Intercountry Adoption Service newsletter December 2011
Manager notes
The end of the year is fast approaching and it is always a good time to reflect on the last 12 months and what has been achieved.
One of the priorities for ICAS this year has been to improve the communication and relationships between the program and approved families. To this end there has been a focus on establishing regular contacts between families and ICAS Case Workers and offering non mandatory educational opportunities. This focus will continue and improve throughout 2012.
Jackie Jonas has returned to us from extended leave and has taken over responsibility for delivering workshops to approved families and would welcome any ideas for additional topics.
To date, two workshops for approved families ‘Reconnecting with ICAS’ have been held with much success and positive feedback. There are plans to offer these bi-monthly throughout 2012 and information will be posted out to all those eligible to attend, early in the New Year.
Jackie’s role is also to work with Adult Adoptees who return to the service to access and seek information. Jackie will work hand in hand with the Family Network and Discovery Service (the program responsible and delegated to release Adoption Records). Jackie will also provide the conduit to the overseas program and make contact and seek relevant information. Adult Adoptees often decide to travel back to the birth country and Jackie is able to facilitate these arrangements with the overseas programs.
ICAS has been privileged to travel overseas on a number of occasions over the last 12 months and has found these opportunities invaluable in establishing and maintaining relationships with our overseas colleagues. In addition we have been able to gain a greater insight into the needs of the children requiring adoption by Victorian families.
Katie Brown, Manager ICAS
Staffing
We welcome back Jackie Jonas from leave to the ICAS team.
Amelia McDermott has joined the ICAS team on a short term contract after completing her Master’s of Social Work.
Cathy Anderson is on leave until early February.
| Katie Brown: | Manager |
| Julie Raunik: | Manager – ICAS Intake |
| Cathy Anderson: | Overseas Liaison Social Worker (OLSW)India, The Philippines, Ethiopia, Korea, Chile and Sri Lanka |
| Fiona Sampson: | Overseas Liaison Social Worker (OLSW)China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Lithuania, and Poland |
| Margaret Evans: | Senior Social Worker |
| Penny Mackieson: | Senior Social Worker |
| Leander Nigli: | Senior Social Worker |
| Liz Down: | Senior Social Worker |
| Liz Baird: | Intake & Screening Coordinator |
| Liz Down: | Senior Social Worker |
| Jackie Jonas: | Senior Social Worker |
Foster care/Home based care
The ICAS continues to encourage all those contemplating or seeking to adopt a child through the Intercountry Adoption Service, to consider whether they have the ability to provide care for children through the local foster care or permanent care programs.
The children requiring care within Victoria have been removed from their families due to concerns of abuse and/or neglect or because their parents are not coping and require a range of support which may include short term or respite care. There is always a need for more foster and permanent carers to ensure children can be matched with the family best able to meet their needs and assist them develop their potential.
Whilst often being very challenging, foster care can also provide many rewards for people able to provide a nurturing, safe and stable environment for children emotionally damaged and traumatised by their life experiences. Permanent care aims to offer children long term stability with a family committed to them over their life time and an opportunity of seeing and understanding a different reality to their early experiences.
Recent legislative change has facilitated a focus on the needs and rights of children to stability and security and prioritises their well being. Alternative families are required to ensure that this vision is possible.
Please see the contact list for both Permanent Care and Foster Care providers.
ICAS applicants often find that becoming foster carers is a useful and valuable way to develop skills and expertise in parenting vulnerable children.
Policies
As at 13 December 2011, the applicant medical assessment report has been updated to include non-invasive screening for bowel cancer for all prospective applicants aged 50 years and over. This policy has been adopted by the Local Adoption and Permanent Care Teams and is now consistent practice.
It is important that applicants and prospective applicants continue to monitor the ICAS website for the latest information.
Post Placement Support Service (Victoria) Inc.
The Post Placement Support Service (PPSS) continues to offer support and assistance to families that have an adopted child. ICAS urge all ICAS families both those already placed with children and those waiting, to join PPSS.
If you would like to become a member of PPSS (membership is free), or you wish to know more about other services and forums offered by PPSS, please email: info@ppss.org.au
Friendly reminder
For ICAS to be able to communicate with you effectively, we ask that you ensure that any changes to your personal details, including email and mobile telephone numbers be passed onto ICAS as soon as possible. Information can be given to ICAS through our duty service 9-5pm weekdays on Ph 8608 5700.
Applicants and potential applicants are encouraged to ring and speak with their Senior Social Worker for specific program updates and to advise of changes to personal circumstances.
Statistics
Disclaimer: These statistics are indicative for year to date – minor variations can occur due to withdrawal of child placement proposals or withdrawal of applicants.
Explanatory notes
Complex Special Needs is a description for a placement type where the child proposed presents with additional needs from those children in the general programs. These needs could be medical, emotional and/or developmental and are categorised as significant by both the overseas country and ICAS.
Non Specific is a description for a placement type in which Victoria has been approached to place a child who has been unable to be matched both overseas and/or in Australia for a local adoption. From time to time, ICAS receives these requests and from its pool of applicants and depending on their approval eligibility, will recommend an applicant for consideration of matching.
| Country | Nos | Complex Special Needs | Non Specific | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | |||||
| Chile | |||||
| China special needs | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| China | 2 | 2 | |||
| Ethiopia | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Hong Kong | |||||
| India | |||||
| Korea | 2 | 2 | |||
| Lithuania | |||||
| Philippines | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sri Lanka | |||||
| Taiwan | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total | 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
5.4 Child arrivals by child's country of birth
| Chile |
|
| China |
4 |
| Ethiopia |
|
| Hong Kong |
1 |
| India |
|
| Lithuania |
|
| Korea |
|
| Philippines |
3 |
| Sri Lanka |
|
| Taiwan |
1 |
| Thailand |
|
| Total |
9 |
6. Applications
6.1 Files overseas and awaiting child placement proposal
| Chile |
|
| China |
39 |
| Ethiopia |
8 |
| Hong Kong |
2 |
| India |
9 |
| Lithuania |
1 |
| Korea |
4 |
| Philippines |
4 |
| Sri Lanka |
1 |
| Taiwan |
2 |
| Thailand |
14 |
| Total |
84 |
6.2 Total approved adoption files waiting to be sent overseas: 13
6.3 Total approved adoption files awaiting a child placement proposal: 97
7. Post placement supervision and support in progress
37 children and families
8. Legalisation of adoptions completed in the County Court of Victoria
18
9. Finalisation of adoptions completed
7
Intake and screening update
Pre-entry list
There are currently 84 households registered on the ICAS Pre-Entry List as at 31 October 2011 with an anticipated 12 households to be withdrawn from the list in early November. (The result of an intake of applicants to the ICAS program)
The focus of the work undertaken in the Intake stage of the ICAS process continues to be the rigorous screening for eligibility of potential applicants to the program prior to registration on the Pre-Entry Waiting List. We strive to work closely with all registered families to continue to build on their knowledge and understanding of the Intercountry Adoption process and the special needs and characteristics of the children requiring foreign adoption.
Education programs
1 targeted intake and education program has been completed and 1 is in process at the time of writing this report. Both programs were targeted at applications for older children (4 + years) with special needs.
In March 2011, 11 couples completed the education program and all proceeded to the assessment phase. (2 Applications were for second or subsequent adoptions). Of these, to date 3 assessments have been completed with files prepared for the Taiwan and Hong Kong programs, with the remaining assessments near completion for China Special Needs, Hong Kong and Taiwan programs.
The second intake program commenced in September 2011 with 17 households attending the mandatory application information meeting. 11 households went on to make formal application of which 3 were second and or subsequent adoption applications. These applicants will proceed to our mandatory education program commencing on Monday 7 November and concluding on Monday 5th December.
Planning for intake programs for 2012 has commenced.
Information sessions
5 of the 6 scheduled information sessions for the year have been completed. With the exception of one session, they are all fully subscribed with a small but steady number proceeding to register their expressions of interest to proceed to the pre-entry list. We have continued to refine the information presented at this session as the trend to a special needs adoption program continues.
Julie Raunik - Manager, Intake and Screening
Country updates
China
The wait continues to be very long for applicants who have a file in the mainstream China program. The minimum wait for a child referral now exceeds 5 years - this is expected to continue to grow for waiting applicants in the mainstream program. In Victoria, we have received only child referrals through the mainstream program in 2011. By contrast, there is a growing need for suitable families for children in the Special Needs program.
In Victoria, we currently have 36 files in the mainstream program waiting for referral. Over the last 3 years, more than 70 Victorian applications have withdrawn from the China mainstream program, primarily due to the lengthening wait.
The China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption have matched files with a log in date up to 7 August 2006. On average over the last three years, it has taken the CCCWA 12 months to process approximately 8-12 weeks of logged in files. There continues to be a large number of waiting applicant files worldwide in the mainstream program and diminishing numbers of children requiring adoption through the mainstream program. There are also a number of developments and changes in China that have impacted on the diminishing number of children requiring Intercountry adoption including improvements to early intervention and child welfare in China, local adoption and foster care in China and an easing of the One Child Policy in China.
Victoria commenced working with the On-Line Special needs program in 2009. There is strong demand for suitable families for children in this program with approximately 1500 children waiting for a family. To date, 8 Victorian families have been matched with children through this new program and there are a number of applicants currently in the process of making application to the special needs program. CCCWA has advised that single female applicants may be permitted to make application to this special needs program providing eligibility criteria is met. Interested prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Fiona Sampson at ICAS (8608-5700) to discuss this program further.
The China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption has recently also introduced improvements for post placement reporting requirements, now requiring post placement reporting to occur over a 6 year period, post adoption. This means that the ICAS will be responsible for ongoing post placement support visits and reporting to CCCWA over this period.
All new and existing applicants to the China program should also note that it is a requirement that applicants provide their full driving history to ICAS at either the time of making application or at reassessment. In order to do this, applicants must contact VICROADS (or the relevant State Traffic authority for any applicants who have resided interstate). Applicants with less than 5 records of traffic law violations with no severe outcomes will be considered by CCCWA on a case by case basis.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Program is now active again and a number of placement proposals have been received across the Australian States and Territories including 2 placement proposals for Victorian families in recent months. There is an update on the Attorney General’s website about the outcome of the delegation trip by staff from the AGD to Ethiopia in October-November 2011. Prospective applicants are encouraged to check the ‘What’s New’ page for further details: www.agd.gov.au
ICAS is still not in a position at this stage to accept new applications for the Ethiopian program as there is still a backlog of files within Victoria approved and waiting to be sent. Once new placement proposals are received in Victoria, ICAS will be able to review the restructured program with Ethiopia and provide further information at that time.
Hong Kong
Victoria continues to work with two agencies, International Social Services and Po Leung Kuk. There have been 4 placements of children from Hong Kong to Victorian families over the last 24 months. The profile of children requiring adoption from Hong Kong includes children over the age of 6 years and children with identified medical needs and developmental delays.
Victoria currently has 2 waiting files for referral and has 1 family waiting to travel to Hong Kong. In addition there are a small number of new applicant files currently being processed for the Hong Kong program.
India
This program is currently on hold by the Attorney General’s Department. During October 2010, a decision was made by the Attorney-General to place a temporary hold on sending new applications to India. This decision was made in response to current investigations being undertaken by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation in relation to illegal adoptions. (For further information regarding the status of this program, please refer to the Attorney-General’s Department website: www.ag.gov.au) The hold on sending new files is still in place.
For this reason, the Victorian Intercountry Adoption Service is unable to accept any new applications for this program.
Children requiring adoption include those with special needs, older children up to the age of nine years, and sometimes sibling groups. Infants aged between 12 months and two years old at matching are able to be placed for adoption in India and are generally not referred for Intercountry adoption.
Victoria currently has 9 files waiting for matching in India. Additionally, there are 3 families waiting to travel to India who have been matched with children. Waiting times between accepting a placement proposal and travel is lengthy and likely to be approx 12 months.
Lithuania
Victoria currently has 1 file in Lithuania waiting for referral. This is a small program with Victoria having only 1 child referral over the last 6 years.
Prospective applicants must anticipate a wait of at least 6-8 years for matching with a child, depending on the age and needs of the child matched. Children in need of Intercountry adoption from Lithuania are typically over the age of 6 years.
Prospective adoptive parents interested in adopting from Lithuania should be aware of the high level of need of these children. All children placed through this program will have significant challenges and potential health problems relating to their background experiences that are likely to include institutionalisation, multiple caregivers, parental drug/alcohol use, mental illness and possible exposure to drugs/alcohol in-utero resulting in foetal alcohol syndrome. As a result of their background experiences, children requiring adoption through this program will have special needs and are likely to have delays in their development, psychiatric conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress disorder, multiple behavioural disorders, suffered abuse or neglect resulting in their removal from their birth family, delayed speech and will have significant attachment challenges. In addition, as a result of their institutionalisation and early care experiences, children requiring adoption through this program may present with an array of challenging behaviours such as aggression, anxiety and/or overly competitive behaviours.
Philippines
Due to the declining numbers of younger children requiring Intercountry adoption and the large numbers of files in the Philippines for younger children, ICAB introduced in May 2009 a moratorium on any new applications from prospective adoptive parents wishing to be considered for a child under the age of 24 months. This moratorium continues to remain in place, and there has been no recent advice regarding when or if the moratorium will be lifted. Therefore, applications will only be accepted from applicants who are able to be considered for a child over the age of 25 months.
There are 4 Victorian files waiting to be matched in this program. In 2011, there have been 4 children placed with Victorian families and there are currently 2 Victorian families waiting to travel to the Philippines who have been matched with children.
South Korea
The 2011 Victorian quota of files for Korea have all been forwarded to ESWS. Through the Attorney-General’s Department, it has been established that there continues to be extensive delays for ESWS in obtaining exit permits for Korean children being adopted overseas. The Korean Government is continuing to work towards Korean born children requiring care to remain in their birth country and therefore restricts the number of children that can be placed for Intercountry adoption. Therefore it is difficult to predict the impact of this on future quotas and waiting times.
Victoria has received 2 child referrals in 2011 for applicants to the South Korea program and has 4 files remain to be matched.
Sri Lanka
This is a small program and available only to applicants where one or both applicants are of Sri Lankan ethnicity. Applicants must expect to wait over 2 years for matching with a child. Whilst files where only one applicant is Sri Lankan may be accepted, the couple may wait longer for matching with a child. The Department of Probation and Child Care is the government body responsible for processing adoption in Sri Lanka and they have recently advised that there are currently very small numbers of children requiring foreign adoption.
In Victoria, there is 1 file presently waiting for matching and in the last 2 years, there has been 1 child placed with a Victorian family.
Taiwan
Victoria continues to work with two agencies in Taiwan, the Christian Salvation Service and the Child Welfare League Foundation. In Victoria, we currently have 2 files waiting for referral with a number of other new applications being processed. We also have 1 family waiting to travel to Taiwan who have been matched and have had 2 families placed with children in 2011.
There continues to be a need for applications to this program for children with additional needs such as developmental delays, children over the age of 3 years, children with complex family backgrounds and children with medical special needs. Prospective applicants should check the eligibility criteria in the ICAS information kit for further details.
Thailand
A moratorium for new applications continues to be enforced by the Department of Social Development and Welfare (DSDW) in Thailand. This is in response to the large number of applicant files already waiting in Thailand and the decreasing numbers of children requiring Intercountry adoption from Thailand. ICAS has not received any formal advice about when the moratorium will be lifted and at this stage, ICAS is not planning for further intake to the Thai program for 2012.
In Victoria, there are 13 files waiting for referral in Thailand, comprising 3 non quota (applications for children aged over 4 years) and 10 quota files (applications for children aged up to 4 years). In 2011, there have been 2 child referrals for Victorian families. In 2010, there were 3 child referrals and in 2009, there were also 3 referrals.
The wait for referral has extended now to approximately 4 years. DSDW has advised that there has been a decline in the numbers of children requiring Intercountry adoption, particularly healthy infants. There continues to be a need for suitable families for children with special needs, medical issues such as HIV and tuberculosis and children from complex family backgrounds such as incestuous relationships.
DSDW has recently confirmed that families with 2 or more children are unlikely to be matched with a subsequent child, as these families are considered to be ‘complete’.
Fiona Sampson, Overseas Liaison Social Worker
Reconnecting with ICAS workshops
The new 'Reconnecting with ICAS' workshops have been developed for all approved applicants. The workshop aims to offer support to applicants through their intercountry adoption journey as well as information on the current status of intercountry adoption and information on specific country programs. There is also a session focussing on caring for children with special needs and opportunities for applicants to clarify any matters they may have. We aim to make the day as interesting and informative as possible with guest speakers, including adoptees, adoptive parents and parent support group representatives.
A letter will be mailed out in early 2012 inviting people to register for one of the sessions in 2012.
For further information please contact Jackie Jonas on 8608 5700.
The 10th Australian Adoption conference
The 10th Australian Adoption Conference will be held in Melbourne on the 22nd and 23rd October 2012. Australian Adoption Conferences are held every four years and are hosted by the Australian States on a rotational basis. The Conference is an opportunity for adoption professionals from Australia and overseas, and for individuals and families affected by adoption, to meet to:
- Discuss current legal, ethical, and practice issues;
- Provide accounts/testimonials of adoptees’ life journeys throughout the life cycle;
- Share research and new understandings about adoption; and
- Network and share information.
The Victorian Adoption Conference in 2012 will:
- Provide a forum to highlight adoption services, trends, and developments in local adoption; and
- Broaden the focus to include issues around the role of adoption and permanent care with children and special needs, and children in out of home care.
The Conference will provide opportunities:
- For researchers, practitioners, and members of the adoption and permanent care community to present information;
- For participants to learn from the new research, information, and ideas presented; and
- To contribute to community knowledge about adoption policy and practice by publishing the papers presented to conference in an accessible and enduring form.
Delegation visits to the Philippines, August 2011
I was fortunate enough to travel to the Philippines in August this year, in order to attend the 11th Global Consultation on Child Welfare Services held in Makati City, Manila from 17 – 19th of August 2011. In addition to attending and participating in the conference, I represented the Australian State and Territory Central Authorities as part of an Australian delegation together with Ms Virginia Wilson the representative from the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department (Australian Central Authority) at formal meetings with the Intercountry Adoption Board of the Philippines, and the Australian Embassy in Manila.
Photo: Australian delegates meeting the Intercountry members of the Adoption Board of the Philippines (ICAB)
I was also invited to meet with the directors of the Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines, meet with the Secretariat of the Intercountry Adoption Board of the Philippines (ICAB) - Attorney Bernadette Abejo and ICAB Senior Social Worker Ms Gina Escalant
e, attend and observe the operation of the Intercountry Placement Committee (the process of matching children requiring adoption with approved adoptive applicants to the Philippines) and was able to visit two children’s homes and meet with their directors.
The focus of this year's conference was the illegal trafficking of children from the Philippines. To this end, Ms Wilson presented a paper which outlined the work done by Australian Central Authorities addressing child trafficking in the context of Intercountry Adoption. In addition the conference presenters showcased the reforms and amendments to the Philippine Adoption Law and highlighted the increasing need for adoptive families to consider placement of older children and children with complex and significant special needs.
The opening, closing and conference dinner ceremonies all featured performances by the children from various orphanages in and around Manila. They performed with exuberance and pride and all sported wide beaming smiles. On the final day a very special and moving piece was performed by the children from The Chosen Home. All of these children have moderate to profound special needs. They performed to resounding applause and a standing ovation.
On the second night of the conference, all participating countries are invited to prepare and perform a cultural representation of their country. The Australian effort was well received, not only for the rousing rendition of the "Vegemite" jingle complete with audience participation via a vegemite tasting, but more profoundly as a response to the DVD prepared by Victorian member families of ICARN. This short movie comprised of footage of the children adopted from the Philippines and their families attending various ICARN social and cultural events over the course of the year and was set to the music of "We are Australian". There was not a dry eye in the house. Compliments were forthcoming particularly from the directors and staff of child caring agencies who clearly recognised the children and families who had adopted from their organisations. There were many requests for copies of the film!
Through discussions with the ICAB board and other participating members of the Asia Pacific Region, it was made clear that at this time, the moratorium on the sending of new applications for children aged 0 - 2 years would not be lifted. The Board strongly encouraged all receiving countries to focus on the recruitment of families able to accommodate the needs of children with special needs.
I was also privileged to be able to visit two orphanages whilst in Manila - Gentle Hands and White Cross Child Caring Agencies. The directors from both centres, Ms Charity Graff (Gentle Hands) and Ms Mely Vargas-Reluya were extremely welcoming and offered me extensive tours of the centres and their facilities. Both centres have placed many children with Australian families and staff complimented the Australian Families' commitment to returning to the Philippines and keeping their children connected to their Filipino culture. The directors of both centres did however echo the themes of the ICAB and stated that the overwhelming majority of children that require placement are significantly older and have medical and other special needs. They are hopeful that more Australian families will be able to consider adopting these children. I was able to present a copy of the ICARN DVD to each of the directors who were extremely grateful for this token of our appreciation.
The delegation visit to the Philippines was successful on several levels: the immeasurable benefit of face to face meetings and developing and enhancing relationships to the betterment of the operational program between our countries; the opportunity to observe and understand the practice of matching and approval for both foreign and domestic adoption in the Philippines and the opportunities to share learning and practice experience with intercountry adoption programs from around the world including the Government of the Philippines.
More broadly, the ability to observe and experience the life of children requiring adoption in the orphanage environment, enhances the practice ability of our program to prepare and support families travelling to the Philippines to meet their adopted child and complete adoption formalities.
Julie Raunik - Manager, Intake and Screening
Adoption support groups
Parent Support groups offer applicants a practical way of connecting to other like-minded people adopting an Intercountry child. It is a source of great knowledge about the country of origin for children as well as an
opportunity for travel information once you have been matched with a child. Many families also find it helpful to maintain contact with the parent support groups as a means of meeting with other people at the same stage of the process of adoption. Many support groups offer a range of social and educative forums that will provide you with invaluable insight in to the needs of overseas children requiring adoption. ICAS strongly recommends that families consider joining a support group. Please see below for relevant contact details:
|
Australian African Children's Aid and Support Association (AACASA) Phone: 58271345 or (m) 0438 550 822 |
Families with Children from China - Australia (FCC) PO Box 13143 Members only site Public site For families wishing to find out more about FCC or join please contact: |
|
Intercountry Adoption Resource Network (Australia) (ICARN) Box 12238 Phone: 9898 9625 |
Australian Society for Intercountry Aid (Children) of Victoria (ASIAC) PO Box 189 Phone: 9808 6613 |
| Post Placement Support Group Email: info@ppss.org.au |
Korean Adoptive Families – Han Ho President: Charlie Salloum Please email: president@kaf.org.au |
| Inter-Country Adoptee Support Network (ICASN) Please visit website: www.icasn.org/ |
Suggested reading
Barth, R.P. & Brooks, D. (2008). A longitudinal study of family structure and size and adoption outcomes. Adoption Quarterly 1(1), pp. 29-56.
Phillips, N.K. (1999). Adoption of a sibling: Reactions of biological children at different stages of development. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 69(1), pp. 122-126.
Siblings: Biological Siblings of Adopted Children. Available online at www.fairfamilies.org/newsfromfair/1993/93SmrVoicesSiblings.htm
Tan, T.X. (2008). Impact of biological children’s adjustment on their siblings who were adopted from China. Adoption Quarterly 11(4), pp. 278-295.
Ward, M. & Lewko, J.H. (1987) Adolescents in families adopting older children: Implications for service. Child Welfare 66(6), pp. 539-547.
Ward, M. & Lewko, J.H. (1988) Problems experienced by adolescents already in families that adopt older children. Adoelscence 23(89), pp. 221- 228.
In closing
The ICAS team wishes you and your families all the best for the festive season. We hope that you have a peaceful holiday and enjoy any break that you may have.
ICAS continues to operate throughout the holiday season excluding the Public Holidays. A Duty service continues to operate from 9am to 5pm on all days.
Merry Christmas
Katie Brown and the staff at ICAS
Contact list
Adoption and Permanent Care
Victoria has an ongoing need for permanent carers and foster carers for Victorian children. Local Adoptions, including special needs adoption do occur, however the number of children requiring Local Adoption is limited.
Local out-of-home care programs are different to Intercountry Adoptions in many ways, but there are increasing similarities in terms of the needs of the children. Consideration of these is critical in making a decision about which option to pursue and more information can be accessed via the relevant Community Service Organisations delivering these services. Contact details for both permanent care and foster care are supplied below:
| Adoption and Permanent Care Programs | |
|---|---|
|
Hume Region Phone: (03) 58321500 |
Barwon-South Western Region 2nd floor, Cnr Fenwick & Phone: (03) 522 64540 |
|
North and West Metropolitan Region Connections Phone: (03) 9521 5666 |
North and West Region 41 Somerville Road, |
|
Gippsland Region 65 Church Street Phone: (03) 5133 9998 |
Loddon Mallee Region 175-187 Hargreaves Street Phone: (03) 5440 1100 |
|
Grampians Region 115 Lydiard Street North, Phone: (03) 5337 3333 |
Statewide 3 Wingfield Street Phone: (03) 9689 3888 |
Foster care
The Victorian Foster Care Hotline is toll free and run by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. Lines are open 24 hours a day to provide information and referral to your nearest foster care provider.
Toll free hotline: 1800 013 088
