With her trauma-informed approach, Julie is uniquely equipped to understand and address the complex needs of these children. By creating a stable and supportive environment, she helps them heal from past trauma and rebuild their sense of security. With a focus on facilitating a smooth transition to their permanent placements, Julie ensures that these young people have a solid foundation for their future.

Julie’s role extends beyond providing immediate care. She also plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the child and their permanent carers. Through fostering positive connections and offering guidance, she helps to create strong, lasting bonds between the children and their new carers, laying the foundation for successful long-term relationships.

Her dedication and compassion are nothing short of inspiring, and her work exemplifies the profound difference foster care can make in helping children to thrive.

Julie’s story is a reminder of the powerful impact one person’s love and care can have on a child’s life.

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Constant and unwavering love and care for all her siblings, has been the driving force behind Tegan Gatley’s role as a kinship carer. From the moment she found one of her younger siblings facing homelessness in the midst of family grief and loss, Tegan stepped in and became her long-term carer. Although only young herself, Tegan was determined to ensure her sister not only had a roof over her head but also supported her health, education, hobbies and family connections.

There were challenges along the way and yet Tegan remained focused on looking after her sister through it all. This also led to her then opening her home for another paternal sister with high needs and behavioural issues.

Tegan concedes that there are tough days however, she finds it all “very rewarding” and has focused on nurturing her sisters and having a loving understanding of where they are at.

“An open mindset is needed when you are a carer, no matter what the situation,” she says.

Now at just 26 years old, Tegan is also the mother of a 10-month-old son, so her home life is busy.

With the youngest sister looking at getting back into the things she loves, such as swimming, dancing and athletics, and the older of the two sisters in Tegan’s care studying at TAFE, Tegan’s nomination reflected her consistent dedication to her caring role.

“At the end of the day family comes first, so I am glad I took them in and although life does get pretty busy, I wouldn’t want it any other way!” she says.

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“We seem to make it work. We integrate the kids we take on into our world and include them in the running of the household which we find provides a solid foundation of routine and belonging which makes them feel safe,” says Ali.

Their home has become a haven for teenage girls, where self-expression and healthy boundaries are encouraged. Understanding that change takes time, when new children arrive

Ali and Chelsea prepare a warm welcome, including personalised welcome books and involvement from their beloved pets. They ensure each child feels valued and comfortable, encouraging them to personalize their spaces and share photos of their birth families.

The couple says that many of the children they’ve worked with have taught them valuable lessons about themselves and have brought immense joy and laughter into their lives at unexpected moments.

Encouraging carers to connect with their support services and networks to assist in the caring role and not to underestimate their ability to make a difference, Ali says “It truly takes a village to raise children, and if full-time care isn’t feasible, there are opportunities for respite care. Every role is vital,”

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 Tessa has become a vital resource for young Aboriginal people in her care, earning respect for her genuine dedication to their culture.

Working tirelessly to nurture a strong connection between the children and their heritage, Tessa goes beyond merely providing respite. Her efforts include organising trips to culturally significant sites, participating in community events, and collaborating closely with Elders. Through these activities, Tessa ensures the children can engage meaningfully with their cultural identity.

As part of her commitment to professional growth, Tessa actively participates in online forums and training to deepen her understanding of trauma and its effects.

“Knowing and understanding things like trauma, the effect on the brain and how to cultivate a safe and supportive environment for those who have been through trauma, is so important,” says Tessa

 With the help of her pets—a cat and a dog—Tessa provides comfort and companionship, while a personalised introduction book helps each child feel welcomed. Engaging activities like cooking, outdoor exploration, and arts and crafts fosters a sense of belonging and joy.

Tessa’s impact on the young people she supports is profound, instilling in them a strong pride in their Aboriginal identity. She also encourages others to consider becoming carers.

“I’d say look into your heart, see how much love you have in your life and ask yourself – What can you share with others? I’m a single person at a ‘grandma age’ with a lot of love to give and if I can do this, I know others can too” she says.

The post 2024 Deadly Ally Carer of the Year – Tessa McPeake appeared first on Carers for Kids NSW.

As a proud Aboriginal woman, Geraldine places great importance on preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of the children in her care. She ensures they remain connected to their family, land, and traditions, offering them a deep sense of identity and belonging. Her approach is both proactive and thoughtful, working closely with Case Managers and Carer Support Coordinators to stay informed about available resources and to secure the best outcomes for the children.

Geraldine’s compassion, wisdom, and dedication make her an invaluable member of her community, and her work stands as a testament to her enduring love and care for future generations.

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Aminah’s nurturing spirit and deep love for children led her to foster care. After years balancing the responsibilities of managing her family’s restaurant and caring for her own family, when Aminah’s son reached high school, she submitted her application to be a carer.

For more than a decade, Aminah has provided loving care to numerous children, including one who had experienced significant trauma. This child, under her dedicated care for the past nine years, has flourished. With Aminah’s unwavering love, patience, and support, the child has achieved remarkable milestones, including an unforgettable visit to Harvard University, where Aminah was moved by the child’s hopeful words: “I want to go here one day.”

Aminah’s commitment deepened when she became a permanent carer for a young child who came into her home at just two years old, carrying the weight of trauma and high needs. Nine years later, that child has become a treasured part of her family, thriving in all aspects of life. Over the last two years, family trips have created cherished memories, enriching their bond.

Aminah’s devotion extends beyond her immediate role. She builds meaningful relationships with both the children’s birth families and her agency, continuously seeking growth through training and development.

Upon receiving her award, Aminah expressed gratitude and humbly noted that fostering is “the right thing to do,” encouraging others to consider becoming carers.

 “I now tell everyone to look at becoming a foster family. Whether short or long-term, it is just so rewarding to help someone have a better future. I am really glad we chose long-term,” says Aminah.

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Initially, the Bells planned to foster a maximum of two children, but fate had other plans. When they welcomed a sibling group of five into their home, they realized they had found their true calling. With unwavering dedication, they renovated their home to accommodate their growing family, creating a nurturing environment where everyone feels loved and supported.

“We had seven children and two adults all living here at the time,” Donna said, “So even my mum got involved and helped out with some short-term care until we had the house finished and ready for everyone to fit!”

Donna acknowledges the invaluable role of her extended family in providing a strong support network for the children. By fostering a sense of belonging and security, the Bells have made a lasting impact on the lives of the children they care for. Their commitment extends beyond their household, as they actively encourage others to embrace the transformative experience of foster care, consistently singing the praises of their agency team and the wider carer community.

“I usually handle things on my own, but it’s really comforting to know I’m not in this alone. They’ve always got your back,” Donna says, emphasising the important support system that makes their journey possible.

To better understand the unique challenges faced by children in care, Donna and Chris, 2024 Sibling Carers of the Year, have committed to ongoing training in childhood trauma, growth, and development. Their dedication to providing the highest quality of care has resulted in remarkable outcomes. Today, all five of the original children they cared for have thrived and lead happy, fulfilling lives.

Their nomination sums it all up by stating that the couple have “always demonstrated their ability to be strong advocates for the children in their care and for themselves as carers”.

As they prepare for the next chapter after caring since 2008, Donna and Chris reflect on their years of service with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude. Their nomination for the award is a fitting tribute to their unwavering commitment to providing a safe, loving, and nurturing home for children in need.

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“My husband and I have been carers for over six years,” says Sarah*.  

“Our journey began with a phone call that changed everything.” 

Sarah was just 16 when she met her husband. By the time she was 24, the couple had three children.  

“Life was busy,” she explains. “I completed my Registered Nurse training while raising our kids, and my husband worked hard to support our family.  

“As our children grew, we watched them embark on their own journeys through university, training and work.” 

By the time their youngest child left home at 18, they had settled into a comfortable routine, planning for the next stage of life. 

“Then came the call,” Sarah says. 

“A relative’s children, aged seven and nine, needed a home,” she continues. “My cousin had put our names forward to become their permanent kinship carers.  

“It was a moment of deep reflection – we had always admired carers but never imagined we would become ones ourselves.” 

Sarah says they knew the importance of keeping children connected to family and culture.  

“When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enter care, agencies look to extended family first,” she explains.  

“Knowing this and hearing the heartfelt plea from my cousin and the children’s grandmother, we made the decision to welcome them into our home.” 

Sarah describes the shift in family dynamics that comes with foster caring as one you can’t prepare for.  

“It was a journey of learning and unlearning,” she says. “Unlike raising biological children from birth, we had to get to know these young people from scratch – understanding their emotions, fears and experiences.” 

She adds that children in care ask hard questions and challenge a carer’s worldviews while compelling them to re-examine their parenting.  

“They also have a depth of resilience and generosity that is humbling,” she says.  

“They wanted us to be our best selves, even as they navigated their own complex emotions.” 

There were triumphs for Sarah and her husband, seeing them thrive in school, finding their passions and embracing new opportunities.  

There were also heartbreaks, like when their youngest, at age 12, decided to leave.  

“Despite the pain, we remain his cheer squad, always ready to support him from afar,” she states. 

Their now 16-year-old is a force to be reckoned with – sporty, bright and adventurous.  

“She challenges me daily, especially when I accidentally embarrass her which, according to her, is often,” Sarah says.  

“Watching her grow into a strong, independent young woman is both a joy and a privilege.”   

She suggests doing as much training as possible, because the more you learn, the better prepared you’ll be. 

“Be an advocate,” she states.  

“Speak up, push for the best for the young person and never stop cheering them on.” 

Despite the challenges, Sarah says they wouldn’t have it any other way.  

“With time, you will not be able to imagine what your family life would have been like without them.” 

On this World Care Day, we honour all carers and the extraordinary young people they support. Your dedication and strength make all the difference. 

If you’re interested in learning more about opening your home and your heart to a child or young person in need, fill out and enquiry form or visit our events page to register for an information session. 

*Name and image changed to protect the identity of the carer. 

The post “Our journey began with a phone call that changed everything.”  appeared first on Carers for Kids NSW.

When Janet talks about her journey as a foster carer, she begins with quiet disbelief at the passage of time.

“Well, we’ve been caring for 21 years, wow,” she says.

It was never an impulsive decision. She and her husband discussed the idea early in their marriage, imagining a time when their own children were old enough to understand what becoming foster carers would mean.

“It’s something we spoke about very early on in our marriage,” she recalls.

“I think our kids got to an age where we thought they were old enough to understand what it meant for our family.”

Her awareness of foster care had been seeded much earlier in life.

“I hadn’t had any experience with other carers, but I did have experience in high school, with of one of my sister’s friends being taken into care, so that had been in the back of my mind for a long time,” she says.

Janet still remembers the conversations she and her husband had with their children as they prepared to open their home. Their children’s reactions were mixed.

“They were nervous,” she says. “We spoke about other kids needing homes.

“Our youngest was quite concerned about it, but was willing to give it a go.”

Their first venture into caring was through respite care.

“That was just for a weekend, and it was good,” she recalls. “There was very little disruption – the children were quite young. They were younger than our children, and we continued to provide regular respite for those children.”

She learned quickly that carers retained autonomy.

“There’s no pressure to take them every time you’re asked – it’s up to the carer.”

What surprised her most was the complexity of the children’s needs.

“The behaviours of some of the children, and just how traumatised they were by being in care, and the degree of support they needed – that was probably more surprising than anything else,” she explains.

“You don’t realise the emotional impact it has on children when they’re removed from their birth family,” she continues.

Training and connection in those early years helped her find her footing.

“We did a lot of training back then,” Janet reflects. “And there was a good network of carers locally who you could tap into and meet with regularly to bounce things off of.

“People who aren’t foster carers don’t get it at all. They don’t understand the behaviours. It’s a completely different world, the world foster care.”

She lives in Wagga, a town that has changed significantly over her two decades of caring, but the size of the community has helped them maintain pockets of connection.

“We’ve got a Facebook group that that we have going where we post information and any events that we might be holding,” she explains. “There’s a group of us who meet up occasionally also.”

Asked about her biggest lessons, she doesn’t hesitate to say: learning to understand the impact of trauma on the brain and how it impacts the rest of someone’s life.

“It can dictate the trajectory of a person’s life,” she explains. “It starts in childhood. Quite often, it starts before birth. It has this enormous impact on that little body and how it’s going to function in the world.”

“I don’t know that you can undo it,” she adds, “but to support that young person as they grow can help them have a meaningful, fulfilling life.”

For years, Janet has received support through Carers for Kids NSW. She has attended training sessions, served on a Carer Advisory Group (CAG) and advocated alongside them.

“I can ring the helpline and ask what to do in a situation,” she explains. “They’re excellent.”

For her, support is vital.

“You can’t do it without independent support,” Janet states.

When asked what advice she’d offer new carers, especially in regional areas, she says, “work towards having a good relationship with your caseworker. Be respectful and understand that it’s a two-way street.”

Janet doesn’t deny that the experience of being a carer is a tough but rewarding one.

“There were two girls, half-sisters, who came to me as newborns,” she reflects. “Seeing their connection to their birth family has been a real success.

“We’ve also helped young people navigate out of care and continue to support them.”

When asked how she copes through the hardest periods, her answer is straightforward.

“You have to have a sense of humour,” she says with a laugh. “You just do what you’ve got to do.”

“There’s no magic formula,” she explains.

“We just try to stay positive. If you’re a glass half full person, you’ll get there.”

Learn more about the support Carers for Kids NSW provides carers here.

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For Aurelie, kinship care is about commitment, love, support and the child at the centre of it all.

“The most rewarding side is the purpose of what you are doing and who you are doing it for,” she explains.

“You’re making a difference in the life of a child – one who has possibly experienced abuse or been abandoned.”

She speaks clearly about what that responsibility means.

“You’re likely taking care of a child who was failed by adults in the past, adults who were supposed to protect them” she says.

“You give them a place of safety, healing and support.”

Aurelie knows the role is not easy, especially in the early stages.

“At first, children will test you, because they don’t trust you,” she says.

“But once they see you consistently support them, that you don’t give up on them and that you believe in them – then you start creating trust.”

She describes the small moments that told her she was doing something right.

“They’re going to draw pictures of you and them together,” she reflects.

“They’re progressively going to show their true self and share their thoughts, their feelings, their problems. All of these little moments are like sunshine on the journey.”

It’s this sense of purpose that has carried Aurelie and her partner through five and a half years of kinship care.

“We’re long-term placement kinship carers, and we’re now trying to move towards permanency with guardianship,” she says.

But the way Aurelie and her partner became carers was sudden and unexpected.

“We had never met the child, never talked to him, and we had no idea that he had been removed from his parents’ care,” she says.

“Within 24 hours, we became committed basically without knowing anything about the child.”

At the time, Aurelie and her partner were both working full time and had no experience of child protection or out-of-home care.

“My partner was in a managerial position in finance, and I had been working in education for 16 years,” she reflects.

“I was a teacher full time, and I was very committed to education.”

The child was three years old when he came into their care.

“When he was born, we were living in another state, and we decided to move to New South Wales to be part of his life” Aurelie says.

“But we had no idea what was going on in his life, because we had been kept apart.”

Despite the lack of information, Aurelie says the decision to step in was immediate once they were called and able to get involved. Looking back, she is open about how unprepared they were.

 “We didn’t know anything about the out-of-home care system,” she remembers.

“We didn’t know the child’s rights, and we didn’t know what our rights were as carers.

“Sadly, we were very naïve and should’ve asked more questions.”

As time passed, Aurelie began to notice signs that the child was struggling.

“I’m an educator, so I have some training about recognising some red flags” she says. “Very early on, I noticed some of them.”

At the time, Aurelie and her partner didn’t fully understand how trauma presents in young children or how to respond in an informed way.

“When you have a child come into your care and you don’t know how to navigate trauma and support the child through their struggles, it’s very difficult,” she explains.

“We didn’t realise that the reason he was lashing out was because he felt safe with us,” she says. “Now, with our level of training, we understand that and we know how to respond.”

A major turning point came in 2023, when a therapist encouraged Aurelie to seek independent support to get some targeted training in line with the child’s therapeutic needs and learn how to advocate.

“That’s when we found out about Carers for Kids NSW,” she says. “Before that, we had no idea it existed.”

The impact was immediate.

“That was a life-changing thing for us,” she states.

“Suddenly we realised there were answers. There was support. There was training. We didn’t have to keep fighting on our own.”

Training through Carers for Kids NSW reshaped how Aurelie understood her role.

“The most useful training we’ve done has definitely been with Carers for Kids NSW,” she continues. “We were very lucky to attend three trainings on Therapeutic Life Story Work. It was life changing.

“It’s about supporting children with experience of trauma, understanding the needs of the child, adapting your responses and developing techniques and strategies to support them.”

Aurelie also highlights advocacy training as critical.

“We completed training about how to advocate for the kids in your care,” she explains. “That was fantastic.”

Beyond training, she values the practical resources available.

“The library on the Carers for Kids NSW Carer Portal is great,” she says. “There are excellent therapeutic books available.

“I wish we knew all of this was available for carers and we had used it at the start,” she continues. “The first few years would have been more manageable with that understanding.”

As Aurelie and her partner gained confidence, they wanted their experience to contribute to change beyond their own family. That led them to join a Carer Advisory Group.

“We wanted all the struggle we’ve been through to have a purpose beyond our child,” she says. “We wanted to make a difference for the benefit of other carers and children in care.”

Through the group, Aurelie has been involved in advocacy conversations and policy discussions.

“I think there is hope,” she says. “Carers are starting to have more of a voice, and that’s wonderful.”

When asked what advice she would give to carers who are struggling, Aurelie returns to what she has learned.

“Know the rights of the kids in your care and advocate for them,” she says. “Know your own rights as a carer.”

She also stresses the importance of independent support.

“You can’t care for a child in a sustainable way if you don’t have support yourself when needed,” she says. “Know where to get external support. For us, Carers for Kids NSW is the number one place to go.

“Even through all the hard times,” Aurelie adds, “remember why you do it and who you do it for, and allocate time for self-care.

“Being a carer is a hard mission, but it is also a beautiful and meaningful one”.

Learn more about the support Carers for Kids NSW provides carers here.

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