Jewish foster care shortage becomes critical
THE next Jewish child that is taken into foster care in New South Wales will not be placed with a Jewish family, it’s claimed.
THE next Jewish child that is taken into foster care in New South Wales will not be placed with a Jewish family, it’s claimed.
The Department of Family and Community Services is currently facing a shortage of foster carers – dire in the Jewish community – and is urging more Jewish families to put their hands up and help.
A spokesperson for the Foster Care Association NSW told The AJN that the Jewish families currently providing foster care “are running at capacity”.
“It has happened before where a child has been raised as a non-Jew because there was absolutely no way of keeping them in the community,” the spokesperson, who is Jewish, said.
‘There are very few people within the Jewish community who have opened their homes and their hearts to looking after foster children in the broader community.”
The spokesperson said that in general, very little is known in the Jewish community about foster care.
“We need more people in the community to pick up the phone and learn more about foster care or how they can help.”
The spokesperson, a carer themselves, said providing care is a “most amazing” experience.
“It’s not just putting money in the tzedakah box … it’s something [for which] you really have to open your heart and your soul, but it also nurtures your soul. It’s extremely rewarding.”
The spokesperson said there are also other ways to help.
“There are people in the community that are professionals – doctors, cardiologists, dentists – that can support these families by doing some free pro-bono work for the families, for the carers who can’t afford necessarily the dollars for a private check-up.”
In NSW, children are removed from their biological families when their health and safety becomes a grave concern. Some go into short-term foster care while others can stay in care until they reach adulthood.
There are different types of care, including crisis, short-term (up to a year) and long-term. The adoption of a child or young person from long-term care is possible.
Jewish couple Kate and Rick decided to become carers because their own teenage children “were getting to the point where they weren’t such hard work and we felt we had more to give”.
Having completed a significant training program, they have since provided crisis care for seven children.
“You never know in advance, you get the call, ‘can you have a couple of kids for a few days’,” Kate said.
“It’s just lovely to see these people blossom under our care. They’re often very scared or confused when they come to us, and for some of them it’s been a long time since anyone showed them any kindness at all.
“So it’s really lovely to watch them learn to trust again.”
She said her message to potential carers is “it’s so rewarding”.
“Even if you can only give a couple of days a year, then it might save a kid from having to go into [a group home], which I think is worth it,” she said.
For those who provide or are thinking of providing foster care, JewishCare provides a range of support services including a monthly foster care support group, a register of medical, dental and other professionals who may be willing to provide services free of charge, in addition to proving access to its other services.
“JewishCare realises that this is an important issue in our community and we are here for families who may need our support,” a spokesperson said.
JewishCare also provides family-to-family respite services, whereby a family takes a child every fortnight for the weekend.
For more information, visit www.fosteringnsw.com.au.
GARETH NARUNSKY
Photo: Spirit-Fire
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