Prospective & New Families

PCA Families is not-for-profit member-based organisation representing families formed by permanent care, kinship care, and adoption in Victoria. We are not a placement organisation and therefore we are not involved in the process of assessing prospective permanent care and adoptive families or placing children with families.

If you are a prospective parent or carer, there are a few pathways to becoming a parent or carer (see below).

There are also some things you can do to get organised before your care order is finalised:

negotiate your care allowance BEFORE the order is finalised (payment drops to level 1 automatically unless specifically negotiated BEFORE the order is finalised)
medicare card
passport
birth certificate
health care card
birth family contact type and frequency agreement
child protection history detailed and documented for life story work (previous carers, pictures, contacts, places of residence, schools, family members names and medical history, and any other relevant information that can help explain why things happened and in what order)
ATSI assessment
year 1 financial plan for flexible funding support from Department of Families Fairness and Housing agreed and documented (PCA Families Flexible Funding s only available after 12 months on an order. Unless new circumstances arise, flexible funding wont be available until after that 12 months).

If you are a new parent or carer, we can help you:

become a member of PCA Families so we can send your regular updates and information. See here.
join one of our peer support groups where you can share and benefit from others lived experiences. See our peer support information here and our events page here.
see our flexible funding page to find out more about how we can support you and your family here.
review our selection of resources we have on our Youtube Channel here or on our External Resources link here.
find out how PCA Families have benefitted other parents and carers by watching this video (32 to 40 minutes) here.
see additional resources and links on our parents and carers page here
if you have other questions, we are help to help so please contact us.

Pathways to care for a child

Families can be formed through:

Foster Care

Temporary care provided by trained, assessed and accredited foster carers when children cannot live with their birth family due to concerns of abuse and/or neglect. The aim is for children to be reunified with their birth parents after a child is placed in foster care. In some cases, if reunification is not possible, the foster carer/s may be assessed to become the child’s permanent care parent/s.

Kinship Care

Permanent Care

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Child Protection makes decisions about the safety of children who experience significant child abuse and/or neglect concerns. Sometimes this means a decision is made for children to permanently remain out of the care of their birth parents and that an alternative permanent family should be found. This may be with relatives or with other members of the community assessed as able to give the child or young person a stable nurturing home in which they can thrive and will be formalised by a court order that applies until they are 18 years old.

Care of Aboriginal children

In accordance with the Aboriginal placement principles, Aboriginal children must be placed with their extended family. If this is not possible, the child may be placed within the Aboriginal community within close proximity to the child’s natural family. If there is no Aboriginal placement available, the child may be placed with a non-Aboriginal family on the assurance that the child’s culture, identity and contact with the Aboriginal community are maintained.

Adoption

Adoption occurs when a court order is made to permanently transfer parental rights and responsibilities from their birth parents to adoptive parents.

Open adoption is considered best practice, where possible. Open adoption recognises there is often a benefit for children when both their families (birth and adoptive) remain in contact with each other after an adoption order has been made.

Local adoption refers to adoption of children born in Australia.

Intercountry adoption occurs when an Australian citizen or permanent resident residing in Australia adopts a child from another country through the authorities in their Australian state or territory.

Where to find more information

Permanent Care

The number of children who permanently cannot live with their birth parents due to significant, enduring concerns of child abuse and neglect continues to grow. Each year around 400 permanent care orders are granted in Victoria. Families may be formed through permanent care via a number of pathways including kinship care, foster care and a direct permanent care placement.

If you are interested in becoming a permanent care family in Victoria, you can find information about the process here.

Learn more about permanent care policy, practice and guidelines by understanding the updated permanent care manual here.

If you would like to contact your local permanent care team, their contact details can be found here.

Depending on where you live, permanent care teams are managed either by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) or a community service organisation.

Kinship Care

Adoption

The number of children being placed with families via the intercountry adoption program continues to decline, and the number of local adoptions in Victoria and across Australia remain low. Each year there are more families interested in adoption than there are children who require a family.

If you are interested in becoming an local or intercountry adoptive family, you can find more information here.

Other states and territories

Whats the difference between these types of care and forming a family?

Peer support

Did you know that prospective parents and carers are welcome to join PCA Families peer support program? It’s a great opportunity to learn firsthand from peers who have lived experience of permanent care and adoption, and to share your experiences with others who are going through the same process. Find out more.

Contact Us

PO Box 201, Fitzroy VIC 3065