In 2026 we celebrate 50 years of supporting caregivers!
For 50 years, Caring Families Aotearoa has stood alongside whānau and foster carers, offering support, guidance, and hope to those caring for children and young people. This year, we’re proud to celebrate five decades of dedication and resilience.
To mark this incredible milestone, we’ll be celebrating with our Support Groups around the motu, and we will share special giveaways from August until December 2026, as a way to thank you for being part of our journey.
We will also feature stories from our community who have helped make us who we are today, and an exciting 50th Celebratory Video capturing our story.
Here’s to 50 years of caring, and to the future we’ll build together.
Click below to go directly to one of our 50th activities.
Treating you at Support Group Celebrations
From September to November our Regional Coordinators will join our Support Groups around the motu for a special 50th Anniversary Support Group Coffee Catch-Up.
We will be celebrating with 15 Support Group members (at a regular or local cafe), who will be treated to morning tea, a chance to reflect on our 50 years, and leave with some 50th Anniversary goodies!
More information will be shared with the Support Groups closer to the time.
50th Competitions
From August until December, caregiver members who enter a special monthly 50th Competition will go in the draw to win one of five luxury 50th Celebration Gift bundles.
Each specially designed cotton colouring-in drawstring backpack will contain:
- Our 50th promotional products; a Journal and pen, vanilla scented candle, and a wireless charger,
- Some luxurious L’Oreal products (please note there will be variation in the L’Oreal products)
- and a $100 grocery voucher.
To be in the draw for August, have you watched our 50th Anniversary Video below? Watch the video and look out for; What year was the first National Foster Care Training Kit released?
Please submit your answer by clicking here and filling out our quick form; 50th Competition-enter here! – Caring Families
(If you emailed us your answer on or before the afternoon of the 4th August, we do have this record.)
Entries for this month will be drawn on the 26th August.
Sending you a small token of thanks!
Celebrating 50 years of our organisation means celebrating the people who have made that journey possible. For five decades, caregivers have selflessly opened their hearts and homes, providing care, stability, and support to tamariki during some of the most challenging times in their lives.
We have a a small token of thanks to post to all our caregiver members, along with a letter from our Chief Executive. If you’d like to receive this small token of appreciation, please click below to complete a registration form. This will ensure we have your correct address details, so you don’t miss out.
50 years of reflection video
To celebrate Caring Families Aotearoa’s 50th anniversary, this commemorative video reflects on five decades of standing alongside caregivers and strengthening outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa. Through a blend of historical photos, footage, and present-day collections, the video highlights the evolution of support services, training, advocacy, community events, and the dedicated people who have shaped the organisation’s journey.
Most importantly, it celebrates the thousands of caregivers, staff, volunteers, and supporters whose commitment, compassion, and connection have helped ensure that no caregiving family walks their journey alone.
Please click the image below to watch the video.
50th recollections
It’s been a privilege to speak with caregivers, former staff members and others involved in the care sector who have made a special connection with our organisation over the years.
Click below to read some of their wonderful stories in our 50th anniversary recollection series.
A look back at some of our amazing Conference speakers from over the years
We have been extremely fortunate to host many outstanding speakers at our conferences over the years, and we are excited to share some of their presentations with you.
Sarah Naish is an experienced foster caregiver and adoptive parent with more than 30 years’ experience, including adopting five siblings. Her lived experience shaped her therapeutic parenting expertise and nationally recognised models in the UK.
She founded the UK’s National Association of Therapeutic Parenting (NATP), now supporting more than 10,000 members.
Sarah is a bestselling author whose Therapeutic Parenting books, including The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting: Strategies and Solutions, are used internationally and valued by caregivers and Caring Families Aotearoa staff.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ACCESS THE PRESENATION.
At our 2024 Christchurch Conference, she spoke about some of the practical strategis from her book, The A-Z of Survival Strategies for Therapeutic Parents (From Chaos to Cake), which talks about 80 practical strategies for common therapeutic parenting challenges.
Dr Jill Worrall
Second up on our journey down memory lane from our conferences, is Jill Worrall. You can find out more about Jill, her involvement with Caring Families Aotearoa and her fostering journey by reading more below, watching her presentation at the 2017 Chrsitchurch Conference and coming shortly, reading her story she kindly shared with us as part of our Anniversary Recollections.
Dr Jill Worrall is a retired Senior Lecturer at Massey University and has been Journal Editor, Education Officer, vice Chair and Chairperson of the New Zealand Foster Care Federation. She was raised for the first half of her life in kinship care, a foster parent for seventeen years, a foster care social worker, an agency Manager and CEO, and a trainer and researcher in foster and kinship care. You can find out more about Jill Worrall by reding our stroy she kindly shared with us as part of the 50th anniversary recollection series.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ACCESS THE PRESENATION.
Who Am I? Understanding and Promoting Resilience in Foster and Kinship Care . Dr Jill Worrall
Despite Jill’s presentation being recorded in 2017, so much of what she discusses is highly relevant today. Touching on her foster care journey as a child and then becoming a foster carer, she elaborates on how can we, as foster carers and social workers, help the children in our care to be resilient, well-functioning adults?
Brandon Mock
Click the image below to view the PowerPoint presentation from Brandon Mock, who spoke at our 2024 Christchurch Conference-Picking Up the PACE.
At our 2024 Christchurch Conference – Picking Up the PACE, Brandon Mock shared how weaving PACE into everyday parenting can support caregivers to create a calm, connected emotional atmosphere. By staying playful, accepting, curious, and empathetic, caregivers are able to stand alongside tamariki as trusted partners while they learn what safe care feels like.