Out-of-homeÂ
care
Children and young people living in out‑of‑home care need stable, nurturing environments that support their safety, healing, and development. We recognise the importance of the relationships around them, and the role these networks play in helping children feel safe, connected, and understood, as well as the need for therapeutic care that responds to their individual experiences.
Across our programs, we work alongside carers and care teams to strengthen the environments around children and young people, provide therapeutic assessments and counselling, and build trauma‑informed, developmentally responsive care. Our approach promotes safety, belonging, and positive pathways for children and young people in out‑of‑home care.
To learn more about each program please contact us.
ACT & New South Wales
Trauma-informed therapeutic support for children and young people living in out-of-home-care
We provide intensive therapeutic supports and interventions for children, young people, their families, and carers to help them live safely at home or, when that isn’t possible, to thrive in permanent, culturally safe, and therapeutically supported environments.
Our goal is to strengthen the relationships around each child or young person and promote placement stability. We work with parents, carers, families, and professional networks to build capacity and support protective, restorative outcomes.
Our service model offers an integrated, flexible therapeutic approach tailored to each child’s needs. Therapeutic Specialists centre children and young people in their practice, engaging families and communities with respect, empowerment, and a focus on belonging, identity, and hope.
We work alongside First Nations children, young people, families, and communities with cultural humility and deep respect for cultural knowledge. We prioritise strong cultural identity and connection, ensuring cultural stories, relationships, and community links remain central to healing and wellbeing.
Supporting placement stability for children and young people in foster and kinship care
The OurSPACE program in New South Wales provides specialist outreach therapeutic trauma support to children and young people under 16, who are living in out-of-home care in either foster or kinship care. We aim to strengthen relationships around each child or young person and promote safe, stable placements.
Using a care‑team approach, we collaborate with all key people involved in the child’s life, including caseworkers, carers, family, school staff, and other services. We also provide direct therapeutic trauma counselling to children and carers across NSW, moving with the child regardless of their placement location. Our team includes both Aboriginal and non‑Aboriginal Therapeutic Specialists, ensuring culturally strong, trauma‑responsive support tailored to each child’s needs.
[Download brochure – https://www.childhood.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ACF648-OurSPACE-Flyer-v9.pdf]
Therapeutic support for children and young people in kinship care
Therapeutic Kinship Care is delivered by a team embedded within a broader network providing therapeutic support to children and young people in out‑of‑home care. We work alongside kinship carers to strengthen safety, stability, and connection for children living with family or community members. We believe that young people, families, and communities share a fundamental right to shape their own lives.
As a national leader in trauma‑informed counselling and support, we are deeply committed to the safety, healing, and wellbeing of children and young people. Support is provided by an experienced team who centre each child’s needs, promoting their sense of belonging, cultural identity, and connection to family, community, and culture.
Tasmania
Therapeutic support for children, young people, and carers in out‑of‑home care
The Out-of-Home Care Therapeutic Program provides therapeutic support for children and young people living in out‑of‑home care, and guidance for the carers who support them. Delivered through four complementary service streams, the program offers wraparound support that strengthens caregiving environments, builds therapeutic capacity, and promotes safe, stable, and trauma‑informed care.
Therapeutic Specialists offer short‑term consultation to assess the needs of the child and the broader care system, meeting with carers to provide immediate guidance. Carer support includes training that builds understanding of trauma, development, and attachment, helping carers develop therapeutic parenting skills before counselling commences. Once safety and stability are established, counselling is offered to children and caregivers to strengthen relationships, support emotional regulation, and guide trauma recovery. The program also provides systems‑level training to foster carers and staff to strengthen trauma‑informed practice and promote consistent therapeutic responses across care environments.
Victoria
Therapeutic home‑based care support for children and young people entering out‑of‑home care
The Circle Therapeutic Home‑based Care Program works in partnership with organisations providing home‑based care and supports children and young people who are new entrants to care or who have been in care for less than two years and experienced previous placement breakdowns. Each partnership is guided by a formal protocol that outlines the program’s principles and practice expectations.
Core program functions include training and accrediting foster carers into the Circle program, assessing children and young people and developing therapeutic plans to guide interventions, and providing clinical leadership within care teams.
Therapeutic support for young people with complex needs in foster care
The Equip program, delivered in partnership with Upper Murray Family Care in Albury and Wodonga, provides intensive therapeutic counselling for young people with complex behaviours who need support to reconnect and remain within a foster care placement.
Our Therapeutic Specialists support young people who have complex needs and challenging behaviours, helping carers understand the impacts of trauma and respond in ways that strengthen safety, stability, and connection. The Equip program aims to maintain home-based care placements and reduce the risk of young people entering residential care.
Therapeutic support for carers of children and young people in out-of-home-care with complex needs
The Treatment and Care for Kids Program (TrACK) provides intensive therapeutic support for carers supporting children and young people with complex needs and challenging behaviours. By strengthening carers’ understanding of children’s behaviours and underlying trauma, the program aims to enhance placement stability and increase security and continuity of care.
Our Therapeutic Specialists also provide direct therapeutic support to children and young people where required.
TrACK is delivered in partnership with Anglicare Victoria, who manage foster care placements.
Therapeutic care for children and young people in kinship and foster placements
The Wraparound Care Program is delivered in partnership with Gippsland East and Gippsland Aboriginal Co- operative (GEGAC). The team work with children and young people aged 0 – 18 who are in GEGAC home‑based or kinship care placements and require short or long‑term therapeutic support.
In addition to direct therapeutic work, the program provides secondary consultation and training to care teams, along with monthly reflective practice sessions for kinship and foster care staff. This supports capability development, strengthens trauma‑informed practice, and enhances the overall care environment for children and young people.
Western Australia
Therapeutic foster care that strengthens safety, connection, and healing
For more than 25 years, we have delivered specialist therapeutic programs supporting children and young people living in foster care. Children are at the centre of our work, and we support carers to build safe, stable, and healing home environments.
Our approach recognises carers as key partners in recovery, building shared understanding of the impacts of trauma and supporting strong, trusting relationships that support healing.
Foster families are supported by experienced Care Coordinators and Therapeutic Specialists, with a strong focus on relationships, stability, and cultural connection, while recognising that those closest to children know them best.
We offer training and support tailored to the changing needs of both children and carers. Every child receives a therapeutic assessment, ongoing advocacy, and therapeutic support. Every carer receives wraparound guidance to support them in meeting the needs of the child in their care.
Built on the message Ordinary People, Extraordinary Hearts, this program is open to carers across Perth, Western Australia.
[Learn more – https://www.childhood.org.au/foster-care/]
Counselling and support service for Department of Communities foster and kinship carers
OurSPACE WA is a counselling service for foster and family (kinship) carers across Western Australia. The team understands the joys and challenges of caring for children and young people in out of home care, and we believe that reaching out for support is a strength – particularly early on, when it can reduce stress and strengthen stability within the placement.
Our experienced counsellors listen to a carers story and what is important to them, so together we can decide on the best course of action. OurSPACE WA is respectful of carers beliefs and culture, and can provide support with carer wellbeing and mental health, placement challenges, communication with the care team, and therapeutic consultation to better meet children’s therapeutic needs.