OverviewThe Secure Base model is a therapeutic program designed to help children feel more emotionally and physically stable in out-of-home care, and to give their carers support to stay in their demanding role.

We have partnered with Professor Gillian Schofield and Dr Mary Beek at the Centre for Research on Children and Families at the University of East Anglia UK, to embed the Secure Base model into our Foster and Kinship Care programs.

In spite of their best intentions, carers are often ill-equipped to manage highly traumatised children, and this, along with poor payment for their work, frequently causes them to discontinue care when it gets overwhelming. Yet there are more children needing care every year. We must find better ways to support carers, so that we stop the decline of foster and kinship care and provide more help for our most vulnerable children.

The Secure Base model is an internationally recognised, research-based model, and will be adapted and evaluated for potential widespread use in Victorian foster and kinship care. The program will be introduced across our Home Based Care programs covering five regions: Shepparton, Ballarat, Morwell, Clayton and Eaglemont; reaching an estimated 80 Home Based Care staff, 650 carers and 1,350 children each year.

The Issue There is a strong need for changing practices in Home Based Care. Victoria has lost more foster carers than it has gained for every year for the past three years. Meanwhile children needing care rose by 66% in the decade from 2002-13 and the trend continues.

Berry Street has stopped the decline in our carer numbers, and is now focused on stabilising child placements. A strong body of research shows that simply taking children out of an abusive situation is not enough to help them thrive. Children in foster care often have complex needs, aggression, sexualised behaviour and addictions. Carers quickly find that normal everyday parenting is simply not enough to deal with traumatised children.

Currently, most foster carers receive only one introductory module of training before accepting a highly traumatised child into their homes, and kinship carers don’t receive any training at all. Yet we know carers need therapeutic skills to help children heal.

The Berry Street 140 Recovery ModelSecure Base ModelFebruary 2018 Report

How you are helping Berry Street has introduced a two-tiered approach to establishing the Secure Base model in our practice, first working with managers, team leaders, case managers and support staff to ensure they have a high level of competency in demonstrating the use of the model. We have delivered intensive training to over 80 Home Based Care senior managers, team leaders and case management workers across three regions — Hume, Western and Northern.

As a part of their training, Dr Mary Beek from University of East Anglia visited Melbourne and provided additional training and implementation support to leadership staff. Furthermore, Professor Gillian Schofield visited Melbourne and spent 2 days with case management staff offering consultation and support on using the model with children in their care.

Our staff are also receiving ongoing regular coaching from the trainer to continue to build their ‘coaching’ skills and the feedback we have received has been incredibly validating.

• “ The model is really supporting us in understanding and helping carers with therapeutic caregiving.”

• “ We’re now able to support carers better by suggesting strategies to them about dealing with difficult behaviours.”

• “ It has helped the carers feel confident and competent by drawing on their own strengths as carers as well as identifying areas of improvement.”

• “ Helps carers to understand triggers of child’s behaviour seen from the child’s perspective, even when they were originally unsure.”

• “ Our foster carers are now working collaboratively with each other and sharing with each other how they use the model.”

Following the roll-out to staff, we trained over 350 Foster and Kinship carers to embed the model in their caregiving. We are providing ongoing coaching to help carers to implement long-term changes to help children in their care recover.

As a result over 957 children and young people are now benefitting from therapeutic caregiving, providing them with a greater sense of security and belonging, and improving their emotional, social and physical development.

Next stepsOnce established in all our regional programs, we will also provide formal training to other child welfare organisations through the Berry Street Childhood Institute, which has strong experience in sharing practice models across the sector.

The Secure Base model will result in changing practice across services, through embedding the model as a component of our interactions with children at all stages of engagement with the Child Protection system.

More InformationFor more information about this report, or any of the other projects your generous donation is helping support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Berry Street Development team on 1800 237 797, or via email at supportus@berrystreet.org.au.

Further details about the Berry Street 140 Recovery Model project can also be found on our website at www.berrystreet.org.au/140.

Thank you once again for your interest and support in the work of Berry Street, and our 140 Recovery Model.

www.berrystreet.org.au/140

© University of East Anglia