DCP recognises the vulnerability of new placements where carers and children/young people are adjusting to a new caregiving arrangement. As a temporary placement carer, you will be provided an intensive level of support from the Kinship Care Program to ensure that you have timely access to learning and development that meets the requirements for carer approval and is responsive to your individual needs and those of the child/young person in your care:

• Safe Infant Care (for children under 2 years)
• Child Safe Environments – Through Their Eyes
• Working in Partnership with DCP
• Finding Your Feet as a Kinship Carer

This stage of learning is designed for kinship carers who have completed their placement foundations modules. Placement essentials topics begin to focus in on what learning priorities you have identified as being meaningful to your family and what may have been identified by the care team as an outcome from your full carer assessment. Your kinship care worker will be a part of supporting you to develop your personalised learning and development plan and goals for the 6-12 months following your carer approval.

• Staying Strong as a Kinship Carer
• Supporting Family Contact
• Caring for Teenagers

The Kinship Care Program aims to provide an extra layer of support for those caring for children who have been assessed as having high care needs. Extension learning activities are facilitated by specialists in their field and can offer valuable insights into providing care for children and young people who may have complex needs as a result of trauma and abuse, developmental delay or disability.

• Understanding the NDIS
• Caring for Children and Young People with Disability or Developmental Delay
• Therapeutic Play
• Mental Health and Wellbeing

1. Are the learning modules mandatory?

   It is mandatory for all carers in South Australia to participate in Child Safe Environments – Through Their Eyes training to meet the legislative requirements for their carer approval. It is also mandatory for any carer who provides care for a child under two years to complete Safe Infant Care training.

   It is not mandatory to complete the other learning and development modules, however, as part of your ongoing agreement with the department as a registered and approved carer in South Australia, you have a responsibility to provide safe, trauma-informed care for children and young people and the learning and development program is designed to support you to provide a standard of care that is required for ongoing carer approval.

2. How do I get help to register?

   If you do not have access to Eventbrite to register your interest to attend a leaning and development module, you can seek support from your kinship care worker to register on your behalf. Once registered, you will receive a reminder email or text message approaching the date of registration. There is no need to print your ticket, the facilitator will have the list of attendees on the day and registration is completely free.

3. What if I can’t make the face-to-face sessions?

   The modules are designed for face-to-face delivery, acknowledging the carers who wish to be provided with the opportunity to engage in learning in an environment where they can be supported by their kinship care worker and other carers in the community. If you are unable to attend a session in person, contact your kinship care worker who may be able to support you to overcome barriers that prevent you from attending (transport or location etc), may be able to link you in via MS Teams or provide the content of the training individually in your own home.

4. Is creche available?

   Creche is not available at the training venues, however, if you require creche, babysitting or child care so that you are able to attend a session, please speak with your kinship care worker. Your kinship care worker can support you to identify potential care options that are suitable for you and your children and/or young person.

5. Will my dietary needs be considered?

   Absolutely. During the registration process, you can identify your specific dietary requirements so that our caterer can ensure that you are provided for on the day of your training.

6. What if I don’t have a kinship care worker?

   That’s ok. You can still register to attend any session that you feel will support you in your caregiving role, even if you don’t have a personalised learning and development plan yet. If you need support to register, you can also contact your DCP case worker who can register on your behalf. If your DCP case worker is unavailable, please do not hesitate to call your local DCP office and speak with someone from the Kinship Care Program.

7. Do I have to do the modules in order?

   Ideally, yes. Placement foundations learning modules have been specifically designed as an introduction to your role as a kinship carer, to equip you with the knowledge and support you need to be successful. Placement essentials begins to explore concepts such as trauma-informed care and caregiving models that research tells us is helpful to help children heal from their experiences of abuse and neglect. To complete the extension learning modules, you will need the fundamental understanding gained from the placement foundations and placement essentials modules to build upon, so that you get the most out of your learning opportunities. If you have an interest in a particular topic, please speak to your kinship care worker, they can assist you to incorporate this into your personalised learning and development plan.