Principles of out-of-home care

2. Principles of out-of-home care • Best interests of the child • Permanency as soon as possible • Maintaining cultural identity and connections with family/community • Participation by the child in decision making • Supporting carers • Aboriginal placement principle • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 2

3. Care pathway Report of child or young person at significant risk of harm Community Services, Department of Human Services NSW The courts Children’s Court Supreme Court (adoptions only) The agency who places the child with a carer • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 3

4. Case plans • * Record of action necessary to meet a child’s needs • * Identifies • decisions • people’s roles • agreed tasks • responsibilities • * Provides guidance for the foster carer • Case plans are monitored, reviewed regularly and changed when necessary. • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 4

5. Factors that inhibit the development of positive attachments • Parents who are not emotionally available for • infants and young children • Children or young people who have • experienced repeated rejections by parents or caregivers • Children or young people who have • experienced extreme inconsistencies in the • care that has been provided • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 5

6. Common behaviours of children and young people with attachment problems • Comforting behaviour • Inappropriate emotional responses • Odd eating patterns • Aggression • Persistent fear state • Disorder of memory • Avoidance of intimacy • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 6

7. Helping children and young people with attachment problems • Nurture them • Try to understand the behaviour before punishment or • consequences • Parent them based on emotional age • Don’t attempt physical contact if an adolescent is • distressed • Be consistent, predictable and repetitive • Model and teach appropriate social behaviour • Listen and talk with them • Have realistic expectations of them • Be patient with their progress (and yours) • Take care of yourself • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 7

8. Sadness Resentment Loneliness Relief ANGER Despair Hopelessness Shock! HUMOUR DEPRESSION ANXIETY Guilt • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 8

9. Winds of behaviour Absent mindedness Appetite problems Fatigue Listlessness Restlessness Poor concentration Social withdrawal Sleep problems • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 9

10. Fog of thoughts Unclear Pre-occupied Disoriented Disorganised Beliefs:  should  ought  could Disbelieving Confused • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 10

11. Beliefs:  should  ought  could Disbelieving Unclear Sadness Disorganised Disoriented Listlessness Agitation Pre-occupied Hopelessness Guilt ANGER Restlessness HUMOUR Absent mindedness Relief ANXIETY Despair Appetite problems Social withdrawal Poor concentration Sleep problems Resentment DEPRESSION Shock! Loneliness • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 11

12. Needs of grieving children • Reality • 2. Empathy • 3. Permission • 4. Individuality • 5. Time • 6. Caring adult • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 12

13. Types of child abuse • Physical abuse • Sexual abuse • Emotional abuse • Witnessing domestic violence • Systems abuse • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 13

14. Why does child abuse occur? Family factors Parent factors Community and cultural factors Child or young person factors Factors are often interrelated • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 14

15. Caring for a traumatised child or young person • Don’t be afraid to talk about the trauma • Provide consistent and predictable caring • Be nurturing, comforting and affectionate, but be sure it’s in an appropriate context • Discuss your expectations for behaviour and your style of discipline with the child • Be sensitive and honest • Be tolerant of regressive behaviour • Give the child choices and a sense of control • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 15

16. Background to child sexual assault • Stages can include: • grooming • reinforcement of secrecy • disclosure • suppression. • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 16

17. Common circumstances of parents whose child is in care • Social or external conditions • Psychological or internal conditions • Often a number of factors are present and, when combined, make it difficult for parents to adequately care for their children. • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 17

18. Contact • The process of assisting a child maintain link with their birth families • Varies in type (face-to-face, letters, emails, gifts etc), frequency and length depending on the circumstances • Contact is important for: • child or young person • birth parents and families • foster carers. • Shared Stories Shared LivesSlide 18

19. Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 19

20. Managing challenging behaviours Remember, our first reaction is frequently not our best reaction. Take five and THINK before you RESPOND. • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 20

21. Allegations of abuse • Allegations that are not substantiated • Investigation of allegations • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 21

22. Confidentiality • Provide information on a “need to know” • basis • Ensure you have the child or young person’s • permission before sharing information • Respect a child or young person’s right to • privacy • Know that some secrets can’t be kept • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 22

23. About culture • Everybody has a culture • Culture is not always visible to us or others • Culture affects our behaviour and the way we see and understand the world • Culture is complex • If we’re part of the dominant/mainstream culture, sometimes our culture and its impact can be masked or invisible to us • Carers need to understand both the obvious and not-so obvious aspects of a child’s culture • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 23

24. Maintaining culture • Contact and exposure to other cultures • Learn about child’s culture • Place the child in schools with diverse children/teachers • Purchase book and toys that have a cultural dimension • Include cultural traditions and celebrations • Assist child to learn their birth language • Seek services and supports in the community • Involve religious leaders in life of the child • Recognise/support the role of birth parents and families • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 24

25. Why a child may resist connecting to their cultural heritage • Wanting to belong and not stand out as different • Wanting to please carers • Not wanting to cause a fuss for carers • Ashamed of their cultural background • Feeling like they want to start a new life and have a break from the past • Have not had a positive experience of their culture • Angry at birth parents and can’t separate them from culture • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 25

26. Responding to a child’s resistance to connecting to their cultural heritage • Listen to them and explore why they feel that way • Keep the “door open” for them in case they change their mind • Provide them with opportunities for positive experience of their culture • Seek out positive role models from the child’s cultural background • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 26

27. Responding to prejudice • Acknowledge it exists • Understand the impact • Discuss it openly with the child or young person • Help the child/young person understand it’s not their fault • Validate their feelings • Don’t tolerate any prejudiced remarks • Be aware of attitudes of friends and family • Teach child strategies for dealing with discrimination • Seek support and guidance from others • Obtain support • Encourage child to take pride in their appearance and identity • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 27

28. Sources of support and information for carers in cross-cultural placements • Child or young person • Child’s caseworker and carer support caseworker • Birth parents and families • Migrant welfare services and ethnic community associations and clubs • Religious organisations (churches, mosques, temples) • Services for children with refugee needs • Interpreters • Libraries and the internet • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 28

29. Life story work • Keeping information safe • What does a life story look like? * it can take many different forms • Why do life story work? * builds a child’s identity and connections * provides carers an opportunity to understand • Life story and birth families • Shared Stories Shared Lives • Slide 29