Guest speaker Bec Gilmore Brophy Family & Youth Services
Posted by Harry Bracegirdle on Mar 24, 2017
Bec Gilmore and Shivon Beckwith from Brophy Family & Youth Services in Warrnambool gave a very informative presentation to the Rotary Club at its dinner meeting on 20th March at the Victoria Hotel. Bec and Shivon gave members an enlightening view of the benefits and challenges of becoming a foster parent.
Brophy Family & Youth Services are funded through DHS and organise foster care for children up to 18 years of age with the aim of providing stability for the child. The fostering period can be anything from day to years. As of June 2015 there were 8,188 children and young people in and out of foster care in Victoria. The Brophy Centre currently has 55 active people in care and has 56 foster care families on their books, of which 49 are active. The types of foster care provided cover respite, emergency, short term and long term.
Bec covered the foster care process, how to get involved, the training and interview process, police checks and other reports that are part of the necessary process to becoming a carer.
Once recognised, the Brophy service provides continual support to carers, on-going training, after hours telephone support, a buddying program and regular newsletters and celebration days.
Bec and Shivon informed members how they could possibly get engaged with their foster care program and also urged members to share with others on the need to boost the number of carers.
For anyone interested in being involved they can contact:
Bec Gilmore & Shivon Beckwith, Brophy Family & Youth Services Foster Care Team
Email: fostercare@brophy.org.au Phone: 5561 8888 Website: www.brophy.org.au