When a child or young person is first placed with you

Establishing the placement

When kids go into care, caseworkers are responsible for preparing them for their new living arrangements (sometimes called a ‘placement’). They do this by:

• giving the child or young person some general information about the home they are going to explaining what information you’ll be given about them and their family
• talking about some of your household routines and rules
• providing important contact numbers
• arranging, where possible, some initial contact such as a phone call or meeting with you before they come to stay.

Children and young people say they prefer to have information about a carer, and meet or speak with them and their family, before they move in.

Caseworkers are also responsible for giving you the information you need. This includes information about the child or young person and heir story, the proposed length of the placement and the different sorts of support and training available to you. It will also include important personal details, such as health issues or food preferences.

Early on in the placement you should be given the following documents:

• confirmation of placement
• a copy of the child or young person’s Case Plan
• a copy of the final court orders for the child or young person, or information about the status of any court proceedings
• all relevant reports
• the child’s My Life Story Book
• the child’s Medicare card and personal health record (the Blue Book).

If you are a Communities and Justice (DCJ) carer and the placement is for three months or more, your caseworker will give you a signed copy of the confirmation of placement agreement. This contains specific information about your roles, responsibilities and what needs to be done to provide the child with a standard of care in line with the Code of Conduct. Click here to read the ‘Code of Conduct for Authorised Carers’ in full

In a crisis, a child or young person may arrive with just the clothes they’re wearing. Talk to your caseworker if you need help to buy some basic necessities like pyjamas and toiletries. For information about
financial assistance see ‘Establishment payments’.

Be prepared!

Usually, kids bring their personal belongings with them when they come to live with you. However, it’s a good idea to have the following items on hand for the first night in case they’re needed:

• disposable nappies and formula if caring for a baby
• toothbrush and hairbrush
• oversized T-shirt in case the child didn’t bring pyjamas
• a night light
• age-appropriate toys and books.

What it feels like to go into care

A child or young person may come into your home feeling abandoned, helpless, depressed, anxious, distrustful and even responsible for their family’s break-up. They may appear indifferent or be eager to please, withdrawn, angry or upset.

These are all reactions to separation, change and great personal loss. Their sense of loss may be for parents, siblings, friendships, their home, pets, familiar places, routines – all the things that have made up their world and given it meaning.

"Understand that the young person comes from a place of trauma and will experience triggers."

 

Youth Consult for Change

Help kids feel welcome

When the child or young person arrives at your home, reassure them with a warm, gentle welcome. Ask permission before hugging or touching them. If they don’t know what to call you, give them permission to call you by your first name. Introduce them to other members of the household, including pets. Give them a tour of the home and yard. Talk a little about the surroundings so they gain a sense of you and what it’s going to be like living there.

“These kids need a break.  And if you can open you heart and open your house and allow them in, you can make the world of difference to these kids"

 

Sonia, carer, Bondi Junction

Show them their room and where they can put their belongings. Let them know they can personalise their bedroom. Offer to help them unpack, or let them unpack in their own time.

Show the child around the neighbourhood and take them to places like the park, library, swimming pool and shops so they become familiar with the area. If you have kids of your own, plan an activity that lets them spend some time together.

Be careful not to pry into their past, criticise their parents or make negative comments about them. Don’t talk about them when they’re there as though they’re not present, including in your conversations with your caseworker. Respect their right to privacy and their need to have some time alone.

Personal belongings

The personal belongings that a child or young person brings with them to your home may be particularly important to them. This property should be treated with care and respect, including:

• ensuring they have some space of their own to put their belongings
• recognising they have the right to refuse to share their belongings
• insisting that other people living in or visiting your home respect their belongings
• making sure they have proper luggage to carry their belongings when they leave the placement.

Gifts, savings, earnings and any items that are bought for kids while they’re living with you, such as clothing, toys, cots or a special quilt cover, are also their personal property. Please make sure the child or young person takes all of their belongings with them when they change placements, return home or leave care.

Getting used to a new routine

"Remember that your home will have different routines and ways of doing things than the child or young person is used to.  They will need time to understand how the home functions their place in it."

 

Youth Consult for Change.

It will take a few weeks for you and the child or young person in your care to get used to your new living arrangements. Your lifestyle and house rules might be quite different from what they’re used to. And you, too, will have to be mindful of some issues that weren’t part of your everyday routine before.

Talk about your household routine, for example, bath time, bedtime, what snack they might have after school and what time the family eats dinner. Remember to give them time to observe, learn and practise the routine. A reminder chart with pictures can be helpful, especially if the child is involved in making it.

Ask them if there are certain foods they really like or dislike. Comfort food can help a lot in the first few days. Try to provide some of the child’s favourite foods and let them have a small taste of unfamiliar foods. Don’t be upset if they don’t have great table manners when they first arrive – that’s something to think about down the track.

Sometimes kids will hoard food because food wasn’t regularly available to them in the past. One way to prevent this is to let them keep healthy snacks in a small, lidded container in their bedroom.

Let them know what the family rules are. Give them tasks to do within their abilities and let them know that you appreciate their help. Notice and praise the little things, such as when they put their clothes away in their room, help clear the table after a meal or remember to say please and thank you.

A child’s right to privacy

Children and young people in care have the same right to privacy that any child can reasonably expect of their own parents.

Respecting a child’s privacy means they:

• have reasonable privacy using the phone
• can send emails and letters without them being read
• can receive emails and letters without them being opened by someone else
• don’t have their room, pockets or property searched unless there’s reasonable cause to suspect they possess an item that belongs to someone else, or is illegal or potentially dangerous.
• When you’re deciding how much privacy to allow the child or young person, think about:
  • their age and developmental capacity
  • your living arrangements
  • whether the child or another person’s safety, welfare and wellbeing are put at risk
  • any conditions placed on contact by a court order or the child’s Case Plan with the intent of keeping the child safe, such as screening phone calls, emails or letters between the child and a particular person. 

Helping kids deal with loss and separation

You can help the child or young person in your care begin to deal with their loss and separation by thinking about what they have lost, understanding how it affects their behaviour and allowing them time and space to grieve. You can also:

• listen to them when they want to express their thoughts and feelings
• make them feel comfortable about sharing memories of their family
• don’t feel threatened if they compare what you do with what their parents normally do.

Religion and spirituality

Support the child in your care to practise their religion and spirituality. For example, arrange for them to attend religious services in their own faith and allow them to participate in religious activities unless their parents expressly request otherwise.

You may provide the child with whatever religious instruction you consider to be appropriate as long as:

• you are not instructing the child or young person in a religion
• different to their own if their Case Plan goal is to return them home
• their views, including their willingness to receive religious instruction,
• have been taken into account
• they haven’t been coerced or compelled to participate in any
• religious instruction, activity or teaching
• they aren’t provided a level of religious instruction that will interfere
• with plans to return them home, even if you are of the same religion
• it is part of an approved Case Plan for a child or young person in
• your long-term care to receive religious instruction in your faith.

When a child or teenager goes missing

You should always know the whereabouts of the child or young person in your care. If you‘re concerned the child is missing, contact the last people who may have seen them. If you can’t locate the child within a short period of time, make contact with your caseworker, on an after-hours number if necessary, or call the Child Protection Helpline (132 111, 24 hours). You’ll get advice on what to do next, which may include calling the police for assistance.