Role Title: Foster Care Research Intern
Organisation: Wanslea Family Services
Internship Period: Semester 1 (February - May)
Location: Bentley
The proposed idea for this role will be to have a research intern work with our Out of Home Care program (Foster Care) to carry out research with our existing cohort of foster carers, to explore factors and influences that can lead to an increase/decrease in carer motivation to foster, and to explore potential methods of ensuring the retention of existing carers. Within the OoHC sector, there is a considerable need for foster carer families, but a marked reduction in the amount of community members applying to be foster carers. We understand factors such as the increased cost of living to be contributing to this, but we would like to capture more of the first-hand experiences of our Wanslea carers. There is scope for both qualitative and quantitative methods to be used to investigate this. While we have the capacity as a program to allocate resources to advertising and recruiting new carers, this research project would be a great way for us to also demonstrate investment in our existing carers, and hopefully provide inspiration around further initiatives we can implement to keep our carers happy and engaged. This in turn will help inform our practice and ensure that we are providing the best possible home environments for children most in need of caring, nurturing homes.
Families and children have been at the heart of Wanslea since the organisation was established in 1943. Wanslea was founded by Florence Hummerston, who dedicated her life to serving the community and was passionate about welfare of children. Wanslea promotes community, family, and individual development through partnerships and services.