This item first appeared on the F.A.C.T website on 17th February 2005
A new Support Group has set up in Australia. Their aim is to challenge the negative stereotypes which have arisen in Australia of children who are (where) in care following revelations of abuse in foster care.
WHO WE ARE
At a time of child abuse panic, Foster Proud has been established this year by a group of over 60 young people from the South Australian care system. Our membership includes those who are or have been in foster care, residential care and kinship care and as the word spreads, so is our membership growing. Foster Proud has been based on the Irish organisation Let Our Voves Emerge (L.O.V.E.)
Foster Proud is about being proud of foster care. Our members have in common a genuine desire to challenge the negative stereotypes promoted by politicians about children and young people in care and their carers.
Unlike other foster care action groups, our membership also includes biological parents of those in care, registered foster carers, residential care workers, community leaders, alternative care workers and Aboriginal elders.
Independent of government funding, Foster Proud will provide a brave and accurate voice about problems with the care system. By raising public awareness and concern, the government might get serious about making positive changes. We will raise issues so that government work together with children in care organisations like the Create Foundation to improve things.
We have a big agenda! It includes:
- Government respect for us, our privacy and our rights.
- The wrong use of foster care for political point scoring.
- Improved social worker training about foster care - maybe they should do foster care themselves for a year or two to become qualified to work with us.
- The government not just dropping us when we turn 18 and leave care. Good parents don’t do that. We need leaving care supports like in NSW. They get it til they turn 25.
- Proper funding for the Create Foundation and Carer groups to work with the government better.
- The return of funding for an independent advocate and support worker for foster carers.
- The ongoing loss of good foster carers due to fear of false allegations.
- Stopping the high numbers of kids being placed in motels and caravans because lack of carers.
- Alleged abuse in care investigations:
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big problems with the new DFC Special Investigation Unit and its methods, including reports of secret investigations. They are scaring good carers and potential carers away.
– serious abuse in care investigations should be done by the police and not the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) so the SIU can do theirs much faster. Why are the SIU employing retired Police?
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Contradictions - social workers never believe us if we get into trouble with the police. But they always believe us when we say abuse. Why the difference?
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Stopping SIU repeating interviews of child victims or witnesses - it hurts us - retraumatises us.
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Conducting investigations which look for the truth and not made up stories.
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Letting kids have an independent observer or support person when interviewed by the SIU. The police let us.
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Not allowing investigators to yell at kids, force them to sign statements or giving their name to other kids. Stop them asking the same questions again and again and making us feel like liars. We have a right to be interviewed by qualified people and not by untrained or under trained and inexperienced investigators.
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Not setting up foster children and young people to make false claims to get attention and compensation or please investigators - we are the ones that get in really big trouble if caught.
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Reducing carer paranoia about false allegations so that foster kids can live a normal family life and not one of carer fear and no trust.
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Reducing social worker paranoia about abuse allegations so we can do things other kids do without a huge fuss and lots of suspicion.
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Stop kids being ripped out of their long term placements when someone else makes dodgy allegations. Why do we have to suffer - new placements, schools, problems and wanting to be where we have belonged?
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Much faster investigations are needed -we want to get on with our lives.
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Having sensible decision making. Is the government trying to protect us or win votes? It doesn’t seem to be interested unless there are votes in it.
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Making sure real victims of child abuse in care get help. With all the allegations going on (against more than 200 carers each year) the real victims get hidden by the false victim claims.
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