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(08) 8274 5900
How to become a foster carer
View the stages of the application process to become a foster carer below. The process can take up to four months from initial enquiry to registration, depending on your availability. If you have any queries, please contact us to find out more.
1. Request Information
Key Assets Fostering will request some basic information about you before sending you our information pack, ‘Fostering Matters’.
2. Home Visit
A member of the Key Assets Fostering team will contact you to arrange a convenient time for them to visit you and your family to discuss fostering in more detail. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions that you may have. We will put together an initial report based on your discussions, and will recommend whether or not we think it’s right for you to proceed.
3. Training
You will be invited to attend a two day training course called ‘Skills to Foster’. This training will enable applicants to learn about what it is like to be a foster carer for Key Assets Fostering.
4. Application Form
Through completing this application form, you are supplying detailed information about you and your family and giving your consent for us to complete the necessary checks and enquiries to determine your suitability to foster.
Key Assets Fostering will obtain the following references and checks on all applicants:
- Screening check on all adult members of the household (includes information about any criminal convictions, cautions and checks on the Families SA database).
- A medical report from your GP about your health.
- At least three personal referees who will be sent a form to fill out and then be invited to an interview as part of the assessment process.
- References requested from your current or previous employer.
- Home Safety Checklist which will be carried out in your home.
- Reference from your children’s school(s).
- Pet questionnaire.
- Enquiry to other agencies if appropriate.
5. Assessment Process
A qualified Social Worker will carry out a full assessment. He or she will visit your home, generally on 5-6 occasions, to meet and collect information about all members of your household and your experience and skills in relation to fostering. The information obtained forms the basis of an assessment report.
During the assessment process, applicants will be helped to compile a welcome book and relevant evidence of experience and skills.
6. Fostering Panel
The content of the assessment report, excluding all references, will be shared with you and then presented to a Key Assets Fostering panel. This is an opportunity for you to meet the panel members who make the recommendation to approve. The assessment is then sent to the Department for Families and Communities Registration and Licensing division, who decide whether you meet the criteria to be registered as a foster carer.
Applicants are informed by Key Assets Fostering both verbally and in writing about the decision made by Registration and Licensing. If you are registered you would then become a foster carer for Key Assets Fostering and be issued with a Certificate of Approval by the Department.
It is the responsibility of Key Assets Fostering to continuously monitor and support the each applicant through the Foster Carer Renewal of Registration/Review process.
Begin the process to becoming a foster carer now by calling (08) 8274 5900 or enquiring online.
