Carer Support Practitioner (Foster Care)

Centacare Catholic Family Services; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 61,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

SCHCADS Award 2010 Level 5, $53.43 per

hour + superannuation

Salary packaging benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Parental leave: 6 weeks primary, 2 for

Health insurance discounts

Job summary

Centacare Catholic Family Services in Adelaide seeks a Carer Support Practitioner to work with foster carers, families and the Department for Child Protection to create safe, therapeutic placements for children with complex needs. The role includes in-home consultations, advocacy, and training delivery.

The position focuses on trauma-informed practice, multidisciplinary collaboration and meeting program KPIs within a supportive team environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in social care, foster care or child protection settings.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed practice and therapeutic care frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate case notes and records.

Responsibilities

• Support and advocate for an allocated caseload of general and specialist foster carers.
• Provide in-home consultations, phone support and trauma-informed guidance.
• Facilitate placements and attend care team, pre-placement and transition meetings.
• Record accurate minutes and maintain placement documentation.
• Deliver carer training and information sessions; coordinate events and groups.

Skills

Social case work

Case management

Trauma-informed practice

Advocacy

Carer training delivery

Information exchange

Education

Degree in Social Work or equivalent

Job description

Use your knowledge and experience in foster care, child protection, community services, or a related field to support foster carers and strengthen safe, stable, therapeutic placements for children with complex needs.

The Role

As a Carer Support Practitioner, you will work alongside foster carers, families, the Department for Child Protection and other professionals to help create safe, stable and therapeutic placements for children and young people. You will provide specialist advice, practical support to general and specialist foster carers throughout recruitment, assessment, training and ongoing development.

This people-focused role combines in-home consultation, phone support, advocacy and trauma-informed practice. You will contribute to care team, pre-placement and transition meetings; facilitate information exchange sessions; deliver Shared Lives training and community information sessions; and help coordinate foster carer events and support groups. You will work to program KPIs while contributing to a collaborative and supportive team culture.

Key responsibilities

• Support and advocate for an allocated caseload of general and specialist foster carers
• Provide structured in-home consultations, phone support and trauma-informed guidance
• Work with carers, program leaders and Department for Child Protection staff to facilitate placements
• Contribute to care team, pre-placement and transition meetings, including accurate minutes when required
• Consult on care concerns and complex placement matters, including with the Therapeutic Lead, Clinical Nurse, and Aboriginal Cultural Practitioner where appropriate
• Maintain timely placement documentation, case notes and records
• Monitor Working with Children Checks and mandatory carer training requirements
• Deliver carer training and information sessions, and assist with foster carer events, support groups and crèche set-up and pack-down

Based at Seaton, the role includes travel within the community for in-home consultations and information exchange sessions, plus participation in an after-hours on-call roster as required.

This is a fixed-term opportunity until 5 November 2027.

See attached position description for full details.

What you need to bring

• Degree in Social Work or equivalent
• Demonstrated social case work or case management experience, including accurate and timely case notes and documentation
• Experience working in out-of-home care, foster care or a related child protection setting
• Knowledge of trauma-informed practice, therapeutic care frameworks, child development and the impacts of developmental trauma
• Sound knowledge of relevant child protection legislation, risk factors, permanency planning, reunification and participative case planning
• Experience supporting children and young people with high and complex needs
• Confidence advising foster carers, identifying training needs and working within a multidisciplinary care team
• Current Driver’s Licence
• Safe Environments for Children and Young People training
• Current Department of Human Services Working with Children Check

What's in it for you

• SCHCADS Award 2010 Level 5, $53.43 per hour + superannuation
• Generous salary packaging to help increase your take home pay
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• 6 weeks parental leave for primary carer and 2 weeks for secondary carer
• Health insurance discounts with Bupa

Who we are

Each year, we support more than 20,000 people through community services in metropolitan and regional South Australia, operating within a strong ethical framework. We are client focused and provide support regardless of race, economic circumstance, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious belief or ethnic background.

Centacare is a Child Safe, Quality Accredited Organisation and is a registered NDIS provider. We value the uniqueness of individuals, we consult, collaborate and operate with integrity and professionalism. Centacare is committed to cultivating a harmonious workplace free from harassment and discrimination. Equal opportunity principles align with our mission, vision and values. We believe that treating our workers fairly has a positive impact on our clients and maintains our reputation as a great place to work.

To learn more about us, explore our Who we are page, our organisational video, and Centacare Foster Care page.

Applicants from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.