Foster care
Case workers
When it is decided that what is going on for a child isn't okay, and that help is needed, a child is usually given a case worker. This person's job is to make up a plan for the child about where they will live and what needs to change at home for them to be able to go back to their mum or dad. The case worker will:
- help the child adjust to life in their new foster care placement
- keep check on how they are doing at home and at school
- arrange visits with their mum and dad or brothers and sisters (if they aren't all together in the same foster placement)
- help to make decisions about when the child and their parents can live together again
- talk to kids about anything worrying them about their foster family or if they are worried about how it will be when they go home again
- ask the child questions about how they are feeling in their new home to try to work out if there are things they might need
A case worker might also arrange for a child to talk to a counsellor about their feelings. Sometimes, different case workers may come to the foster home to talk to a child or to the other children or parents in the home. Each worker is doing the same job - trying to keep kids safe and well.