Stretch-A-Family
has a Specialist Teenage Foster Care Program.
The
main aim of the program is to find foster families to care for
teenagers on a long term basis. These young people are usually aged
between 12 and 15 years old when first placed in foster care and the
long term plan is for the foster child to remain living with their
foster family until they are 18 years old or old enough to move out and
live independently.
The
young person usually lives in Stretch-A-Family’s Stanmore
House until a foster family is found. Alternatively, the young person
may move directly from a short term foster placement or other
residential group home into the care of their long term foster family.
Stretch-A-Family
place a lot of emphasis on ensuring the foster family are ‘a
good match’ for the young person to ensure the placement will
be successful.
There
are many reasons why young people are not able to live with their own
parents. This may include family breakdown, parent’s drug and
alcohol problems, abuse and neglect, physical and mental illness or
family breakdown. Because of this, the young person in need of foster
care has often experienced a lot of emotional upheaval, loss and
rejection. The move from a familiar environment into an unknown one
therefore may not always be easy. The young person may have lost trust
in adults or family life generally, have low self esteem and display
behaviours which are a result of coming to terms with previous abuse
and difficult experiences.
