| WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR BEING A CARER?
Age
No set age requirements, though it is expected that
carers providing long-term care for a child will be
able, if necessary, to continue care until the child
is able to live independently. All Applicants will
undergo a medical check by a registered GP.
Applicant
Status
Single, married/defacto, with or without children.
Youth Care UPA does not discriminate on the basis
of race, colour, sex, nationality, religion, lifestyle
choice, sexual preference or socio-economic grounds.
Fertility
(where infertility is an issue)
To be eligible to do long term care, an applicant
must have finished their involvement with a fertility
program for a period of not less than 12 months.
Applicants must demonstrate an acceptance of their
infertility and an understanding of the impact of
infertility upon each of them as an individual and
as a family.
Health
An applicant’s health (both physical and mental)
shall be such as to ensure he or she is able to undertake
the task of fostering. For applicants for long-term
care, this may involve raising the child to adulthood.
Financial
Resources
In general, applicants who provide long-term care
should have adequate financial resources.
Accommodation
Applicants should have adequate, safe accommodation
for a child. This does not mean that applicants should
necessarily own their own home. A bedroom must be
available for a foster child.
Residence
Applicants must live in the Far North Coast of NSW area.
Caring
skills
Applicants must demonstrate an ability to undertake
the special responsibilities involved in caring for
a foster child. Carers must be able to:
- draw on and apply personal experiences appropriately
in dealing with the tasks of fostering
- work effectively as a team with staff from our agency, other organisations and birth parents
- promote the positive development of children and
young people in foster care
- provide a safe and compassionate environment that is free from abuse
Involvement
with the agency
Applicants must be willing to participate in the initial training
and assessment process.
Applicants must demonstrate a capacity to work with
Youth Care UPA
in order to meet the changing needs of a child or
young person. This will involve a willingness and
ability to communicate with the agency, participate
in planning and reviewing of the child’s care, and participate in ongoing training.
Birth
family contact
Applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the
importance of the origins, culture and past experience
of the child or young person in their care. Applicants
must demonstrate an acceptance of the agency’s
commitment to ongoing contact between the child and
his/her birth parents and a willingness to facilitate
such contact.
Care
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
and young people
Our agency has a commitment to placing Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
with carers who share their cultural background.
Carers who identify as being Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander are asked to provide proof of this
(eg, a letter from a Land Council) and details of
the community to which they belong if they wish to
provide foster care for a child from their own cultural
background.
Discipline
of children or young people
Carers are expected to work closely with agency staff
in developing appropriate discipline strategies for
the particular child or young person in their care.
Foster carers are not allowed to use any physical
force to discipline foster children.
Applicants
must demonstrate an ability to effectively discipline
children without the use of physical punishments eg
hitting. It is very important that foster children
are disciplined in a way that sends a strong message
to them that they are cared for in spite of their
behaviour. Experience has shown that hitting or other
physical punishment is not effective in dealing with
these children. As children in care have
experienced abuse in the past usually have not experienced
consistent caring parenting.
Our
agency has a behaviour management policy which guides
carers on how they can appropriately discipline children.
Health
and hygiene standards
Carers are expected to confirm to guidelines designed
to ensure that children are being cared for in a healthy
environment. Such guidelines include the practice of
universal infection control and ensuring that there
is no smoking within the home. Training is provided
to carers about health and hygiene standards.
Application
to other agencies
Applicants
must advise of previous applications to become a carer
with other agencies in Australia and overseas and
the outcomes of those applications.
Applicants will be asked for permission for our agency
to contact others to whom you have previously applied. |
