Carers and support organisations have reminded Tasmanian foster carers that they are eligible for personal accident insurance, leaving many foster carers shocked.
Kim Backhouse, CEO of Foster Care and Kinship Association (FCKA), said the Tasmanian government's coverage for foster carers through the Department of Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) has been available since 1999.
However, she said that key information regarding foster carers' access to insurance and workers compensation has been poorly communicated or not communicated at all.
“There are a lot of carers out there that would like to put in workers compensation claims, particularly in relation to psychosocial hazards … it might open up the floodgates,” Backhouse said, as reported by ABC.
Mary Blake, coordinator at Fostering Hope, claimed that she worked closely with out-of-home care agencies and the government, but had “never heard” of compensation schemes for foster carers.
“The carers are doing a really important thing and putting a state's most vulnerable children into their homes. It's a privilege and a joy, but it's really hard,” she said.
A spokesperson from DECYP said carers were informed about the Tasmanian Risk Management Fund and “provided the relevant forms to make a claim” during the recruitment process. Out-of-home-care workers and carers also co-sign a document stating they were aware of their policies and rights.
Out-of-home-care agencies Key Assets, Kennerly Children's Homes, and Life Without Barriers said they had insurance to cover carers' injuries.
“Any incident or injury for a carer is managed through our incident management system and, if required, supported by our local support teams to determine if this carer was covered under our insurance policy,” Life Without Barriers said in a statement, as reported by ABC.
