FAMILY TREES TO PROVIDE HOME FOR KIDS IN CARE

Family tracing techniques similar to those used to re-unite relatives torn apart by war will be taught to social workers to help find a permanent home for children in care.

Minister for Family and Community Services, Brad Hazzard said US Family Finding pioneer Kevin Campbell has spent the past fortnight training NSW caseworkers.

“We have close to 20,000 children in out of home care in NSW and we will investigate every avenue possible to find these children a permanent home.

“The Family Finding model has been successful overseas in locating extended family of children in care who can offer them support, so we should look at it,” he said.

Mr Campbell based his Family Finding model on the tracing techniques used by the International Red Cross to locate kin for those displaced by war in Rwanda.

The process identifies relatives and other supportive adults, estranged from or unknown to a child living in out of home care and looks to connect them.

“Every child has a family network and they can be found if we try,” said Mr Campbell.

“A meaningful connection to family helps a child living in out of home care to develop a sense of belonging, which we know plays a huge part in their resilience as adults.”

The Family Finding model will provide front-line practitioners with strategies and tools to help them identify, engage and build a network of support around children.

For some, this means a permanent home with wider family members, while for others it leads to long-term family support they otherwise would not have had.

Family Finding uses a combination of techniques and technology to locate relatives of children in out of home care, including social media and public records resources.

NSW is reforming the Out Of Home Care system so fewer children will need to enter long-term foster care. If a child cannot be restored safely to their parents, NSW then prioritises placement with other family members. The next option is Open Adoption, where the children know their biological parents but have the security of a permanent home.

“The Institute of Open Adoption Studies we are funding will help provide us with the tools for more children to find a permanent home and so too will Family Finding,” Mr Hazzard said.