Murraylands foster carers celebrate a year with their girls

This story was contributed by the Department for Child Protection.

Two Murraylands carers have watched two sisters go from struggling to trust adults or welcome attention, to confiding in their new carers and taking centre stage.

Couple Marion and Laurence opened their home to the two primary school-aged girls through the Department for Child Protection’s Care Beyond Kin program, which involves kinship carers offering placements to children who are unrelated to them.

After the couple’s grandchildren were reunified with their father about 18 months ago, the former kinship carers had two spare rooms and plenty of love left to give.

“We’d put our hand up for other kids who might need care because we had the space and the motivation, and we were well aware of the number of kids in care,” Laurence said.

The Department for Child Protection shared the couple’s story for Foster and Kinship Carer Week – September 13-19 – which celebrates the incredible impact family-based carers have in children’s lives.

Since Care Beyond Kin started in January 2024, 90 carers have joined the program, offering some 18,000 nights of care.

The program was set up in a bid to increase the number of family-based placements available to support children in need, and prevent them from going into residential care.

Having previously experienced trauma, the sisters were initially hesitant to trust Marion and Laurence, but their relationship grew in leaps and bounds.

“They’ve grown a lot of love and respect for us and they understand now that they can come to us with any issues that they want to talk about,” Laurence said.

A year into the placement, Marion said the girls’ schooling was going well and their confidence had blossomed through taking up drama, dancing and cooking classes.

Recently, they participated in a stage show and were buoyed by the rush of performing and the support they received from family and friends who proudly watched on.

“They were terrified but oh my goodness, they did a fantastic job, both of them,” Marion said.

“They never thought they’d be able to do that, ever, but they have enough confidence now.

“They were so overwhelmed, and it was the best night – everyone was coming up and hugging them and telling them how great they are. 

“Previously, they didn’t know how to cope with that, but there’s no stopping them now.

“They’ve just got that knowledge now that people love them and they’re there for them.”

Marion and Laurence still care for their grandchildren during school holidays, and they’ve forged a strong bond with the girls now in the couple’s care, making good use of the family’s seven-seater vehicle.

“It’s nice hearing that giggling and laughing again,” Marion said of caring for the siblings.

“We treat them like the rest of the grandkids and whatever we do with the grandkids, we do with them too.”

• More information about foster care: Visit fostercare.sa.gov.au or call 1300 2 FOSTER (1300 23 67 837).