Pathways to Stability Program

The Problem we are trying to solve

Children and young people who have spent time in Residential Care have the poorest outcomes of all children in Out-of-Home Care, having the highest rates of involvement in the youth justice system, the lowest rates of school attendance and the poorest life-long outcomes for employment, mental and physical health in adulthood. It is also well known that young people who leave care without the benefit of strong links to a family often experience homelessness in their first year of independence.

By using a specialist approach to fostering, we can take children from a residential environment and place them in the care of a family who will devote the time and energy, with the support of a team of professionals wrapped around the placement, to give that child a route to positive and lasting outcomes. Our program intends to not only transition a child successfully from residential to a fostering family environment, but prepare for permanence through either reunification, long term fostering or preparation for independence in alignment with the Out-of-Home-Care Outcomes Framework.

Become a specialist carer

What You Will Need

Definitely not one size fits all, but we are looking for individuals/couples who :

• Willing to care/welcome a child into your home.
• Have the capacity to care for a child who needs therapeutic reparative care.
• Be able to provide positive reinforcement in your home environment
• Have experience interacting with children & young people with various complex needs between the ages of 10 to 17 years of age or have capacity to learn
• Be able to provide full time care as a Primary Carer. Flexible working arrangements are ok if your work enables you to be flexible to attend frequent appointments & meet the child’s specific needs.
• Have a suitable living environment, including a spare bedroom
• Are over 25 years of age.
• Have the ability to champion positive change for children & young people
• Have empathy and willingness to learn about complex needs & trauma.

What You Will Receive

• 24/7 coaching and support
• Weekly visits from a dedicated social worker, therapist and other relevant professionals tailored to the child’s needs.
• Receive a generous fixed allowance of $1000* per week for the first 12 months, for each child in your care. After the first 12 months, the allowance will be reviewed to ensure the needs of the household are met.
• Receive a Carer Development Plan created through the assessment or at the start of a placement
• Receive comprehensive training and support from our professional staff including your own Social Worker.

You won’t be alone:

Training

It is compulsory for everyone to complete shared lives training before they can be assessed to become an approved Foster Carer. If you are applying as a couple, both partners must attend, even though one of you may not be the main carer. We run our shared lives training over 2.5 days.
Part 1 Shared Lives – face-to-face and Part 2 Shared Lives – online 2-3 hours.
Management of Actual or Potential training – face-to-face – 1 day
VR training – face-to-face – 2 x 2 hour sessions

Download Training Overview

Support

We believe that providing a high level of foster care support is crucial to the stability of a foster placement. It is also central to our Key Care Team Model of practice which is at the heart of everything we do.

Download our Foster Care Support Promise

A Young Persons Perspective on Foster Care

Emily Brown, Team Manager at Key Assets talks to CREATE young consultants, Brooke and Jake and Foster Carer, Martin about the Key Assets Pathways to Stability Program about the importance of transitioning children and young people out of group homes (residential homes) and into home based care.

Can you make a difference?

Start Your Foster Carer Journey Today

Anyone interested in fostering should contact Key Assets Fostering on 1800 We Care (1800 932 273) or complete the form below. 

Start today to register your interest

NSW Specialist Carers Form

• Name*
• Email*
• Phone*
• Postcode*
• Date Of Birth*
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  Month123456789101112

  Year2022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989198819871986198519841983198219811980197919781977197619751974197319721971197019691968196719661965196419631962196119601959195819571956195519541953195219511950194919481947194619451944194319421941194019391938193719361935193419331932193119301929192819271926192519241923192219211920
• Do you have a spare room?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Do you have a current drivers license?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Do you currently have children under the age of 8?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Are you available to be a full-time carer?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Relationship Status*
  Under 2 Years2 Years and overSingleOther
• Are you currently employed?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Are you willing to give up your work to care for children?*
  • Yes
  • No
• What experience do you have managing complex and challenging behaviours?*
• Are you willing to care for a child or young person for a period of 12 months?*
  • Yes
  • No
• Are you open to supporting a child or young person develop their sense of identity including, Birth family contact, Culture and Religion?*
  • Yes
  • No
• What skills do you have that would be beneficial as a specialist foster carer?
• Further Contact*
  Please contact me, I would like to be a specialist foster carerPlease contact me, I am interested and have a few questionsPlease don't contact me, I would like some information
• Please specify a preferred time for our recruitment team to contact you, and discuss becoming a Foster Carer further.
• Comments
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