The Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017) report into out of home care recommended that carers and caseworkers receive training to: they hear and respond to children in out-of-home care, including ensuring children are “…ensure involved in decisions about their lives…” (2017, p. 26) and understand trauma and abuse and its impact upon children and young people and receive training in trauma informed care so they can meet the needs of children and young people, including those with harmful sexualised behaviours. The Commission also recommended that state and territory government and out of home care service providers provide advice, guidelines and ongoing professional development for kinship and foster carers to prevent and respond to harmful sexualised behaviours of some children and young people in out of home care. The Current Situation in Tasmania Foster and kinship carers are not required to undertake ongoing training, nor is there additional training required for carers of children or young people with complex needs. At times training is offered statewide or by regional teams in response to an identified need. A number of service providers offer further training once a carer has been formally approved by the Department. For example, two service providers offer carers access to Australian Childhood Foundation Level I and Level II training on the impact of trauma on children while another is moving to include this training. Service providers also offer other training particular to their organisation. The Foster and Kinship Carers Association of Tasmania (FKAT) also delivers training for foster and kinship carers. In the past this has included first aid training or training on the impact of trauma and practical strategies for managing trauma. The extent and range of training however is constrained by available funding. Stakeholder Feedback Young people with a lived experience in out of home care spoke about a range of training needs for carers. These included training on: the developmental stages and needs of children and young people how to look after children or young people, for example, training in nutrition or how to care for children or young people with a disability understanding trauma and how to support children and young people living with trauma listening and communicating sensitively with children and young people and assisting young people transition to independence. for a toddler is very different to caring for a teenager”. “Caring go too hard on them (children or young person), they might have had a hard time have time “Don’t … with them”.
The Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017) report into out of home care recommended that carers and caseworkers receive training to: “…ensure they hear and respond to children in out-of-home care, including ensuring children are involved in decisions about their lives…” (2017, p. 26) and understand trauma and abuse and its impact upon children and young people and receive training in trauma informed care so they can meet the needs of children and young people, including those with harmful sexualised behaviours. The Commission also recommended that state and territory government and out of home care service providers provide advice, guidelines and ongoing professional development for kinship and foster carers to prevent and respond to harmful sexualised behaviours of some children and young people in out of home care. The Current Situation in Tasmania Foster and kinship carers are not required to undertake ongoing training, nor is there additional training required for carers of children or young people with complex needs. At times training is offered statewide or by regional teams in response to an identified need. A number of service providers offer further training once a carer has been formally approved by the Department. For example, two service providers offer carers access to Australian Childhood Foundation Level I and Level II training on the impact of trauma on children while another is moving to include this training. Service providers also offer other training particular to their organisation. The Foster and Kinship Carers Association of Tasmania (FKAT) also delivers training for foster and kinship carers. In the past this has included first aid training or training on the impact of trauma and practical strategies for managing trauma. The extent and range of training however is constrained by available funding. Stakeholder Feedback Young people with a lived experience in out of home care spoke about a range of training needs for carers. These included training on: the developmental stages and needs of children and young people how to look after children or young people, for example, training in nutrition or how to care for children or young people with a disability understanding trauma and how to support children and young people living with trauma listening and communicating sensitively with children and young people and assisting young people transition to independence. “Caring for a toddler is very different to caring for a teenager”. “Don’t go too hard on them (children or young person), they might have had a hard time … have time with them”.
Discussion_Paper_A_Future_Program_Family_Based_Care_September_2018_-_20181018.docx