Did you know - Any alcohol consumed when pregnant passes directly to the developing baby and can damage their brain, body, and organs. It can also lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a lifelong disability.
New resources developed by NOFASD Australia as part of the Every Moment Matters Campaign are available to support people involved in out-of-home care as they play a central role in recognising and supporting the needs of children and young people with FASD. Access the resources here.

Please help spread the word by sharing this information with your colleagues, family, and friends. Learn more about the campaign here.

In this webinar, caregivers of children with FASD talk about how the resources for families and people working within the out of home sector will make a difference to help raise awareness and understanding of FASD and assist to get the best outcomes for children at risk of FASD. Watch the webinar here.

The Qld Children's Hospital has put together some documents in regards to gender identity. For further information please click on the links below:

Gender Identity Booklet

Sexuality Booklet

Pride

Have you heard of Sortli? An App all about ‘How to Adult’ designed by young people for young people

Sortli (short for ‘sort out your life’) is a free mobile app for young people to help them with their transition to adulthood. It focuses on eight key areas of identity, relationships, finding a place to live, health, finances, gaining education and looking for a job, legal matters and general living skills. Sortli is full of useful information  and tools (including a budget calculator) to help young people on their way to becoming adults.  Sortli was developed by young people who were growing into adulthood from the foster, kinship and residential care backgrounds but is relevant for all young people on the journey to adulthood.

Young people can use Sortli independently or assisted by carers, parents or support workers as part of their planning for adulthood.  Download Sortli from the app stores now or for more information head to:http://createyourfuture.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Sortli-Worker-Flyer_Generic2018.pdf

You can also check out a video about Sortli here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnw78HOu5C8

Why use sortli?

• Fun and easy-to-navigate

• Access to links and resources for everything young people need to think of when becoming an adult

• Goal lists to set personal goals and milestones to keep track of progress and celebrate successes

• A budget calculator to help young people to manage their finances and ensure their income covers their expenses

• Helps to engage young people to think about their future goals and how they see themselves living as independent adults in their community

• Free download for iPhone, Android or Microsoft

For more information contact:

Paris Hambridge@CREATE Foundation (, 02 9267 1999)

Click here to download the Strategic Plan

Carer Connect is a web and mobile friendly app being developed to provide carers with improved access to information and support.

For more information download the Carer Connect flyer

From 1 July 2017, foster and kinship carers will receive a minimum gap cost payment of at least $40 per week ($2000 per year) for each child attending an approved early childhood education program.

Click here to find out more

Sarah McMurtrie is a teacher, writer and imminent psychologist specialising in supporting traumatised children and adolescents. Sarah is also the author of UNTWIST which is a trauma informed care tool designed to facilitate meaningful connection and communication with displaced children, especially adolescents aged 10 to 17 years.

Below are some links and also articles which Sarah has shared:

Untwist Order Form

Trauma Booklet

Helping Children to Regulate Their Emotions Fact Sheet

Useful Links:

Get Started is one of three funding programs that comprise the Queensland Government’s Get in the Game initiative to support sport and recreation at the grassroots level. Get Started assists children and young people who can least afford, or may otherwise benefit from, joining a sport or recreation club.

Sport and Recreation Services (SRS) have advised that they have funding available for up to $150 to eligible children and young people (5 years to 17 years inclusive), which can help pay for the cost of sport or recreation club membership, and/or participation fees through registered Get Started Vouchers clubs.

 The full details are available and eligibility requirements are outlined by clicking on the following online link link or viewing the Fact Sheet below 

Please note:

The vouchers are issued on a first come, first serve basis. Once they have been allocated for the round, then the round closes. It is recommended to submit referral applications as quickly as possible to avoid missing out.

Your Carer Business Discount Card gives you access to great savings and services at thousands of participating businesses across the state. Keeps your car running smoothly, get a great price on your home insurance, or enjoy a discounted night out.

Download the Flyer Here

In the latter part of 1975, an inaugural meeting of representatives from localised Foster Parent Support Groups (FPSGs) was held to discuss the advantages of forming a State-based Association that could act as a liaison body between foster parents, government departments and voluntary organisations, and in the process, activate positive systemic change across the Queensland child protection continuum.

Four decades has passed since the registration and formalisation of the Association. In that time a number of sociocultural, political and legislative shifts occurred as a result of pertinent information coming to light that signalled the necessity for change within the Queensland child protection sector. With informed foresight, the Association acknowledged the necessity to follow suit; diversifying service provision and adjusting operational foci in order to remain a viable and enterprising peak body operating with the Queensland child protection system.

'The History of Foster Care Queensland' Report represents the culmination of extensive qualitative research into the progressive organisational development of Foster Care Queensland [Incorporated] (FCQ). The research covers the timeframe from the organisation's official inception in 1976 till the present day.

Principal Researcher: Vikki Wilkes

To obtain a copy of the Report please email  

In Queensland, before the notion of foster care was conceptualised, children requiring care were placed in large government run or government subsidised denominational institutions. These institutions consisted of hospitals, orphanages, and industrial and reformatory schools (Department of Children's Services, 1979; Office of Economic and Statistical Research, 2009). There were growing concern for the health and wellbeing of children living in these environments with opponents describing their influence as "drawfing children and causing them to degenerate into mere hacnines" and "breeding contagious moral diseases such as vice and crime" (Queensland Parliament. Record of Proceedings, August 19, 1875). This report details what has influenced and shaped foster care from its early beginnings to today.

Principal Researcher: Elizabeth Bowerman

Download the full Report

An International Literature Review

This review of the international research on the impact of fostering on foster carers’ children was undertaken in order to identify the ways in which carers’ children might be more effectively prepared and supported when their families are fostering.

This review of the international research on the impact of fostering on foster carers’children was undertaken in order to identifythe ways in which carers’ children might bemore effectively prepared and supportedwhen their families are fostering.

Download this Review Here

Queensland Foster and Kinship Care (formally known as Foster Care Qld) is committed to representing Foster and Kinship Carer families, where too often there is focus on the impact of fostering on Foster and Kinship Carers and little regard or thought occurs for Natural children who find themselves in a family who has decided to care for other people’s children.......

Download the Children Who Foster Report Here

Grandparents and carers who take on the responsibility of caring for children may face a number of challenges and find their life has changed. This new caring role may be taken on, for example, as a result of parental disability, death, imprisonment, substance abuse and child neglect, abuse or abandonment.

For more information about assistance available for grandparents and carers who raise and care for children, you can

• Visit the Centrelink website
• Refer to the Are you a Grandparent or relative caring for children brochure
• phone the Family Assistance Office on 13 6150
• visit your nearest Family Assistance Office at a Centrelink Customer Service Centre.

The Statement of Commitment between the Department of Child Safety, foster care services and the carers of Queensland, reflects the importance of sharing our responsibilities and respecting each other's rights in providing the necessary services that keep children and young people safe from harm.

Download the Statement of Commitment Here