Foster Care

There is an urgent need for foster carers in NSW. Foster care is providing a safe and loving environment for a child or young person who is unable to live at home. Children in foster care are just like other children except they have experienced some disruption in their life. This may be due to abuse or neglect, parental mental illness or drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence or general family breakdown. Foster care can be for just a few nights, a period of weeks or months, or for many years. Foster carers are needed to provide respite, short-term or long-term care. CareSouth foster carers are everyday people. They are young couples, same sex couples, single people, have children of their own, or are retired. They live in their own homes and they also rent. Foster carers can work part-time, full-time or be at home and come from a range of cultural, religious and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Providing our foster carers with an extraordinary level of support, training and information, continues to be our focus. We look after them, so they can look after the people that need it most. A stable home, predictable routine and foster carers who set firm but loving boundaries can make a huge difference in the life of a child.

Aunties & Uncles

When a child’s having a tough time, a positive influence can make a huge difference and this program does just that. Aunties & Uncles supports vulnerable children between three and 12-years old and their families by connecting them with a volunteer carer who becomes a mentor and role model to the young person. The program is offered in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla regions of NSW. 

NDIS

CareSouth is a provider of choice and NDIS Partner. Individuals and families living with disability deal with big, everyday challenges. At CareSouth, we work towards supporting people with their challenges, so they can live full and meaningful lives. Every day. We provide support coordination, financial plan management, clinical services, community participation, skill building, early intervention (0 – 7) and support independent living.

Clinical Services

Our Clinical services team believe in working with NDIS clients to assist them in overcoming their everyday challenges. Our team consists of psychologists, speech pathologists, nurses and occupational therapists all with training and experience across a diverse range of areas.

Youth Support Services

Shoalhaven Youth Support Service (SYSS) offers support to young people who are either struggling to stay at home, or are homeless. Our priority is to work with young people to facilitate the restoration of family relationships and to identify individual needs of each young person to enable stability in their housing situations. SYSS strives to empower young people with the skills and knowledge to be resilient and learn how to reach out for support when needed.

Family Connections

Families going through separation or Family Court proceedings experience a range of challenges that can significantly impact their children. CareSouth’s Family Connections program provides a safe, secure and neutral environment for visits to occur between children, their parents and other significant people in their lives.

We work together with families to ensure visits are child focused, positive and rewarding for all parties involved.

A Family Connections worker will be with the family during the whole visit.

Supervised Contact

Everyone has a right to feel safe and protected. Vulnerable children need this more than anyone. CareSouth has a team of 40 staff whose primary concern – at all times – is the safety and well being of the child in their care. We provide a safe and secure environment for children and their birth families to connect. Our staff monitor behaviour, write reports and strive to uphold calm, positive relationships. We intervene if necessary to protect the child.

Mentoring

We love to see young people develop new skills, build on their strengths and live up to their potential. That’s what our Mentoring Program is all about. We bring together young people and caring individuals.

Our mentoring program is for children and young people from 10 to 18 years old who are living:

• in foster care;

• in supported independent living;

• still at home and require support within the family.

Family Preservation

Parenting is never easy. In some situations it can be particularly challenging for both the parent and the child. Sometimes extra help is all that’s needed to prevent family problems from getting bigger.

Brighter Futures supports families through tough circumstances like domestic violence, mental health issues or drug and alcohol problems. We can also help parents struggling to bring up their child or children without support. From learning difficulties to behavioural issues, we will work together to help parents give their child the best possible start in life.