Foster families from all walks of life are needed to help provide homes for children in care.
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Liz Forsyth, the chief executive officer of CareSouth, marked the opening of her organisation's new Wagga office with a call for more people to consider being foster carers.
"We are always looking to recruit more carers and that's not because we necessarily see, or want to see, an increase in children who need to be in out-of-home care. Obviously that's not ideal, you'd love kids to be safe at home," Ms Forsyth said.
"However, even if we don't have any more kids in out-of-home care in the region, we need to provide different options for kids at different stages and we need to provide options for carers to have breaks.
"We look for a whole range of carers in terms of who they are and what they do, and what they can offer. It's not all long term. It is also short term and respite.
"Sometimes what happens in a carer's situation is that they need someone to help out, just a little bit, so you might need someone to to step in and provide some additional support.
"What I've seen - while chatting to some carers in Griffith yesterday - is where you've got carers who meet each other through supporting the one child at different times and they have maintained a relationship with that child, even if the placement has changed.
"If a child is moved from one carer's house to someone else's house, those carers are working together to make sure they can both remain active in that child's life, which is great because it means kids have more safe adults who are looking out for them."
"We look for a whole range of carers in terms of who they are and what they do, and what they can offer. It's not all long term. It is also short term and respite.
- Liz Forsyth, CareSouth CEO
Ms Forsyth said changes in the approach to foster care meant there could be children who needed to be with carers for a shorter period of time before returning home.
"There might be a child who is coming into care for a shorter period of time, with a view to working with their family to build their capacity and skills to parent safely."
CareSouth currently employs 40 permanent and casual staff across offices in Wagga, Deniliquin and Griffith, supporting 114 children in 85 foster families.
To find out more, call CareSouth on 1300 554 260 or visit caresouth.org.au.
