Foster Care Associations

A Foster Care Association is an organization for Foster Family/Whanau Caregivers to support each other in their work as Caregivers. Foster Family/Whanau Caregivers are a group of people who share their lives, their homes, and their families with children and young people who require support and care.

Belonging to an Association is a declaration on your part, which states that there is something special about being a Foster Family/Whanau Caregiver, and that you are very much a part of the team that works together for the children in care. Also it goes without saying that the bigger the Association – the bigger the voice. If every Caregiver joined up with their local Association, can you imagine how big a voice we would have? The Government would have to wake up and listen to us.

An Association can provide whatever the Caregivers in their area choose. Some of the support and assistance that you may receive from your local Foster Care Association could include some of the following:

- To provide information and support to Caregivers.

- To advocate on behalf of Caregivers.

- To enhance training opportunities for Caregivers.

- To enlist community resources.

- To support Caregivers who have had an allegation made against them by making information available regarding proper processes and policies.

- To assist with review plans when Social Workers visit.

- To keep information circulating by way of a regular newsletter.

- To hold regular coffee and information sharing mornings/evenings.

- To organize fun/social occasions for Foster Family/Whanau Families and children.

- To publicly promote caregiving.

- To collate statistics for National research and data bases.

For more information about your local Foster Care Association please contact Allysa by email on carberrys (at) xtra.co.nz. (done this way to prevent spam)