The Out of Home Care program was established in 1999 mainly due to the needs of the Aboriginal communities in Sydney's South West Region. Unfortunately there are a high percentage of Aboriginal children and young people in child protection services across the state and nationwide.
It has been highly documented that to achieve a positive outcome for these children and young people it is recommended that they remain connected to their culture and communities.
Out of Home Care (OOHC) is the name given to the program that provides care to children and young people who are unable to live at home with their families due to various reasons and circumstances.
The KARI OOHC Program is exclusively for Australian Aboriginal children and young people. We aim to provide our children and young people with Aboriginal carers and families to facilitate an environment where the child or young person has a connection with their culture. KARI also provides various programs and workshops that have strong culture content. KARI prides itself on the high quality care that is provided to children and young people and the professional support that is provided to the Aboriginal carers who provide that care day to day.
KARI receives funding from NSW Human Services - Community Services to deliver Aboriginal Foster Care to children and young people across the South West Sydney Region. Currently, KARI is building the program and will ultimately care for 120 children and young people.
As part of the contract with Community Services, KARI provides full case management to the children and young people in our program, whilst KARI provides all aspects of care the parental responsibility remains with Community Services.
Part of KARI's responsibilities includes:
- Recruiting Carers to support the children and young people in the carers homes
- Providing support and training to all carers to ensure high quality care
- Provide financial support to the carers, children and young people as required to support the child or young person's well being
- Coordinate the day to day care of each child or young person
- Ensure all aspects of education, health and wellbeing are being attended to
KARI does this by allocating a qualified Caseworker to each child or young person who works with the carer/s to meet the child or young person's needs and requirements. KARI also provides wrap around support services to the program including, Psychologists, Counselling Services, Speech Therapy, Playgroups, School Holiday initiatives and Cultural Initiatives.
KARI Clinic is an innovative program that has been recognised extensively both in Australia and internationally. The OOHC program always needs new carers, are you interested in being a KARI carer? Please take a few moments to check out our carer recruitment page to see what it is all about, there are many options for assisting, and one may fit your lifestyle.
