More foster carers are urgently needed in NSW, the government says.
The first of five new safe homes for children and young people has opened in Western Sydney, prompting the public reminder.
The Waratah Care Cottages are to feature accredited staff with expertise in looking after kids at risk, a government media release on Sunday read.
The cottages are designed for vulnerable children who can’t be placed with relatives or into foster care.
They’re part of the state government’s declared intention to address a foster care crisis it says is the result of inaction under the former coalition government.
Thousands of NSW children in emergency accomodation
Labor says the Liberal/Nationals state coalition govenment stopped recruiting foster carers ten years ago, instead outsourcing the task to non-government organisations.
Thousands of children are said to have ended up in unsuitable accommodation as a result.
‘The former government allowed the foster care system to spiral out of control, and the use of emergency accommodation for vulnerable children skyrocketed,’ NSW Minister for Families and Communities and Minister for Disability Inclusion Kate Washington says.
An August report by the Advocate for Children and Young People described vulnerable children living in so-called High-Cost Emergency Arrangements such as motels.
The report featured many young people saying they were left alone in extremely unsafe situations., with one child quoted as feeling like a ‘dog being moved from cage to cage’.
‘The Minns Labor Government has worked hard to end the use of the worst type of emergency accommodation from March next year,’ Ms Washington says.
The government says it aims to scrap Alternative Care Arrangements for vulnerable children altogether and has recruited 207 emergency foster carers since coming to power in 2023.
The carers have reportedly provided homes for 849 vulnerable children.
A group of siblings is to be the first to move into one of the Waratah Cottages next week.
Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer can find information via the NSW Department of Communities and Justice online.
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