Sibling connection and stability of living arrangements
Placing siblings together
Placing a sibling group in a care arrangement together, where it is possible and in their best interests, acknowledges the importance of relational permanency and assists children in adjusting to their new placement, reduces the level of disruption to their lives and enhances their wellbeing through maintaining important family relationships.
When a sibling group requires a care arrangement, the first preference is to place the sibling group together.
Factors that may affect the ability for a sibling group to share a care arrangement include:
- any history of abuse within the sibling group
- the role and responsibilities each sibling have previously undertaken within the family, for example, older siblings taking inappropriate levels of adult responsibility for younger siblings
- whether the proposed care arrangement is suitable for all siblings
- availability of suitable foster care, kinship care or licensed residential care service placements
- the views of each sibling.
Stability of living arrangements
When a child has been removed from their home to ensure their safety, the department aims to provide a stable care arrangement that is able to meet their current and future need for safety, belonging and wellbeing. Providing ongoing stability means having as few changes as possible to that care arrangement. Sometimes, meeting the needs and best interests of the child or young person may require a number of different care arrangements.
To select the right care arrangement for a child to ensure physical permanency and stability, the department assesses the child’s strengths and needs, the supports required to meet those needs and the particular skills and abilities the care provider is required to have. There are a number of different care arrangement options that are considered to determine which placement would be in the child’s best interests.
Kinship care is the preferred care arrangement for children who cannot remain safely in their parent’s care and is provided by an approved person related to the child or a member of a child's community and considered by the child to be family or of significance to them. For an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, a kinship carer may also be a person who under Aboriginal tradition or Island custom is regarded as kin of the child or with whom the child has a cultural connection.
Foster care is provided for children where care arrangements with kin is not possible or appropriate. It is provided by a person or persons who are approved by the department to care for a child that is not known to them.
Residential care services are licensed by the department to provide care in a group setting for young people whose needs are best met by non-family-based care.
Siblings living together
Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.
- Data is as at the reference date.
- Counts the number of children living in foster carer, kinship care and residential care who had at least one sibling in care and whether they were placed with their sibling/s.
- Age group: Based on the age of the child as at the reference date.
- Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: Includes non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and children whose Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown or not stated.
- Foster care: Includes children living with a foster carer or a provisionally approved carer where no family relationship exists between carer and child.
- Kinship care: Includes children living with a kinship carer, and children living with a foster carer or provisionally approved carer where a family relationship exists between the carer and child.
- Residential care: Includes children living is non-family-based accommodation and support services funded by the department to provide placement and support for children. These residential services provide daily care and support for children from a house parent or rostered residential care workers model.
Children exiting care by length of time in care and number of placements
Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.
- Data is for year ending the reference date (12 months of data).
- Counts all children who exited foster care, kinship care or residential care during the reference period and did not return within two months.
- Children who exited out-of-home care more than once during the reference period are counted only once, irrespective of the number of times they exited.
- Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: Includes non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and children whose Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown or not stated.
- Foster care: Includes children living with a foster carer or a provisionally approved carer where no family relationship exists between carer and child.
- Kinship care: Includes children living with a kinship carer, and children living with a foster carer or provisionally approved carer where a family relationship exists between the carer and child.
- Residential care: Includes children living is non-family-based accommodation and support services funded by the department to provide placement and support for children. These residential services provide daily care and support for children from a house parent or rostered residential care workers model.
June 2021: An exit from out-of-home care is counted for children who turned 18 but may still be residing in their placement, as a result of the implementation of carer allowances for children over 18.