Foreword

Assessment of a child or young person's protective needs may indicate that separation from their family is essential to secure their safety. One option will be placement with foster carers.

Foster carers play a crucial role, not only in meeting the daily care needs of a child, but also in partnering with other key stakeholders to plan strategies to resolve protective needs.

The Queensland Government has embarked on a commitment to reform the child protection system following events in 2003 which led to the Crime and Misconduct Commission report: Protecting children: an inquiry into abuse of children in foster care. Training of foster carers was recognised as critically important to enable carers to perform their role.

The Quality care: Foster care training package recognises the need for foster carers to acquire knowledge and skills prior to approval. It allows foster carers and workers to jointly assess the practical application of that knowledge in the first years, and it provides ongoing skill development in recognition of the complexity of the role.

  • The training package was developed and written after extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the department and in the non-government sector.
  • It reflects the knowledge and expertise of that group, and draws on current best practice initiatives developed by colleagues in other states and overseas.
  • Implementation of the training package is the first stage in improving the quality of training provided to foster carers.

A process of continuous improvement will depend on robust feedback and evaluation, and ongoing review of best practice in training.