Supporting children's mental health in out-of-home care

This course is for practitioners working with children up to 12 years old who are living in OOHC. This includes practitioners working in agencies that provide support to foster and kinship carers as well as staff in residential care facilities and child protection agencies. This course is also relevant for practitioners in government and non-government services who may not work within the child protection system but receive referrals to provide therapeutic support to children living in care.

This course focuses on the experiences of children up to 12 years old, therefore it does not include information or practice skills related to the additional needs of young people who are transitioning out of care.

This course focuses on the experience of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in OOHC. We intentionally create resources that reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing with guidance from our National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultancy Group and partners. Complete Emerging Minds’ online course Walking alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care to learn about supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in care.

On completion of this course, it is expected practitioners will have:

• increased understanding of some of the key issues for children in OOHC
• increased knowledge of the potential impact of these issues on children’s mental health and wellbeing
• greater ability to identify their own attitudes and beliefs about OOHC, and reflect on those that may be unhelpful
• increased awareness of the possibilities within their role to support the mental health and wellbeing of children in OOHC
• increased knowledge of approaches to practice that can be helpful in addressing key issues impacting children in OOHC.

It is estimated that this course will take you approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete, including reading material and watching videos.

You can undertake the course across multiple sessions at your own pace. The last screen you visit before logging off will be bookmarked and you will have the option of returning to that screen when you next log in.

As you work through the course, it is important to be aware of your own emotional responses. Please follow the self-care tips below and seek help if needed:

• We do not recommend undertaking the entire course in one sitting. Give yourself some breaks. Even if you don’t feel that you need a break, it’s a good idea to take one anyway and come back later.
• Be aware of your emotions as you progress through the course and take action if you are starting to feel stressed or upset. For example, consider taking a break and doing something for yourself that you enjoy.
• Be aware of your emotional responses after you complete the course.

If at any point you find you are struggling, please talk with your supervisor, seek help, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636, or SANE Australia on 1800 187 263.

Children in care or children in OOHC in this course refers to a child who is living in a long-term OOHC arrangement. This includes foster care, kinship care or residential care.

Biological family or biological parent is used to refer to the child in care’s family of origin. Terms such as ‘birth family’ or ‘birth parent’ are also used in the literature. The term biological family and biological parent has been used in this course on advice from practitioners and child and family partners with experience in OOHC.

Foster parent refers to an individual who has chosen to take up a primary responsibility in caring for a child and is unrelated to that child.

Kinship carer refers to an individual who has chosen to take up primary responsibility in caring for a child and is related to that child.

Residential care worker refers to workers who care for children in a residential care setting. These are paid workers and they are not considered to be in a parenting role.

Social and emotional wellbeing refers to the way a person thinks and feels about themselves and others. It incorporates behavioural and emotional strengths and is a facet of child development.¹

In broad terms, social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation for physical and mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a holistic concept which results from a network of relationships between individuals, family, kin and community. It also recognises the importance of connection to Land, culture, spirituality and ancestry, and how these affect the individual.²

Social and emotional wellbeing is also used by some people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, who may have differing concepts of mental health and mental illness.³

Social and emotional development involves the development of skills required to:

• identify and understand one’s feelings
• read and understand the emotional states of other people
• manage strong emotions and how they are expressed
• regulate behaviour
• develop empathy
• establish and maintain relationships.⁴

Watch the following video (2 minutes, 7 seconds) for a quick guide on how to navigate Emerging Minds Learning courses.