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We welcome carers from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Foster carers can be married, single or same-sex couples, with or without children, divorced or de facto. All families are unique. Centacare recognises and embraces diversity.

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Short-term and respite carers are an integral part of foster care. If you can’t commit to long-term care but still want to make a difference, these types of foster care may be the perfect option.

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Foster care is not only for vulnerable babies and toddlers. Older children and young people who are at risk also need a safe place to live, belong and develop positive relationships to assist them to heal and move forward in life.

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Centacare is grounded in our values of dignity and respect for all. We welcome carers from all walks of life, sexuality and sexual orientation. We have amazing carers from the LGBTQA+ community who continue to make a positive impact on children in care every day.

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Children and young people in foster care need a space where they feel like they belong. As part of this, children need to have their own bedroom. Sibling groups can share a bedroom, but we ask that children who aren’t related have their own room. Many of our foster carers do not own their own home and are renting.

Having a desire to make a difference in the life of a young person is the biggest requirement – we’ll help you negotiate the rest.

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Foster carers play an integral role in supporting the child to maintain a relationship with their parents and extended family, when safe. You need to be open and willing to assist this process, but we don’t expect you to do this alone. This is a relationship that will develop over time. Family contact can range from exchanging cards, gifts and photos to also spending time with birth family.

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Age is not a barrier to becoming a foster carer.

If you yearn to be a positive influence in the life of another and can provide consistent care for a child, Centacare would love to hear from you.

Many retired couples are able to fill the 'empty nest’ by caring for children and young people in need. Their wealth of life experience makes them fantastic mentors, especially for adolescents, as they have lived experience with that age group from parenting their own children.

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Nobody’s perfect! What counts is that you have a genuine interest in making a positive contribution to a young person’s life.

We’ll work with you to equip you with the skills you need for success and will provide you with ongoing support, guidance and training.

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We all need to start somewhere in whatever roles we play in life. Centacare will be there every step of the way to support you on your foster care journey. We provide all the training and resources you’ll need to be the best carer you can be.