shared STORIES shared LIVES

138 Pages·2015·3.58 MB·English

Leaders guide
shared
STORIES
shared LIVES
A course for new
and prospective
foster carers
TAS.0006.001.0608
Shared Stories
Shared Lives
Leader’s Guide
2010 edition
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Original material written by Paula Hayden, Louise Mulroney and Mhairi Barnes
Revised edition prepared by Louise Mulroney
Developed and produced in partnership by the Association of Childrens Welfare
Agencies (ACWA) and Community Services, Department of Human Services NSW.
Originally published September 2000
Revised edition 2010.
© ACWA and Community Services, Department of Human Services NSW
Human Services
Community Services
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Background to new edition
This edition of Shared Stories Shared Lives is based on the original version
developed in 2000. In the past decade this resource has been widely used to
train hundreds of foster carers.
The 2010 update ensures that Shared Stories Shared Lives continues to be a
relevant and effective training program.
Consultation in the field identified a range of issues that needed to be
strengthened so Shared Stories Shared Lives reflected the current context of foster
care provision. Consequently, this edition addresses:
the increasingly complex and challenging needs of children and young
people in care, and the impact of this on carers
a wide range of placement types
new understandings of brain development and its impact on issues such as
trauma, bonding and attachment
allegations of abuse in care, and the impact of this on carers, within a child-
focused framework
the realities of birth family contact
the possibility of adolescent issues impacting on placements that may have
previously seemed stable and positive.
This new edition also includes:
a wider range of children’s stories to better represent the range of foster
care contexts and arrangements
a separate module addressing maintenance of cultural connections of the
child in care
additional audiovisual trigger material.
Consultations also showed that those who had used this resource during the
past decade did not want to lose many of the features that have made it such an
effective training program. This edition of Shared Stories Shared Lives therefore
retains the following popular features:
the material reflects a reflective rather than “teaching” style of training so
that particpants explore and discuss their ideas and responses, not just
receive input
modules build on each other and reflect issues as they unfold in a
placement over time
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the stories of children and young people are placed at the centre of the
training process. This allows participants to build a sense of relationship
with them and their carers so that complex issues can become personal and
feel real, discussion is encouraged to be “child-focused” and topics are dealt
with holistically even though highlighted in different modules
there is an emphasis on having a range of voices who will be presenting
throughout the training, including experienced carers and birth families
links are made, through the case studies, with elements of the Step by Step
foster carer assessment tool.
Acknowledgements
Continuing thanks go to everyone involved in the development of the original
edition of Shared Stories Shared Lives.
Representatives of the following agencies provided feedback and helped pilot
the 2010 edition. Their generous sharing of time and expertise is gratefully
acknowledged.
Allambie Youth Services
Anglicare, Canberra and Goulburn
Anglicare, Sydney
Barnardos Find-A-Family
CatholicCare, Hunter-Manning
CatholicCare, Sydney
Centacare, Wollongong
Connecting Carers
Department of Human Services – Community Services
Lifestyle Solutions
Life Without Barriers
Stretch-a-Family Inc
The Benevolent Society
UnitingCare Burnside
Wesley Dalmar Childrens Services
Youth Care, UPA North Coast
Particular thanks to the Department of Human Services, Victoria, for allowing the
extensive use of material from Shared Stories Shared Lives (Victoria), including the
‘sea of grief’ and ‘strings’ exercises.
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Contents
Contents
Overview of Shared Stories Shared Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Module 1: Foster care in context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Why and how children and young people come into foster care
The foster carer’s role
Module 2: Bonding and attachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Understanding bonding and attachment
Issues arising from poor attachment
Encouraging children and young people’s sense of safety and security
Module 3: Grief and loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The experience of grief and loss for children and young people
The experience of Aboriginal families, removal of children and grief and loss
Supporting children and young people who have experienced multiple
losses
Module 4: Abuse and trauma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Identifying types of abuse
Impact of abuse and trauma on children and young people, including their
brain development
Responding to children and young people who disclose abuse
Module 5: Identity and birth family contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Promoting contact between children or young people and their family
Promoting a child or young person’s sense of identity
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Contents
Module 6: Responding to challenging behaviours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Impact of loss and abuse on the behaviour of children and young people
Strategies for effectively managing challenging behaviours
Preventing abuse in care
Module 7: Team work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Understanding the range of people and roles in the foster care team
Impact of foster care on the foster family and wider networks
Module 8: Maintaining cultural connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The influence of culture
Strategies to maintain a child’s culture
Assisting a child to deal with prejudice and discrimination
Module 9: The story continues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Life story work
Concluding foster care placements
Dealing with the demands of being a foster carer
Handouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Summary of children’s stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Training slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
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Overview
Overview of the course
Target group
Shared Stories Shared Lives has been developed to meet the needs of new or
prospective foster carers. It also provides appropriate training material for:
existing foster carers who have not previously had pre-service training or
who are seeking a ‘refresher’ course
foster care workers who are less experienced in the area of out-of-home
care or are seeking a ‘refresher’ course.
The course can be run very effectively with a mixture of foster carers and staff.
Course outcomes
At the completion of the course, participants should be able to:
identify the context in which foster care operates and the reasons children
and young people come into care
discuss the issues in relation to children and young people in care, in
particular:
» bonding and attachment
» the impact of trauma, grief and loss
» the importance of maintaining culture and connections with families
discuss the dynamics and effects of children’s and young people’s previous
experiences, including its impact on behaviour
identify the roles and responsibilities of those in the foster care system,
including foster carers, caseworkers and birth families, and the importance
of working as part of a team.
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Overview
Content
The course consists of nine modules, covering the following topics:
foster care in context
bonding and attachment
grief and loss
abuse and trauma
identity and birth family contact
responding to challenging behaviours
team work
maintaining cultural connections
the story continues (life story work, concluding placements and dealing
with the demands of being a carer).
Shared Stories Shared Lives is designed as entry-level training for foster carers.
Foster carers should revisit, in more depth, many of the issues covered in Shared
Stories Shared Lives in the course of their ongoing role and work. Additional
specialised training is also needed in areas such as child sexual assault, HIV/AIDS
and infection control and caring for Aboriginal children and young.
Training team
This course is designed to be presented collaboratively by a team that consists of:
an experienced trainer familiar with foster care
an experienced foster carer who is present throughout the training
guest speakers, including birth parents, young people who have been in
care and representatives from participating home-based care organisations.
This combination of participants contributed significantly to the success of this
material when it was piloted. The trainer has the specific role of coordinating
sessions and dealing with issues of group dynamics as well as presenting course
content. Therefore, it is essential the trainer is experienced and familiar with the
dynamics of effective adult learning.
The experienced foster carer’s role is to give specific input and comment on
content given this experience. This role is essential for ensuring the presented
material is credible and realistic.
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Overview
At different points in the course, additional input from guest speakers allows
participants to receive challenging information in an effective way and is integral
to the successful structure of the training.
For information on organising and preparing the training team, go to page 6.
Delivery
The training is divided into nine two-hour sessions (totalling 18 hours in
duration). Each session contains one module. Modules should be presented in
sequential order.
The course can be run as nine separate modules or in blocks. For example, it can
be run over two weekends or as one full day, followed by six evening sessions.
Resources
The material provided in the Shared Stories Shared Lives kit consists of:
Leader’s Guide: includes detailed information on how to conduct the
training. This guide is also reproduced on the Shared Stories Shared Lives
DVD
Participant Workbook: enables participants to record information and have
access to the training material after the course is completed. This material is
available on the Shared Stories, Shared Lives DVD so copies can be prepared
for each participant
audio-visual trigger material: this consists of video segments that are on
the Shared Stories, Shared Lives DVD, and a separate DVD called Struggle for
Identity
PowerPoint presentation: copies of slides are reproduced at the back of
the Leader’s Guide, and the full presentation is on the Shared Stories Shared
Lives CD
handouts: copies of the handouts are reproduced at the back of the
Leader’s Guide and are on the Shared Stories Shared Lives CD so copies can be
prepared for each participant.
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