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Challenges of foster care

Experienced foster carers who have performed this dedicated role for many years will all tell you the role is full of challenges as well as rewards.

Although it’s impossible to predict every challenge you might face as a carer, many of the possible scenarios and how to deal with them are covered in preliminary and ongoing training sessions. It also helps to network with foster care team members in your area - see the support contact list.

Many of our foster carers will tell you that many of the challenges, when handled successfully, bring the greatest rewards that only foster care can create. Your foster care caseworker is trained in these very challenges, and you must always contact your caseworker if any of these problems seem overwhelming. Foster care is about team work, and you should never bear these problems alone.

Challenges in foster care can include:

Most of these challenges will bring stresses to a foster care placement no matter how caring and well-prepared foster carers may be.

It is important that you talk to your caseworker about potential problems so you have realistic, rather than idealistic, expectations of the foster child or young person when you accept the placement.

Never be afraid to contact your caseworker to discuss any concerns you have regarding your relationship with the child or young person.

As long as they are safe from harm, we may be able to provide additional support and strategies to enable the foster care placement to continue and help resolve the problems.

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Last updated: 24 Sep 2019