Supporting the mental health of children in foster and kinship care
Welcome!
This pathway is for foster and kinship carers seeking to better understand and support the mental health of children in their care.
It covers:
factors that shape children’s mental health, including the impacts of traumatic or adverse childhood experiences
ways to promote positive mental health and the future wellbeing of children and young people in care
when and how to seek help if a child has mental health difficulties
the importance of taking care of your own mental health and supporting other family members.
As you work through the content, you will be encouraged to reflect on what you’re already doing that supports children’s mental health and anything that is getting in the way.
At each step along the pathway, you will hear from other carers sharing their experiences and learnings. You’ll also hear from health professionals offering evidence-informed actions that support children’s mental health as well as the wellbeing of carers and families.
In this pathway, we use the term 'your child' to refer to the child in your care. We acknowledge that every child in care has a biological family, each carer–child relationship is unique and that carers define their relationship with a child in their care in different ways.
In the following video (53 seconds), other carers share how this pathway can help. After the video, there’s some important information about this pathway and how you can get the most out of it.
For carers of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children
Emerging Minds acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately represented among children placed in kinship and foster care.
While you may find the content in this pathway helpful, we acknowledge that it does not address the importance and ways of recognising and promoting the cultural rights and connections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants, children and young people.
For families providing care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, we recommend:
Visiting the Deadly Story website, which provides information for carers on creating a safe and loving home that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to grow in their knowledge of who they are, who they belong to, where they belong, where they come from and what symbolises their culture.
Asking your foster or kinship care agency or support worker about information, resources and support available to you and the child in your care.