Taking a foster child into your home is more than just an act of selflessness. Fostering can benefit both parties equally, bringing security and love to children who need it, while giving families the opportunity to learn, grow, and experience the power of true generosity. Many foster parents victoria and families have the capacity to become foster carers without even realising it. If you’re not sure that foster care is right for your family, consider these 7 benefits and think again.
- A new set of skills. When you become a foster carer in Victoria through an organisation like Key Assets, you’ll undergo a compulsory training course to help prepare you for your new role. You’ll learn all about a wide range of topics, from first aid and behaviour management, to caring for children who’ve survived abuse, and understanding how to best protect the children in your care. These are valuable tools that you can use in many aspects of your life and career.
- The chance to care for those who need it most. Most people consider foster care because they have a generosity of spirit that calls them to help others. Not only are you helping the state in taking on the role of caring for a child who is not able to be at home with their biological family, you’re also stepping in and providing a priceless service to a child who may have no one else there to assist them.
- The opportunity to expand your own children’s horizons. Foster caring is an experience for the entire family. If you have children of your own, then taking foster children into your home will give them an interesting new experience that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
- Monetary support for your family. While financial benefits should never be the primary reason that you decide to explore foster caring, there is monetary assistance available for our carers to help you support the children in your home. This will ensure that you are able to provide the best care possible without straining your own family’s financial resources.
- Support from professionals to make the process easier. Most foster care organisations offer a support service to all of their foster families to help out along every step of your journey. They also organise activities for your foster children and the family to take part in, to ensure that you have plenty of fun and get to take a break when you need to.
- The chance to bond with a child who needs you. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of foster caring is the opportunity to bond closely with a child despite a lack of biological ties. Anyone who has been a parent or enjoyed a close relationship with a child knows how precious this can be.
An opportunity to parent a child for those who may not be able to otherwise. If you are part of a same sex couple, or have been unable to have children of your own despite wanting to start a family, foster parenting could be a rewarding solution. Many Australian foster care organisations welcome any carers who are financially and emotionally able to care for a foster child, regardless of their sexual orientation or social background.