18/05/2026
If you know of anyone who is interested in becomingg a carer please reach out to us at fkat.org.au
https://www.facebook.com/share/1FgMv1UVaq/
“It breaks my heart.”
That line from a foster care advocate in Tasmania says everything.
Right now, vulnerable children — some as young as seven — are being placed in rotating shift-worker care because there simply aren’t enough foster families available.
Imagine already carrying trauma, fear, instability… and then having no consistent adult to call “your person.” Different workers. Different faces. Different shifts. No real sense of home.
One advocate said it feels “more like a hospital setting than a home.”
This is not a criticism of the workers doing their best in an overwhelmed system. It’s a wake-up call about how badly foster carers need support.
Foster carers are exhausted, under-supported, and often carrying enormous emotional and financial pressure. Some incredible carers have spent decades helping hundreds of children — but many are now retiring, and there simply aren’t enough people able to step in.
Children heal through stable relationships, safety, and love. They need homes, not rosters.
We need:
• More foster carers
• Better financial and therapeutic support
• More respite options for carers
• A system that values and supports the people caring for traumatised children
No child should grow up feeling like they’re just another shift to cover.
These kids deserve consistency. They deserve belonging. They deserve better.
