Emergency Baby Care Project

http://abetterlifeforfosterkids.org.au/

This funding will transform the access of A Better Life For Foster Kids, a rural Victorian charity, to the resources of metropolitan Melbourne. The project will provide funds for the sourcing of specific items needed in individual circumstances, for example when a double pram is required for a placement of infant siblings. The funds will be used to cover the operational costs of the collection, transport and distribution of donated or second-hand purchased items for infants across Victoria, required for emergency out-of-home-care (OOHC) to go ahead. The timely collection and dispatch of matched donations of specific baby care items with emergency OOHC placements, relieve mental and financial burden on carers and ensure the child’s immediate needs are met with dignity. Infants, defined for this project as children aged 0 – 2, have immediate and extra care needs in terms of safety items such as appropriate car seats, cots, high chairs and prams. Most large items required for the care of an infant are not required to be brand new, provided that they fall within current safety guidelines and are donated in good-condition. In our experience, a majority of children arrive in their OOHC placement with only the clothes they are wearing and it is often in dire and stressful emergency circumstances. This project will extend the primary work of ABLFFK – Crisis Cases which contain clothing, consumable care essentials and comfort items needed in the first week of an emergency OOHC placement. ABLFFK are seeking funds so that we can continue to provide quality second-hand items needed for infant fostering across rural Victoria.