Staff Spotlight: A Day in The Life of a Foster and Kinship Care Practitioner

Rachel Binger is a Foster & Kinship Care Practitioner at Baptcare’s Ulverstone Hub in Tasmania. She starts the day with penguins, ends it with bingeable television, and in between supports everyday superheroes: foster carers.

6.00am             

Wake up. I used to start the day by scrolling social media, but I am on a digital detox and feel better for it. One of the great things about living on the Tasmanian coast is going for a morning walk and watching the sleepy penguins come out of their burrows and wander down to the ocean

8.00am             

I start the working day by checking emails and texts, especially for any messages that foster carers have left for us out of hours. While I do this, I have the first of many cups of tea, and eat some Bircher muesli I prepared the night before.

The work day

One of the things I love about my job is how diverse it is. No two days are the same. When a person becomes a foster carer or kinship carer they are assigned to an agency for case-management, and that is my role within Baptcare. It is a very intensive role covering credentialling, training, checks and clearances, meetings with stakeholders, all types of support, always with the child in the centre. Some placements are very simple and the child slots smoothly into the placement with minimal issues. Others are highly complex, requiring a lot of support for the child and the carer.

On the road

I spend a lot of time meeting with carers, making household visits every month. One of the most important parts of my role is maintaining personal connection with carers. This includes a lot of emotional support and checking on their wellbeing, as well as credentialling and making sure all the paperwork is up to date. Being in Tasmania it means trips of up to 90 minutes through gorgeous countryside and beautiful coastline. It’s not uncommon to get held up for a few minutes when the roads are blocked with cattle!

Lunch

I love a bakery lunch. I’ll always go for the classic sausage roll, plus whatever sweet thing looks best – a donut, slice or piece of cake.

Office tasks

Everything we do has to be accurately documented, so there is a lot of focus on staying on top of case notes. When I’m working in the office I will always have a hot cup of tea on the go, and I love a snack as well. I spend a lot of time scheduling meetings and checking that my colleagues and I are on the same page, while always maintaining client confidentiality.

Meetings

Each child in care has a care team. We have regular meetings where everyone in the child’s world comes together: the carer, school, Child Safety representative, other services and the foster care practitioner. If the child is old enough and it’s appropriate, we invite them as well. These meetings are a chance for me to keep up with the latest happenings. It is also a place where I can advocate for our clients, many of whom can find the child protection system overwhelming. For example, a carer might identify that a child needs a therapy or service that will impact the whole placement, and we will advocate for that where appropriate.

4.00pm

Time to drive home. My husband is a paramedic and does shift work, so this may be a time to catch up and prepare dinner together, or it may be an evening alone. We both find our jobs rewarding but tiring. Consequently, once the day’s work is done we usually just settle down and watch whatever TV show we are addicted to. At the moment we’re loving Sons of Anarchy.

9.00pm

Bed. If I have my way, I’ll be in bed by nine. Time to sleep and get ready to see the penguins again next morning.