Oscar Cunningham says foster care means more than a spare bedroom. Photo: Maria Sbytova.
Twelve-year-old Zoe* loves painting, as well as footy and basketball. But unlike most other kids, she’s in out-of-home care.
At the moment, she’s living in temporary accommodation away from her support network and school.
Therapeutic specialist Oscar Cunningham said finding Zoe a foster carer could make all the difference.
“She loves school, she loves sport. … [We] want someone who could nurture her talents and help her stay connected with her friends and her family,” he said.
“Like any young person, she is craving that structure, that care and kindness.”
Mr Cunningham works with MacKillop Family Services, where part of his job is helping to find placements in both short- and longer-term care (including respite care) for kids in southeast NSW.
He said Zoe was one of 59 kids in the Queanbeyan-Palerang area alone who needed to spend (at least) a short time in out-of-home care.
This could be respite care or time spent with full-time carers (including a permanent placement).
He described foster care as a “necessary path” for some families, pointing to the cost-of-living crisis as an example of a factor that could have devastating effects.
“Naturally, that puts a lot of stress on families that are quite middle class … When you’re tightening your belts up [and facing] financial stress and things like that, there’s a massive burden on families.”
Complicating matters is what Mr Cunningham said is a severe lack of foster carers in that part of southeast NSW.
“We actually don’t have any foster carers in the Queanbeyan-Palerang area at all,” he said.
“There is this massive disparity between the number of young people in the out-of-home care system and the number of foster carers.”
The latest available statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare state that about 179,000 children came into contact with the foster care system in 2023/24.
Between 30 June 2020 and 30 June 2024, the rate of children in out-of-home care also remained stable, at about 8 per 1000 kids.
While people with experience in education, youth work or mental health care are encouraged to become foster carers, everyone is encouraged to consider it.
Mr Cunningham said there were several misconceptions around who could become a foster carer, but it was important to have a strong network of local foster carers to help keep kids near their communities.
“You can be single, you can have a partner. You can come from a same-sex relationship, or you can be in a heterosexual relationship … I think there’s a real beauty in our young people having proximity to people from different backgrounds and different ways of life.
“For them, building up that understanding about [how] while we might have differences, that shared value of care and love and respect underpins us.”
He also said foster carers received ongoing support during placements, including specialist training.
“[That means] building a relationship with you so you don’t feel like you’re doing this alone.
“You’re building upon your skills and becoming a really competent and proficient foster carer.”
*Zoe’s name has been changed for her privacy.
An information session on foster care will be held on 9 December from 4:15 pm at the Googong Community Centre, corner of Gorman Drive and McPhail Way in Googong.
