For Carers and Case-workers
A Better Life for Foster Kids works with carers and child protection agencies to help achieve the best possible outcomes for children in foster or kinship care. These are the free services we offer:
Crisis Cases
Crisis Cases contain approximately 55 items which (depending on the age of the child) include clothing, toiletries, baby supplies, activity books, a blanket and hand-made toys. Some clothing is second-hand, but it is always lightly-used and appropriate.
Each case contains around $375 worth of items and is intended to support a child during the first week of a new placement.
Who can request a Crisis Case? Individual foster or kinship carers can request Crisis Cases, along with any agency or government department that works with children in OOHC. Carers or case-workers who live locally are welcome to drop into our rooms at the Sale Memorial Hall to choose items they need for a placement.
What regions have this service? Primarily Gippsland and the outer-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, however, we are increasingly responding to requests from all over Victoria and can supply multiple cases to agencies or carers (depending on their storage facilities).
Our current Crisis Case Depots are at:
- Bairnsdale
- Ballarat
- Bendigo
- Frankston
- Montmorency
- Koo Wee Rup
- Morwell
- Sale
- Warragul
- Yackandandah
For information on where to pick up a Case at your nearest Crisis Case Depot, please text or call Heather Baird on 0412 154 424.
Furniture and Equipment Supply
Foster and kinship carers often don’t have the financial resources to purchase all the items they need to care for a child. Because of this, they sometimes have to turn down a placement. To address this problem, we have storage shed of donated items, such as bedding, household appliances and prams, which we give or loan to carers.
Who can request this service? Carers or case-workers
Which regions have this service? Primarily Gippsland, but we also respond to requests from other parts of Victoria.
Housing Transition Packages
With the help of our wonderful team of volunteers, we fully furnish and stock houses for young adults who are transitioning out of care, families who are being reunified with children, and families that need to relocate due to family violence. Because of the complexity and cost involved in this service we can only do around ten packages a year.
Who can request this service? Carers or Case-workers
Which regions have this service? Gippsland
Advocacy and Support for Carers
Foster and kinship carers work tirelessly to care for our most vulnerable children. We offer advice or referrals to carers to help them access available support and organise regular ‘carer catch-ups’ in the Gippsland region. We also maintain an active Facebook group where carers offer each other peer-to-peer support.
Who can request this service? Any foster or kinship carer in Australia
Christmas Gifts
Carers and caseworkers can request Christmas gifts for kids in care by filling in our form in the lead up to Christmas each year.
Who can request this service? Carers or case-workers
Which regions have this service? Victoria
Others Do Care Fund
Others Do Care is a discretionary fund that helps children in care participate in normal childhood activities. In the past, this fund has purchased items such as musical instruments, sporting equipment and tutoring. We support around 12 children per year with this fund.
Who can request this service? Carers or case-workers
Which regions have this service? Victoria
