Two teachers became the foster family this Hunter girl needed
Rose Taylor was transformed by two unorthodox teachers and now advocates for more foster carers in the Hunter.
Rose spent her early teens moving between five foster placements, two refuges, a kinship placement, and six months homeless. When she was 12, her grandmother died and her parents couldn't care for her.
School teacher Pamela noticed she needed support and started visiting her around Paramatta and Merrylands with food and encouragement. Pamela couldn't take her full-time, so Rhonda, another teacher, became her primary foster carer at 16.
Rose finished school, married, had four children, and built a career in out-of-home care. Now the Hunter region manager for Life Without Barriers, Rose is calling for more foster carers to help children like her.
The number of children entering residential care has jumped 88 per cent since 2017, while those in foster care fell 21 per cent.
- 12 years old
- Age crisis started
- 88 percent since 2017
- Residential care increase
- 21 percent since 2017
- Foster care decrease
Why it mattersFoster carers can transform a child's entire trajectory, but Australia faces a shortage.
AustraliaThe Hunter region needs 20 more foster carers; nationally, kids in foster care have dropped 21 per cent while those in residential care soared 88 per cent.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
