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Many children and young people in our community have experienced hardship and are unable to live with their families.

We are committed to making a positive change in the lives of children and young people. We provide care and support services, partnering with families to ensure each child has a stable and loving home in which they can thrive and have hope for the future. This is our Permanency Support Program.

CatholicCare offers both foster care and residential care services.

Through our foster care program, CatholicCare connects a child with carers who are able to provide a home and support the child’s everyday needs with kindness and care, supported by our expert team of Case Workers and a network of therapy and counselling experts to build trust, heal the pain and, where possible, support restoration to family.

Foster care can be provided on a short or long-term basis, depending on the needs of the individual child. We celebrate and support the successful transition of our young people in long-term foster care to independence as they leave care, with many confident that their foster carer will become their support through life. We provide assessment, training, and support for carers throughout their journey with a child.

For more information:
P: (02) 9481 2600
E: info@catholiccaredbb.org.au

We need emergency foster carers

We need emergency foster homes for local children who through no fault of their own, are unable to stay in their family home – a stable foster home where they will be safe while their parents get the support they need, or an alternative family member of placement is found. Can you open your home to a child in need?

Can you care for a child like Caitlin?

Meet Caitlin. She’s 10.

Caitlin has experienced separation from her family due to abuse and neglect. Despite the hardship she has experienced, Caitlin is a resilient little girl and does well at school.

Are you open to exploring foster care and caring for a child in need like Caitlin?

can you care for a sibling group?

Meet brothers Tyson, Michael and Calvin. They are 9, 7 and 4.

Their parents are in prison, and they need a stable home. There are no extended family members to take them in, and they’re scared and confused.

They keep asking who will look after them once their emergency placement comes to an end. Could this be you?

What exactly is foster care?

There are thousands of children in out of home care. They need families.

What's it like being in care?

Real kids talk about what care was like and the impact it had on them.

What's it like to be a carer?

Real carers share some of their experiences.

Foster Care CTA

Do you have a place in your heart & home for a child in need?

There are so many children and young people who cannot live at home with Mum or Dad.

Our priority is to ensure they have a safe, stable home. Can you help?

Latest Foster Care news

Blake’s youth work story

Every few months, CatholicCare hosts a Youth Worker information night to attract prospective employees for the Permanency Support Program. Attendees come and go, with some deciding to apply for a Youth Worker position and others going on their merry way in search of the right career.

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Alice dreams of becoming a doctor

Moving 1½ hours away when you’re 16 years old is hard at the best of times. But for Alice and her sisters who live with CatholicCare foster carers, Julie and John, their move coincided with the beginning of a lengthy lockdown.

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In the news – the urgent need for foster carers

Up to 30 kids need emergency accommodation each night on the Northern Beaches, but many are forced to sleep in motel rooms due to a desperate shortage of foster carers. As many as 30 children — some aged just five — need emergency accommodation each night on the Northern Beaches.

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Adam’s embracing care & taking steps to a brighter future

A difficult start in life and added trauma along the way led young Adam to develop some challenging behaviours, disengage with school and use anger as a barrier against the world. But the supports he has received while living in one of our Intensive Therapeutic Care homes has seen a number of small breakthroughs which are helping him to identify his emotions, modify his behaviour and re-engage with education. 

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