Hi, I don't know if Vic is different, but my friends parents fostered children. I'm not sure if their DD's age had any affect, but all the children they took in were older than their DD.
They took in teens as most foster carers prefer younger children. Under 5. They did have one little special needs boy who was 5.
I know 2 others, all are different ages & all have children of different ages. My friends parents were over 40 & had their oldest DD pass at 14 the year before they started.
Another ended up as a single parent of her 2 plus the 5 she fostered, but the kids all stayed with her still til their parents decided they were ready to have them back. The other had a 6 month old baby when she started & the little boy she has is older than her baby DD.
In permanent care, most decisions on family suitability are made by the department (as opposed to adoption where birth families have greater input on who is selected) so your age will be less of an issue.
Having a child already will not stop you from being placed with another child. It will come down to if your family matches with a child they are looking for a family for.
Vic is a bit different to the other States, permanent care is not fostercare, but more similar to adoption. The difference between pc and adoption is in adoption the child has been 'voluntarily relinquished', and kids in pc have usually been removed from a family by the Courts.
Thanks everybody for replying and your great advice :
We are currently in the midst of education groups, very daunting but if we hadnt done it the first time around with ICA we wouldnt have our DD now, who is such a joy!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks