The complexity of a child's needs varies from child to child depending upon their unique characteristics and circumstances. Foster parents with various levels of skills, experience and training meet these needs. We categorize foster care into a number of types based on the child's needs and the skills and experience required by the foster parent to meet those needs.
Foster parents can provide care on a full-time or relief basis. Relief foster parents and families welcome foster children into their homes on an occasional basis. The relief foster parent provides the foster family, who care for the child on a fulltime basis, time away from care giving.
A Kin in Care home is a family or individual known to the child, formally approved by the Society, and utilized as a foster placement during the time the child is in the Society's Care.
Kin in Care homes are assessed and approved for a specific child. The child is placed in the legal custody of the Society, with the kin providing the full-time care, protection and nurturing that the child requires, with ongoing support from Society staff.
Kin should be considered first as a placement option when it is determined the child requires out-of-home care. Kin in Care is a desirable placement option for children as it is less disruptive and traumatic to the child as the child already has a relationship with the caregiver.