Out-of-Home Care: Children's Journeys

Dr Chez Leggatt-Cook from UnitingCare and James Kahotea from Life Without Barriers reflect on the findings from the Enhancing Children’s Journey through Out-of-home Care project and discuss what these mean for frontline practice. They discuss where they have seen strong practice and where there are areas for where we could better support children, parents, and carers involved in out-of-home care. Hosted by Dr Laura Simpson Reeves. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

Guest hosted by Mackenzie Rhodes, Dr Kate Thompson and Candice Butler discuss the impacts of out-of-home care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. They unpack the current perceptions surrounding cultural support plans, share crucial insights into the experiences and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander foster carers, kinship carers, and key stakeholders, and explore how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle can support cultural connection and participation. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

Associate Professor Jenny Povey and Associate Professor Jemma Venables reflect on the experiences of foster and kinship carers. They share how the carers described their motivations for providing foster or kinship care, some of the challenges of being a foster or kinship care, and what carers said they need to support the social and emotional wellbeing of the children in their care. Hosted by Dr Laura Simpson Reeves. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

Professor Karen Healy and Dr Madonna Boman share insights from parents of children who have been involved in out-of-home care. They describe parents’ perspectives on the circumstances surrounding children’s removal by child protection authorities, and the impact this has on parents and children both immediately but also into the future. Hosted by Dr Laura Simpson Reeves. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

Associate Professor Jemma Venables and Associate Professor Jenny Povey share findings from interviews with children and young people in out-of-home care. They highlight how experiences of connection and belonging are closely linked to social and emotional wellbeing, and describe how this is impacted, positively or negatively, by the relationships in their lives. Hosted by Dr Laura Simpson Reeves. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

Dr Iryna Kolesnikova and Professor Janeen Baxter discuss the social and emotional wellbeing of children in out-of-home care, drawing on research that compares their wellbeing to that of their peers in the general population. They also draw on longitudinal data to reveal a range of social and emotional wellbeing outcomes over time for children who have experience with the out-of-home care system. Hosted by Dr Laura Simpson Reeves. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/

This podcast series is based on the "Enhancing children’s journeys through out-of-home care report" — a multi-perspective study on children, carers and parents experience of the out-of-home care system. This episode gives the overarching context of the project that is explored in detail in other episodes. There has been a lot of research on out-of-home care, but it tends to take a single perspective. The project adopted a very family-inclusive approach and wanted to ensure that the voices of children and young people, carers, and parents were part of the discussion — all are crucial perspectives in understanding what makes the out-of-home care system work. Find out more: https://lifecoursecentre.org.au/research-projects/out-of-home-care-study/