Any medical history that you are aware of
Description of the carer’s behaviour of concern: frequency of inappropriate behaviour or failure to collect a child; attendance in a drunk or drugged state
Description of the child’s behaviour of concern (e.g. sexually inappropriate behaviours), their frequency and severity
Family background
Are parents separated? Is there a Family Court Order e.g. for shared parenting?
Has the primary carer a partner or had many partners?
What is known about the functioning of the family; e.g. suspicions or evidence of violence, drug/alcohol abuse, mental health problems, inappropriate child care arrangements, agencies involved, previous reports made, and health factors?
How many children/people are in the household?
Have there been previous allegations of abuse?
History of care
Responses of parents and carers when concerns were raised
Whether parents took up referrals to relevant services
Supports put in place for the child/family
Previous reports or referrals made to child protection or other services
The involvement of other agencies
Previous discussions about the child with the line manager
Records available
The above is intended only as a guide and concerned staff should not delay about reporting if some of the information is not available. Although teachers and carers usually inform line managers of their intention to make a report, reports can be made anonymously. Some managers deter staff from fulfilling their legal obligations and should be reminded of the penalties that exist for failure to report45.
Working with children in out-of-home care
Teachers and early childhood professionals should be sensitive to the special needs of children in out-of-home care. They play an important role in the recovery of young children from abusive backgrounds. Foster-carers and relative-carers often say that because they are not the birth-parents, they are deprived of information about children’s progress and well-being in school. Some have to obtain the father’s permission for medical examinations and other essential services when the fathers are in jail for either abusing the child or murdering the mother. Some gain pleasure from exercising their power by withholding permission. Many carers complain of a lack of support from case-workers who are often very young, recent graduates who neither have the training, maturity nor skills to provide the necessary support when traumatised children exhibit extreme, emotionally disturbed behaviours. Given the rapid turnover of child protection staff, they may also lack the time to get to know the children.
Out-of-home-carers complain that teachers and the school system are inadequately informed for meeting the dire needs of these special children. They attribute this deficit to inadequate training and a lack of communication between case-workers and teachers. Foster-carers are leaving the service faster than they can be recruited because of the lack of support and their level of despair46,47.
Educators and care professionals should seek all relevant information about foster children by communicating with their carers and case workers. They obviously need to know if a child has a history of behaving sexually or violently, is an arsonist or has a serious health problem. It is not acceptable that some carers only learn that their foster child has HIV/AIDS or epilepsy from the pharmacist who handles the prescription. It is also important for carers and educators to be able to recognise the triggers for challenging behaviours and any strategies that have been used successfully. Carers may have this information.
Children in out-of-home-care often have multiple placements and can be two years behind their age-group in all aspects of the curriculum. Anglicare (South Australia) found this gap could be eliminated within two years with the help of volunteers who assisted with reading and numeracy and provided 1:1 attention.
If the child is in care because a parent is in hospital, the school can (in consultation with the carer and case-worker) help them to maintain contact by writing letters and sending drawings and photographs. Teachers should also consult the child’s previous teacher/school to try, as far as possible, to maintain continuity in the curriculum, especially important if the child may return to that school when the parent has recovered.
In addition, it is helpful if staff give these children a photographic record of their time at the school because some have so many moves that there are blanks in their memories of childhood. When photographs are taken, provide two copies – one for the child and one for the child’s department file. Invariably the child’s copy will be damaged or lost over time, but having access to the file copy, will help the child to maintain his/her identity and later piece together a life story.
The times when foster children are expected to participate in activities relating to families, their histories and Mother’s and Father’s Days can be challenging. These occasions often trigger flash-backs to bad experiences, which then have to be re-processed before they are able to engage normally again. Children who were removed from home when they were young may not know who is in their birth family and will not be able to provide expected information, particularly if they have been in multiple foster placements. It is important to discuss these activities with carers in advance, so that the children’s needs and responses can be managed unobtrusively.
Children who have had a series of schools and homes may test your limits to see how far they can go before being expelled. In trying to control what happens, some will test out the hypothesis that “If I behave badly enough they may send me back home”. They may test whether they are wanted by repeating the behaviour that caused them to be rejected in the past. Children who were physically abused may try to goad adults into hitting them to test their safety and reliability. Sex abuse victims may give the “come on” signals, acting in a sexually explicit way to gain attention and affection. Such behaviour can lead to the child being re-abused. These children need to know that they no longer have to behave in that way because they are safe.
The child who has been poorly attached in his own family may have difficulty in forming relationships. Carers note with concern that these children will “go to anybody” for attention and affection. The message to give is, “I care about you very much but that behaviour is unacceptable”.
Children arriving in the middle of the term may need adult assistance to gain acceptance when peer-groups are well established. If the adult works with the new child, others will be curious and join in. The adult can then gradually withdraw. It can also help to appoint a volunteer or buddy to “look after” the new arrival until s/he has settled. Teachers should also ensure that foster families and relative carers are included in discussions and that they receive invitations to school events.
Very occasionally adolescent foster children who have been sexually abused in the past will concoct false abuse allegations against carers, teachers or others in their lives if they dislike their rules or seek revenge for perceived wrongs. When they report their foster-carers, they are removed from the home immediately. This gives them the power they have lacked in their lives. False reports may also be encouraged by their own angry parents. We must remember however that some children are abused in foster care and their aIlegations must always be reported.
To protect yourself when caring for adolescent foster children you are advised to:
keep a log or diary noting incidents involving the child; if incidents escalate, inform your line manager and the case worker
ensure that all children in your care know that they must report sexual/rude behaviour, regardless of who is responsible
provide close supervision especially in sports changing-rooms, on excursions, camps and home-stays
ensure that children