Sometimes children or young people are unable to live at home. Foster care provides a temporary caring home for a child or young person while their parents/caregivers and family members receive support to help them work out difficulties. Where possible, children and young people are reunited with their parents as quickly as possible.

Foster care is arranged and supported by Families SA and other foster care agencies only after other options within the child or young person’s family and community have been explored.

In cases where serious abuse or neglect has occurred, or parents/caregivers cannot guarantee the safety of their child, it may not be possible for children to return to their parents and long-term foster care may be needed until they turn 18 years of age.

Children and young people will enter care for a variety of reasons. They usually enter care as a result of their parent/caregiver not being able to adequately and safely provide them with care and supervision. This could be due to:

• Parents/caregivers are unable to cope with problems
• Parents/caregivers do not have support networks
• Parents/caregivers suffer illness or depression
• Parents/caregivers lack the appropriate parenting skills
• Neglect
• Abandonment
• Parent/caregiver drug or alcohol abuse.

Children and young people may also enter care as a result of:

• A death in the family
• Family breakdown

The decision to remove a child or young person from his or her home environment is not an easy one. Families SA must have sufficient evidence to satisfy the Youth Court that it is in the best interests of the child.

Families SA will always try to place children and young people with culturally appropriate carers. There is a need for Aboriginal carers as well as people from different cultural backgrounds.

There is a national shortage of foster carers and the number of people willing to become foster carers in metropolitan and country areas in South Australia is diminishing.

If you would like to become a foster carer, see Becoming a foster carer for more information or contact Foster Care Services.

If you are a child in foster care, see Children in care.

If you have a child in foster care, see Parents whose children are in care.