This week is Foster and Kinship Care Week, and the NSW Government is celebrating the remarkable difference foster carers make in the lives of vulnerable children.

Foster carers provide safe and loving homes for some of the state’s 14,000 children currently in the out-of-home care (OOHC) system across the state.

The NSW Government recognises and supports the important work that these outstanding members of the community do through their dedication to children who cannot live safely with their parents. We acknowledge that the only way we can continue to support children in the system is to better support their foster carers as well.

Anyone can be a foster carer. It doesn’t matter if you rent or own your home or are single, a couple or a family. Emergency foster care can be for one night, a few days, or up to 12 weeks. This is a great way to get started and see if being a foster carer is right for you.

The NSW Government has worked to recruit 200 emergency foster carers since July 2022, with 239 others currently on the path to authorisation. This recruitment is a key part of the government’s $224 million investment in the OOHC system, which involves:

• Re-entering the market as a foster care provider
• Introducing government-run intensive and professional foster care models

This week, the NSW Government announced it will ban the use of unaccredited Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs), where vulnerable children are often placed in hotels and motels and looked after by rotating shift workers instead of foster carers. These placements can cost upwards of $2 million per child per year. This announcement would not have been possible without the dedication of emergency foster carers.

From August, we have also made paid parental leave available to NSW Government employees who are providing ongoing foster placements for children in OOHC.

"We thank foster and kinship carers for their dedication, compassion and care, and the huge difference they have made in the lives of the children," the state government wrote.

To inquire about becoming a foster carer, go to nsw.gov.au/community-services/foster-relative-and-kinship-care/become-a-foster-carer

Foster and Kinship Care Week runs until September 14.

Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington said, “Foster and kinship carers have one of the most important roles in our community – providing a safe place for kids who have nowhere else to go.

“These carers make a real difference, every day, in the lives of children and young people. I sincerely thank all our wonderful carers for everything they do. 

“Foster and Kinship Care Week also provides an important opportunity to highlight the desperate need for more foster carers across the state. If you have ever thought about being a foster carer, we want to hear from you.

“We are committed to building a better child protection system where foster carers feel more supported in the critical role they play in caring for vulnerable children.”