Shaping a Better Child Protection System
The NSW Government is committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children and their families with better laws, policies, systems and practices
What the short term changes mean for foster, kinship and relative carers
Over time, we hope to see less long-term carers in NSW, as more children return home safely, and we work with carers who want to adopt or provide guardianship to make their arrangements permanent. However, foster, kinship and relative carers remain critical to a child’s pathway to permanency and we need good carers now more than ever.
Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) and our Non-Government Organisation (NGO) partners will work with foster, kinship and relative carers who would like to become guardians or adoptive parents to make their care arrangements permanent. A new means-tested adoption allowance will help families in this situation.
To keep more Aboriginal children and young people with their families or kin, we will also support Aboriginal carers to consider guardianship.
In the future, we will match children and carers according to their needs and long-term preferences to help make more adoptions or guardianship arrangements possible.
We’re also anticipating that foster, kinship and relative carers will play a greater role in restoration as we work with families to return children and young people home safely. Carers play a crucial role in providing vulnerable families some time out to strengthen their parenting.