Keeping Yourself Safe - All About Me PlanOne of the most important things you can do as a caregiver to keep yourself safe is to have an updated 'All About Me Plan' filled out for the children in your care.The All About Me Plan will tell you all about te tamaiti in...
Supporting the Journey to Adulthood: A Service Design with Rangatahi for RangatahiThe Transition Support Service has been designed with rangatahi and the community to support the 600 rangatahi who leave Oranga Tamariki care each year as they journey to adulthood. The...
Introducing the team at Caring Families AotearoaOur team of 27 will be featured in snippets over the next few months so you can see read about the team and what mahi they do at Caring Families Aotearoa. Suzanne Silva Fundraising Manager Suzanne joined the team at...
Easter Craft ActivitiesEaster is here! Why not hop into the long weekend and get the tamariki doing fun craft activities during the long weekend? Here is a list of some fun ways to add some craft activities to your Easter:Easter Basket Colouring CompetitionSet up a...
Pizza for care whānauDuring Foster Care Awareness Week we celebrate the wonderful mahi of caregivers around Aotearoa. This year, with all the uncertainty around COVID-19, we decided to give caregivers a night off cooking and cooked up a deal with Domino's Pizza. All...
DO YOU NEED SUPPORT WITH FASD?Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a permanent injury to the brain which results from prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD is diverse, complex and individual, manifesting many different learning, health and social difficulties, often...
New Team Members at Caring Families AotearoaIn the last five months we have welcomed five new people to the Caring Families Aotearoa Team. Di Marshall Senior Administrator Di joined us in August 2020. Di has a Bachelor of Teaching in ECE and was an Early Childhood...
School and Year Start-up PaymentIf you are receiving the Unsupported Child’s Benefit (UCB) or the Orphans Benefit (OB) you are eligible to receive a School and Year Start-up Payment. The School and Year Start-up Payment is to help you with school-related costs at the...
Remembering Billie GallowayIt is with great sadness that I write this message. Billie Galloway (Aunty Billie) passed away Saturday morning surrounded by friends and family. This has left a huge hole in our world, but the legacy she has left behind has made her one of...
Core Competence Standards Break-down In November we wrote about the amendments to the Social Workers Registration Act, which require all Social Workers to be registered from 27 February this year. This will give everyone greater assurance of Social Workers’...
Children's Glasses Subsidy Do any of the children in your care have problems with their vision? If your answer is yes, you may be eligible for the spectacle subsidy. The Children’s Spectacle Subsidy is for children who are 15 years old or under provided they have a...
Meri Kirihimete - Merry ChristmasAs Christmas draws closer, and the end of the year is in sight, I would like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you wonderful caregivers. This year hasn’t been an easy one. With the emotional, physical and financial...
Barbara's JourneyMany years ago, in a town far, far away (Invercargill), Barbara began her journey with The New Zealand Family and Foster Care Federation, now known as Caring Families Aotearoa. Barbara was first elected as the Lower South Caregiver's Representative on...
2020 Annual Report DownloadOn Friday 16 October, we held our 2020 Annual General Meeting in Lower Hutt. This year we also made the AGM available virtually and had members join us from all around Aotearoa. The AGM was opened by Hera Clarke (Poutaki Māori), followed by...
New Requirements for Social WorkersAmendments were made to the Social Workers Registration Act (passed by Parliament in early 2019). This Act will make it mandatory for anyone calling themselves a Social Worker, and practising in New Zealand, to be registered with the...
We are Learning TogetherIn October we presented our first Ako Ngātahi-Learning Together online discussion series. The first part of the series was on 'Shield Against Shame' which explored the behaviours traumatised tamariki develop to keep themselves safe. Both an...
Keen on making the most of the summer holidays? Caring Families Aotearoa and Ezibed.com have teamed up to bring you exclusive accommodation deals, for a limited time only! Summer is just around the corner and it’s time to get out and explore our beautiful backyard,...
How is COVID-19 making you feel?We have all been affected by COVID-19... It has caused a range of feelings for both adults and children. As a Caregiver, you will have added pressure as you are looking after children who already have high needs and this is further...
Is it time to have a big clear out?As the days get longer, the mornings become crisp and the temperature begins to warm up, we know that spring is on its way. Freshly cut grass, daffodils and baby animals all around. What a glorious time of the year.Instead of taking...
Masks for Care FamiliesCraft Cafe Creative Being co-founders, Susan Allison and Susie Jones have been working with children from St Francis de Sales School in Island Bay, Wellington, to make masks for our members. A group of children gave up their lunchtimes to cut...