Training

QFKC have partnered with the Department of Education - Early Childhood Education and Care to bring foster and kinship carers across Queensland this live webinar. 

Please join us as we explore how Foster and Kinship Carers can support children to access quality early learning experiences.

As carers, have you got questions about kindergarten and early learning and intervention that you can access prior to your Foster child starting school?

Come along to find out more and hear from a Foster Carer who will share her experiences of early learning and the benefits it brought her foster child.

We invite you to attend an upcoming session to learn about:

• Kindergarten;
• Early childhood development programs (ECDPs);
• Playgroups and KindyLinQ; and
• Support services

This webinar is a must for Foster and Kinship Care staff and carers – QFKC will work through the new Child Safety Complaints Management process and participants will leave the webinar with the following learnings:

• Early resolution processes, language used to initiate outcomes in a timely manner
• When and how to lodge a complaint
• Where and how complaints are managed and what to do when you do not agree with a complaint outcome. QFKC will use practical real life examples to support understanding in navigating the complaint process

Complaints Management Handout

Molly Activity - Example

If you require a certificate for the session download a generic certificate here > > > Certificate of Participation (Agencies may be required to confirm the learnings from the webinar through their reflections with carers).

For general enquiries about our webinars please contact us 

The Achieving Permanency webinar, the second of QFKC’s online training opportunities for carers and staff is now available to view. As a joint partnership with Kummara and Infinity Community Solutions we deliver a condensed version of QFKC’s Achieving Permanency training module which seeks to inform Foster and Kinship Care agency staff and carers about how permanency is achieved for children and young people in care.

This training will:

• Explore the core components to permanency as being legal, physical and relational and the continuum of permanency options, recognising that permanency does not just mean long term orders under the Act, but rather goes right from reunification through to options of LTG to Other and the newly introduced Permanent Care Orders.
• Inform attendees of all aspects of the Child Protection Act that relate to achieving permanency for children, from Principles to the Act, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Placement Principles and the core principles relating to decision making for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.  
• Explore considerations in the assessment and recommendation of orders, legislated concurrent planning, the difference between Long Term Orders and what this means in day to day care of children and obligations of Safety and Support Networks to children and young people subject to different orders.  
• Provide a comprehensive understanding of permanency in the context of the Child Protection Act and what this means in the world of caring.

Once you have finished watching this webinar please email: with the date that you completed the training to be issued with a training certificate.

This webinar provided information to participants about the process of transitioning to adulthood for young people subject to child protection orders, and covered -

• Background and context of T2A - past and present
• Roles and Responsibilities of care team members
• Rights of young people transitioning to adulthood
• External avenues of support
• Carers role in supporting a Y/P through their transition to adulthood

Below are the links to a number of resources referred to in the webinar:

• CREATE Your Future provides useful information on ways to assist young people
• Transition from Care Resources - CREATE Foundation includes information on ‘SORTLI’ and the Go Your Own Way kit
• Participation-Poster this is the participation principles poster from CREATE
• Reconnecting with Family in a safe way  this is a CREATE poster with tips on how to reconnect safely with family
• https://nextstepplus.com.au/  this website provides a range of services for young people to access about transition from care
• Transition to Adulthood 349 this is the current departmental T2A Policy which will be reviewed in 2023

If you require a certificate for the session download a generic certificate here > > > Certificate of Participation (Agencies may be required to confirm the learnings from the webinar through their reflections with carers).

For general enquiries about our webinars please contact us 

This webinar will provide information to participants about the various review rights that are able to be heard in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) that relate to decisions effecting children and young people, foster and kinship carers, adult household members and birthparents. Participants will gain a clear understanding of what decisions are actually appealable through QCAT, how to make an application and what the process of going through QCAT will look like.

QFKC will also provide information about the legal service that QFKC partners with that is available to carers for advice and in some cases representation for carers who have made applications in the QCAT space. 

If you require a certificate for the session download a generic certificate here > > > Certificate of Participation (Agencies may be required to confirm the learnings from the webinar through their reflections with carers).

For general enquiries about our webinars please contact us 

This webinar is a condensed version of QFKC’s Standard of Care/Harm report training with a focus on process only. Participants will gain a clear understanding of:

• Process for making a decision to record a Standard of Care Review or Harm report
• What carers should expect if one of these responses are recorded in relation to a child or young person in their care
• What outcomes can be reached and what happens next

PLEASE NOTE:  Since recording of this webinar, the Continue to Monitor response has been removed as a response pathway,  please disregard the Continue to Monitor pathway.  Child Safety and your Foster and Kinship Care agency should always be working together with carer families in a way that promotes proactive casework which was the essence of this particular pathway.    

Click here to download the notes

If you require a certificate for the session download a generic certificate here > > > Certificate of Participation (Agencies may be required to confirm the learnings from the webinar through their reflections with carers).

For general enquiries about our webinars please contact us 

The ‘Mad, Bad, Sad' – A Pathway to Healing for Carers webinar is the first of 6 online webinars through 2022 for foster and kinship carers. These 1 hour sessions will be presented by Gregory Nicolau from the Australian Childhood Trauma Group in partnership with Queensland Foster and Kinship Care. The Path of a carer can often be isolating and fraught with difficulties, hardships and feelings of hopelessness, you are not alone! We understand the unique issues you face and will provide an environment of support and learning to help you on your journey.

• Session 1: Wed 16^th March. Please click here to view the recording. Certificate of Attendance **
• Session 2: Wed 4^th May. Please click here to view the recording.  Certificate of Attendance ** 
• Session 3: Wed 13^th July. Please click here to view the recording. Certificate of Attendance **
• Session 4: Wed 7^th September. Please click here to view the recording. Certificate of Attendance **
• Session 5: Wed 12^th October. Please click here to view the recording. Certificate of Attendance **  
• Session 6: Wed 9^th November. Please  click Here to view the recording. Certificate of Attendance**

For general enquiries about the webinars please contact us

The Statement of Commitment is the first of many online training opportunities for carers and staff alike. A joint partnership between QFKC, Kummara and Infinity Community Solutions this training for Foster and Kinship Carers and support staff is built on legislation and outlines the commitment we all make to children and young people who experience care as well as our rights within the child protection system. We encourage everyone to view the training at your convenience and if there are any queries please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will get back to you promptly.

Once you have finished watching this webinar please email:  with the date that you completed this training to be issued with a training certificate.

Length of training: 7 hours

The Triple R training is about the Roles, Rights and Responsibilities of carers.  The training looks at key pieces of legislation and documents that speak to these important factors and  more importantly what they mean for carers in providing day to day care for children and young people.  

  Some of the key areas we explore are:

• The 2020 updated Statement of Commitment for Qld Carers
• The Human Rights Act 2019  
• The Statement of Standards
• The Charter of Rights for children and young people
• The Principles of Child Protection Act 1999

 In all of the above we explore what they mean in terms of highlighting the rights, roles and responsibilities of carers and how all of these documents can be used as advocacy tools in support of carer families and of course the children and young people they provide care for.  

Length of training: 5 hours

Achieving Permanency is a training that seeks to inform Foster and Kinship Care agency staff and carers about how permanency is achieved for children and young people in care. The training explores the core components to permanency as being legal, physical and relational and the continuum of permanency options, recognising that permanency does not just mean long term orders under the Act, but rather goes right from reunification through to options of LTG to Other and the newly introduced Permanent Care Orders.

This training will inform attendees of all the changes to the Child Protection Act that relate to achieving permanency for children, from changes and inclusions of new Principles to the Act, to enhancements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Placement Principles and the introduction of core principles relating to decision making for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.  

The training also explores considerations in the assessment and recommendation of orders, newly legislated concurrent planning, the difference between Long Term Orders and what this means in day to day care of children and obligations of Safety and Support Networks to children and young people subject to different orders.  

This training will provide a comprehensive understanding not only in respect to the changes to the Act, but what this means in the world of caring.

Length of training: 3 hours

This workshop will explore the topic of Information sharing.  Specifically three areas will be covered:

• What happens if a child in your care is absent or missing

• What does confidentiality mean when providing day to day care

• Social Media - the dos and do nots

This Information session will explore with participants what the provisions of the act regarding Confidentiality means in terms of providing day to day care for carers.  Surveys continue to provide us information that carers are not receiving the information they need in order to provide safe and appropriate care to children in care and other children they may be caring for.  So what information should you be getting access to and how can you advocate for this information - who should you then be able to share this information with.

This session will also explore the complicated world of Social Media and provide some very clear guidelines from Child Safety as to what you can and cannot do as a carer in relation to Social media when caring for a child in care

Length of training: 4 hours

Contact training explores with carers the following areas:

• Roles and responsibilities of carers regarding contact

• How the care team can contribute to positive family contact

• What children and young people want

• Grief and Loss for children and carers

• Beliefs/values and attitudes

• Parenting in the context of the Child Protection System

• How to effectively provide feedback to the care Team. 

The overall aim of this training is to provide educational around contact so that carers are better equipped to provide relevant and crucial feedback to Child Safety around a child or young person’s contact experience that will assist Child Safety in ongoing case plan decisions around contact and reunification.  Carers will come away with an actual tool developed by FCQ in consultation with Child Safety to assist in feedback. 

Length of training: 3 hours 

This training will enable carers to: 

• Develop an understanding of the purpose of transition from care planning
• Identify and consider the needs of young people transitioning to adulthood, including developmental needs and life skills
• Identify ways that carers can support young people to transition from care to adulthood.
• Current Queensland policy and legislation will be examined. Practical supports will be explored.
• Carers will be offered a safe and supportive forum to discuss their thoughts/ideas/feelings about young people leaving their care.

Length of training: 4 .5 hours

There are some decisions which Child Safety make, that effect foster and kinship carers, which they can have appealed through QCAT.  This training seeks to outline for carers exactly what these are and how they can go about appealing a decision recognised as reviewable within QCAT.

This training provides participants with an overview of QCAT and how this relates to carers and covers the following: 

• What is QCAT, who are they and who are they responsible to

• What appealable rights do carers have through QCAT

• How do carers make an application to QCAT

• Once an application is made – what is the process

• Who will assist carers through this process

  This training also explores the Court Reforms which took effect in Qld on 1^st July 2016.  The training assists carers in understanding:

• Who the key players in Children’s Court

• The role of these key players

• Carers role in Children’s Court

This training session is information rich and will assist carers to understand both QCAT and Children’s Court

Length of training: 3 hours

Reunification is the ultimate goal for most children and young people in out of home care.  A successful reunification will see children return to their family of origin in a home environment that has been assessed as being no longer harmful. This training provides participants with an overview of Reunification and includes

• Exploring parenting in the context of the Child Protection System

• Assessing and planning reunification – what are the considerations from the key players i.e. Child Safety and the Children’s Court

• What makes a good reunification

• Building resilience in children and young people

• What carers should do if they have worries

• Grief and loss for carer families – how to manage this

   

Carers should come away from this training with a thorough understanding of how decisions are made for children to be reunified in the context of a very broad Child Protection System.

Length of training: 3 hours

This training provides participants with an overview of what financial entitlements carers can access.  Specifically the training covers:

• Fortnightly Caring Allowance

• Child Related Costs

• Special Carer payments

• Dual Respite

• High Support Needs Allowance

• Complex Support Needs Allowance

• Centrelink benefits and entitlements

• Foster & Kinship Carer Card

Everyone comes away from this training having learnt something !!

Length of training: 3 hours

This training explores the processes undertaken when a Standard of Care or Harm report is raised for a child in Out of Home care who is placed with a carer

The following areas are covered:

• History relating to how matters use to be dealt with and information around why and how this has changed

• Detail on the three pathways Child Safety have available to them to address Standard of Care and Harm report matters

• Step by step guide as to how these three pathways should be enacted in practice

• Emphasis on how we work through matters in a way that is not punitive and blame driven

• Discussion relating to Care Teams and the role of care team members in Standard of Care and Harm report matters. 

This training is suitable for Child Safety, Fostering and Kinship Care staff and carers as it works through procedures however highlights the importance of how practice determines success of procedures. 

Length of training: 4 hours

This training explores how the National Disability Insurance Scheme works for children subject to Child Protection orders under the Child Protection Act 1999.  Co-written with colleagues from the Disabilities department through the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs, this training is aimed at assisting carers to understand the following:

• An overview of NDIS – what does it mean, how do children and young people qualify for service

• How plans are developed and how carers can be involved in this process for the children they care for

• What services are available through NDIS for children and young people and how this will look from a practical point of view

• The interface between Child Safety and NDIS

Length of training: 7 hours 

This training is aimed at assessors and provides an in-depth session on initial assessments, covering the following: 

• The history of assessments in Qld

• Legal requirements of an Initial Assessment

• Policy and Procedure that guide assessors in writing an assessment

• A step by step guide through each of the sections of an assessment exploring what questions should be asked of an applicant and what a Manager will be looking for

• Household Safety Checks – dispelling some of the myths

• External checks – what is the purpose and when should they be sought

Assessors should come away from this training with confidence in what Managers are looking for in an assessment and how they can deliver on this.

Length of training: 6 hours 

This training recognizes the unique difference in assessing a kinship carer and the complexities and added responsibilities given to assessors.  The training covers the following 

• What is Kinship Care

• Why are Kinship Care assessments unique

• What criteria Kinship Carers must meet

• Sharing of information

• The importance of Strength based assessments

• Initial challenges faced by assessors

• Additional challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

• Grief and Loss and how this impacts on assessments

• Exploring Generational Issues

• Importance of Genograms in assessments

• Helping applicants to understand the Child Protection System

Assessors should come away from this training with an understanding of the uniqueness of kinship care assessments and will hopefully take their learning’s into practice which will result in better outcomes for kinship carers from the entry point into the Child Protection System.    

Length of training: 4 hours 

This training explores re-approvals and covers the following: 

• Background of Renewals

• Purpose of renewals

• What Renewals should not be used for

• Process of applying to renew

• What checks need to be carried out

• Who should complete assessments

• Assessment process

• Addressing Standard of Care and Harm Reports in the context of Renewals

• Recommendations

• Outcome and ongoing supports

   

It is hoped that this training will result in assessors becoming more aware of the purpose and importance of renewals so they are not simply seen as a tick box process, rather an important tool to assess the ongoing suitability of carers in the Child Protection system.  The training will assist assessors in identifying strengths and areas for growth for carers and places an importance emphasis on recognising the evolving nature of carer families.

Length of training: 5 hours 

This training was developed by Bryan Smith, a carer for 25 years, and Executive Director of QFKC.   Bryan has been able to capture within this training what support for carers means in every day practice.   The training explores the following: 

• Who are we and what role do we play?
• What is your framework for practice and why?
• Missed perceptions?
• Foster and Kinship Carers – Spot the Difference
• Having the hard discussions and identifying what they are
• Ethical dilemmas when supporting Foster and Kinship Carers
• General Discussion

In exploring the above, Bryan ensures lots of practical examples are used to assist workers in understanding what support actually is, what the difference between support and advocacy is and how workers own backgrounds, values and ethics can affect support.