Foster carers seeking help to cover car, housing costs

AN increasing number of foster parents are asking state governments to cover the cost of extending their homes and buying new cars, so they can take in more children.

AN increasing number of foster parents are asking state governments to cover the cost of extending their homes and buying new cars, so they can take in more children.

They are also asking for a decent wage in return for caring for the nation's foster kids.

Funding individual carers to take more than the usual one or two children appeals to government departments that are reluctant to return to institutionalised care, but don't have enough foster carers.

The Australian understands the NSW Department of Community Services put some money towards the cost of extending a home shared by six foster children.

The carer, who could not be named because it would identify the children, said the Government had given her $10,000 towards the renovation.

"They gave me a choice: there were two siblings, girls, and they said they would help me with the extension, or I didn't have to take them," she said. "We had a four-bedroom house, and we've extended that to six bedrooms."

The South Australian Government also helps foster carers with the cost of extending their homes, provided they agree to take more children.

One family was asked to take a set of two siblings in addition to children already in their care. Their home was extended, partly at the Government's expense.

A single mother in NSW is currently negotiating with DOCS to move into a larger rental property, so she can take the three siblings of a child she already has into her care.

Her support worker said: "She's an excellent carer and she needs more space. It makes sense if they want to keep siblings together."

In a statement, DOCS last night said last that assistance with the purchase or lease of a motor vehicle or modifications to a home were considered in "exceptional" circumstances and based "solely on what is in the best interests of the child".

"For example, a carer taking on responsibility of a large sibling group of six children may need assistance to lease a people-mover," the statement said. "DOCS may consider providing this sort of support to a placement that lets brothers and sisters stay together."

It said requests were considered on a case-by-case basis. The Children's Court "sometimes strongly recommend the provision of capital sums for extensions/modification to a home (such as to support a child with a physical disability) or a modified car to better support a care placement".

According to a paper to be presented at next week's national foster care conference, foster carers are paid a fraction of that given to social workers, yet it is the carers who actually take in the troubled children.

In South Australia, a foster carer gets about $200 a fortnight per child. The rates are highest in NSW, where carers of special needs children can earn more than $800 a fortnight, depending on the child's needs and behavioural problems.

Damien Riggs, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Adelaide, said there was a "presumed distinction between caring either for love or money".

In his paper, Dr Riggs cites surveys that show payments to carers "play an important role in retaining qualified carers and attracting carers".

He referred to a study in which a foster carer said she hoped to "get another child, otherwise we can't afford to pay for food, mortgage, and things like that without that extra child to support the household income, and it just can't be done".

"A lot of foster carers say they only do it because they love children; I feel sometimes they are not being truthful," the carer said.