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 June 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.
50th Support Group Celebration
From September to November our Regional Coordinators will join our Support Groups around the motu for a special 50th Anniversary Suppport Group Coffee Catch-Up. We will be celebrating with 15 Support Group members, (at a regular or local cafe), whgo 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 the end of June until December, caregivers who enter a special 50th Competition will go in the draw to win a luxury 50th Celebration Gift Bundle. We will give away five each month.
Each bag will contain:
- Some luxurious L’Oreal products,
- Our special 50th promotional products
- and a $100 grocery voucher.
Keep an eye out on our Caring Families Aotearoa National Facebook page and your emails for news about the competition!
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.
Share your memories with us!
Have you got a story, any photos, or reflections to share with us about your caregiving journey, if so, we’d love to hear from you. Click the button below, fill out the form, and we will get back to you.
We may also use your contribution as part of a research project that will culminate in the publication of a commemorative book to celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2026.
Thank you for helping us to acknowledge this historic event!
Re-visit 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.