Barnardos' Find-A-Family centres are located in Sydney, Canberra, Hunter/Newcastle and the Central Coast and South Coast of NSW, offering an integrated service of adoption and permanent family care to children requiring long-term placement.
Find-a-Family offers adoption and permanent family care to children who have been removed from their birth families by the Court because it is not safe for them to remain at home. Find-a-Family has a strong permanency planning focus, but there is also an emphasis on maintaining birth family relationships which are important to children in care.
The underlying principles of Barnardos' Find-a-Family program are that a secure family environment provides best for the needs of the child. In addition, children require stability in a placement with the same carers to develop to their full potential and to establish relationships based on trust. The first priority of Barnardos is always to provide for the needs of the child.
Find-a-Family works only with children between 0-12 years who have been permanently removed from their birth families. The program specialises in finding successful placements for children who may be part of large sibling groups or have specific requirements.
Canberra Find-a-Family includes a wider range of children some of whom will be restored to their birth families.
Geographic coverage
Find-a-Family covers the Sydney metropolitan area, Illawarra and Shoalhaven, and Hunter and Central Coast areas. There are centres in Ashfield in the inner west of Sydney, Gosford on the Central Coast, St Marys in the West, Shellharbour in the Illawarra, and Hamilton in Newcastle. A program in Canberra is managed by the Canberra Children’s Family Centre.
Barnardos’ success
Barnardos attributes our 90% success rate with long-term care placements to the careful matching of individual children with a particular carer. Matched Placements, along with Barnardos’ supervision and carer support and training programs, ensure that the placement has the best chance of success. Respite Care programs provide regular relief to carers and bridging placements ensure that a child receives excellent temporary care while they wait for a suitable long-term carer or family to be found.
Barnardos’ innovative Looking After Children program (now known as MyStory) ensures continuity and stability for a child during short and long-term placements.
Carers
Carers receive a formal introductory training program and ongoing professional training and support. Carers can be a single person, families or couples, but previous experience in child-rearing is very useful.
All carers are assessed and matched by Barnardos welfare workers and undergo extensive interviews, background and police checks and training.
Adoption
Adoption is the legal process where the new parent or parents take on all the rights and responsibilities of the birth parents. Adoption is a very successful outcome for many children who have been permanently removed from their birth family. Adoption provides a crucial sense of reassurance, permanency and belonging to a child which enables them to begin the slow healing process from the trauma of separation, abuse and neglect within a safe and nurturing family environment.
Contact information:
Find-a-Family Central Coast
131-135 Henry Parry Drive Gosford NSW 2250
PO Box 2239 Gosford NSW 2250
Tel: 02 4324 9411
Fax: 02 4324 9477
Find-a-Family Illawarra
21a Addison St Shellharbour NSW 2529
PO Box 4026 Shellharbour NSW 2529
Tel: 02 4297 0670
Fax: 02 4297 2077
Find-a-Family Kotara
Suite 2, Level 2, OTP House
10 Bradford Close, Kotara, 2289
Tel: 02 4908 3200
Fax: 02 4957 5728
Find-a-Family Sydney
Level 4 / 2 Holden St Ashfield NSW 2131
PO Box 455 Ashfield NSW 1800
Tel: 02 8596 5000
Fax: 02 9797 0108
Find-a-Family Western Sydney
1/54 Henry Street, Penrith NSW 2750
PO Box 835, Penrith NSW 2751
Tel: 02 4761 3340
Fax: 02 4761 3397
Canberra
Please visit our ACT Together website acttogether.org.au or call 1300 WE FOSTER
