Carer Support Team
The former Carer Information and Support Service (CISS) has had a name change, but continues to provide Carer Advocates as part of the Carer Support Team, reflecting the growth in offerings, opportunities and services to carers at FCAV.
Carer Advocates (formerly CISS)
- Provide information and advice to foster carers about navigating the Out of Home Care System
- Provide support and advocacy for foster carers when involved in a Client Incident Management System issues (CIMS)
- Liaison with foster carer’s agency, when necessary, to advocate for foster carers.
- Liaison with DFFH and other key stakeholders for individual advocacy
Carer Assistance Program (CAP)
This program services Foster carers, Permanent carers and Adoptive families to provide therapeutic short-term intervention delivered one-to-one, as couples or, in group therapeutic settings, on issues such as -
- anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation
- grief and loss
- emotional support during a CIMS investigative process
- parental stress
- system stress where placements are in jeopardy of breaking down
- thoughts of exiting the system
- relationship issues requiring joint/couple sessions
Learning and Development Programs
Provides learning and development opportunities for Foster, Kinship and Permanent carers such as -
- Question and Answer Online Sessions
- Webinars on Out of Home care specific knowledge i.e. access, respite
- Wellbeing Retreats
- Cultural Experiences to facilitate and inform the transition process for Kinship and Foster cares
- Chat with CEO Sessions for foster carers to raise practice issues and advocacy advice
- Chat with CEO sessions with agencies for advocacy advice
Our commitment to you
FCAV will not initiate discussions with any agencies or government departments without your expressed consent unless there is an immediate risk of harm to an identifiable person or persons, including a child or young person. All carer information utilised in the compilation of FCAV reports is de-identified to protect the identities of carers.
Contact us
Phone: (03) 9416-4292
The CS Team - Carer Advocates operate between: Monday - Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 4:30pm
This service is not available on public holidays.
- If you are a Kinship Carer, please contact Kinship Care Victoria (KCV), the peak body for Kinship Carers on 03 9372 2442 .
- If you are a Permanent Carer, please contact Permanent Care and Adoptive Families (PCA), the peak body for Permanent Carers on 03 9020 1833.
- If you are seeking information about becoming a Foster Carer, please contact Fostering Connections www.fosteringconnections.com.au or call 1800 013 088
Meet the Carer Support Team
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Carer Support Team Manager Tessa Hughes joined FCAV in 2016. Since then, the Carer Support service has expanded from providing information, support, and advocacy to a range of offerings for foster carers. During COVID, with the increased stresses placed on foster carers, there was an opportunity to expand services to include therapeutic counselling for foster carers. This program has continued to expand in recent years to include running therapeutic groups which have been successful and assisted many carers. In 2022, Permanent Care and Adoptive Families requested a similar offering for Permanent Carers which we facilitated and this year we are offering the group experience for this cohort too. This work has been a great partnership with PCA Families. Tessa manages the Learning and Development opportunities offered by FCAV and is passionate about Carer Wellbeing. Her greatest achievements have been managing weekend retreats for carers where they can restore and revitalise themselves. Tessa loves to travel and experience new wonders. Tessa works Monday - Friday |
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Carer Advocate Biba Dickson has been a member of the FCAV Carer Support Team team since 2010, having previously worked in Child Protection. Biba has a strong belief in empowering carers to navigate the foster care system to enable the best possible outcome for the children in their care. She also has a particular interest in the importance of support during the CIMS and Independent Investigation processes. Biba works Monday and Tuesday |
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Carer Advocate Leigh works Wednesday to Friday |
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Carer Advocate Kay Law joined FCAV in late 2022, has been a social worker in Hong Kong and has had 2 years' experience. She has worked with children and families developing therapeutic groups and is currently completing a Master of Social Work at RMIT to further expand and consolidate her skills and knowledge around strength-based approaches for carers. Kay is passionate about empowering and advocating for the rights of carers to assist them navigate the Out of Home Care system. Being polylingual, speaking English, Mandarin, Cantonese and some Korean, Kay is keen on supporting carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She has adopted a dog-like domestic shorthair cat Ballbi in September 22 and has become a cat person ever since. Kay works Tuesday to Thursday |
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Learning and Development Coordinator Deb Collard joined the FCAV as Project Co-ordinator with the Carer Support team in May 2017 having worked in home-based care for the previous 20 years. Deb grew up in a fostering family and is passionate about supporting foster carers. She brings a lifetime of foster care experience to her work which is currently focussed on the Learning and Development arm of the Carer Support team, offering a range of carer forums, including Cultural Days, Carer Retreats, Art Therapy classes, webinars and more with a focus on helping carers to meet the complex needs of the children in their care but also ensuring their own self-care is prioritised. Deb works Tuesday, Thursday and Friday |
