Parent Mentor Program – Put Them First

What is our Parent Mentor Program?

The ultimate aim of foster care is to reunite children with their biological parents. However for the biological parents, the process to regain custody of their children can seem overwhelming or even insurmountable, especially without guidance and support.

At Put Them First (PTF) we strive to make a positive and lasting difference, so that children in foster care can have the best possible living situation. That’s why in addition to our Foster Carer Training Program, which helps equip carers with the necessary knowledge to best support their foster child with his or her needs, we also need to support the biological parents.

Our Parent Mentor Program is specifically designed to assist parents with 0 to 2 year old children in alternative care, and help them learn how to be the parent their child needs them to be. It will cover a variety of topics designed to educate the parents on how to be a good parent and the essentials that their child needs from them, as well as helping develop the parent-baby relationship.

The Parent Mentor Program will be tailored to each specific case, to best help support the parents with their specific circumstance and training needs of the family.

Helping biological parents be the best they can be

Biological parents who have had their children taken into foster care are generally struggling with their own problems. On top of these existing problems, having their child or children then taken off them, can create indescribable pain for the parent. Just as children in alternative care need our support, so do their parents in order to be the best possible parent they can be for their child, and understand the steps needed to attain this.

While the parents long to be reunited with their child, often they don’t even know where to start, let alone have the knowledge or support network to achieve this.

Our key requirement for our Parent Mentor Program is that the biological parent be willing to take steps to be the parent their child needs them to be. We believe, with their genuine desire to take steps to better themselves for their child and regain custody, having our support and mentoring can make the crucial difference in attaining this. In addition, if and when the family is reunited, the parents will be more equipped to be the best parent they can be for their child.

Delivering this training not only helps the parents and children, but also The Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs in their ultimate aim to reunite children with their biological parents.