Spiritus TRACC Cooloola

Our Foster Care Program is based on the belief that a family is the best environment for raising children.  We have a commitment to providing vulnerable children with a safe and caring foster care home until they can return to their own family (this may be for a short time or a long time).  

A foster care family is a temporary family for a child whose birth family is unwilling or unable to assume full responsibility for their child.

Foster Carers are a part of a team of people working towards meeting children’s emotional and physical needs, and helping to maintain family, cultural, religious and social ties.  

The supportive atmosphere of a foster home helps a child develop health, self-esteem, values and positive behaviours.

Children in foster care

Like all children, children who need foster care have their own special qualities and needs.  
It is likely that they will have been under a lot of stress at home.  

They may have experienced harm or be at risk of experiencing harm.  Sometimes their experiences may result in emotional or behavioural difficulties.

Children who are placed in foster care do not always understand why they have had to leave home and often are confused.

Children may express their feelings about being separated from their family in ways that are difficult for us to understand.

Children in foster care often want to remain attached to their families despite their experiences.  

We have a commitment to helping maintain relationships between children and their families as we believe that this contact:
•    helps children retain links to their past
•    helps children understand why they cannot live at home
•    enables children to develop their sense of personal identity and
•    enables children to return to their families as soon as possible.

Being an approved foster carer

Qualities needed to become a foster care family include commonsense, patience, understanding and flexibility.  

Perhaps essential, however, are the skills to provide quality care for children, as well as the ability to say goodbye when the time comes for children to be reunited with their family.

Foster Carers can be people of different ages, backgrounds and family circumstances: individuals, couples, families or even a team of adults.  

Foster Carers are ordinary people who make an extraordinary contribution by caring for vulnerable children.

Children needing foster care of all ages (infants to teenagers), may be of specific cultural or religious backgrounds, may have special needs, or may need to be placed with their brothers and sisters.

(Because we believe it is best for brothers and sisters to stay together, especially after experiencing a family crisis, we are always looking for Foster Carers who can care for sibling groups.)

To ensure we have safe and competent Foster Carers, prospective Foster Carers need to complete some initial training (at no cost) and participate in an assessment process.  

Part of this is the completion of personal history checks (that is, criminal, domestic violence, traffic offences and child protection history).

For more information about Spiritus TRACC Cooloola Foster care program please contact us

Please call and ask to speak with a member of our Foster Care Team.  We can chat with you over the phone and answer questions you may have or, if you prefer, we can arrange a time to visit you at home.  

We can also provide you with information about upcoming training programs.  We may also be able to connect you with an experienced Foster Carer from our agency who you can chat with about their perspectives on being a Foster Care family.

Spiritus TRACC Cooloola also provides volunteer support for families and an Intensive Family Based Service.

We gratefully acknowledge funding by the Department of Child Safety

Useful Contacts

Foster Care Queensland (FCQ)
Phone:  (07) 3857 3753 or Freecall 1800 635 634.Foster Care Queensland (FCQ) is a non-government organisation open to all Foster Carers.  FCQ is committed to informing, supporting, representing and advocating for Foster Carers, children and young people.   

Queensland Government Department of Child Safety
Visit www.childsafety.qld.gov.au or email fcrecruit@childsafety.qld.gov.au or phone the Foster Care recruitment line on 1300 550 877 for the cost of a local call.