MORE Hunter foster carers are urgently needed to support Indigenous children who have been removed from their families.
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Cardiff-based Muloobinba Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Petrice Manton said her organisation received between one and six NSW Department of Communities and Justice referrals each day about Indigenous children who needed to be placed with carers.
"Most of the time we're saying no because we just don't have the carer capacity to take all the kids," Ms Manton said.
She said the organisation had around 40 carers looking after around 60 children, but desperately needed more.
"Every agency is in the same boat - you can't have enough carers," she said.
"If we had 100 carers that would be lovely. Would it meet the demand? Possibly not."
Ms Manton said Aboriginal children accounted for around 45 per cent of children in the state's care system.
She said there were several reasons why children needed to go into care, including financial pressures, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, mental health issues and difficulties coping with special or high needs.
She said in most cases, children needed a safe place to live in the short-term, while the organisation worked with a child's family on the problems that contributed to their removal, with the aim of reunification.
She said more needed to be done in early intervention to support families before children needed to be removed and to get to know extended families so that children could live with relatives, not strangers.
"If carers aren't Aboriginal, but they're very much known and accepted in the community, then we're looking for those people as well," she said.
"That's our role as an organisation, to be able to support carers to maintain the cultural connections of the kids who are placed with them."
Ms Manton said children were matched to carers, who came from a range of backgrounds, experiences and families. She said carers often gave children their first taste of routine and boundaries.
"You do see kids really thrive when they do have those... and feel safe and loved," she said.
"They just give those kids an opportunity in life."
She said children often stayed in touch with carers when they returned to their parents.
"They've changed their life, they've been a person at the most critical time of their life and they've been a safe place and they've been a nurturer and a wonderful carer and kids don't forget that."
Ms Manton said Muloobinba conducted probity checks and rigorously assessed each carer applicant, who received training, especially around trauma.
She said each child had a case worker and each carer had access to a support team.
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