MacKillop flags looming foster care crisis at opportune time

MARRIED Hamilton couple Mikayla and Alistair Hearn are foster carers who have welcomed children into their family to join their own five-and-a-half-month-old baby Willow (pictured). Mikayla has been a foster carer since legally being able to at 21 – around the same time as her mother – whilst Alistair started caring after he met Mikayla. While in Foster Care Week (September 10-16), foster care agency MacKillop Family Services (MacKillop) is helping to inform the community about the many benefits of becoming a foster carer, while highlighting the current local shortage. Photo: GLENN GUY.

By Bailey Walsh

September 17, 2023 | 7:00 AM

FINDING foster carers has long been a challenge but in the last few years enquiries about foster care have plummeted, and have yet to recover post-COVID.

As Foster Care Week 2023 (September 10-16) is here, foster care agency MacKillop Family Services (MacKillop) is calling for the community to understand the urgency and think about how carers can make a positive difference to a child’s life.