opportunities for vulnerable young people to grow and develop safely.”
The agency is seeking carers to join the network to provide short-term, emergency or long-term care or occasional respite care, such as at weekends, for other foster carers.
“Country people count on one another to support others in their local community and we hope when people explore all there is at The South East Field Days they also give some consideration to whether the time is right to share rural life with a local young person and approach us for a chat to find out more about foster care,” Ms Salt said.
ac.care will host an information stand at The South East Field Days at Yakka Park in Lucindale on March 18 and 19.
Anyone interested in finding out more about foster care can also visit accare.org.au or call 1300 ACCARE (1300 222 273) to be connected to their local site.
