Introducing the Community
Lutheran Care Foster Care
Introducing the Lutheran Care Foster Care Program
Lutheran Care deliver a high quality, trauma-informed and best-practice foster care support program for children and caregivers across the greater Adelaide and surrounding areas.
LBI Foundation has provided the Lutheran Care Foster Care program capacity building support on embedding the IMPACT Program – as mapped to the needs, context and desired outcomes of the program.
The capacity building support has been personalised to the Lutheran Foster Care program. The Lutheran Care program draws upon other best-practice therapeutic components (e.g., Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Three Pillars) and the IMPACT Program (and the intentional practice approach) is designed to strengthen the intentional implementation of both features.
The intent (or outcomes) and actions of this work is summarised below.
Local Quote
Program Intent
I am supporting Foster Carers, staff team and colleagues with the intent to grow staff understanding of how to use a Growth Action Plan in a natural way that is in the organic conversations that we have as a part of our everyday practice.
Intent ('What')
Build a Wellbeing and Trauma Responsive Foster Care Community
Where Trauma-Responsive Practices are a Way of Thinking and Being
As Made Practical Through the Following Co-Designed Outcomes
Practitioners
To embed a professional, relationship focused and intentional practice culture, where support workers:
- Intentionally respond (rather than react) to the caregiver’s individual needs in a relationship focused, trauma-responsive and personalised manner.
- Grow caregiver capacity through intentionally delivered support, side-by-side coaching and shared Growth Action Planning processes.
- Work side-by-side with the care community and empower all members to build a shared intent.
- Have access to best-practice resources, tools and professional development activities on intentionally applying the science of wellbeing, trauma and growth.
Foster Carers
To embed a trauma-responsive, therapeutic and growth focused caregiving environment and:
- Intentionally respond (rather than react) to children’s needs (e.g., trauma, growth developmental) in a personalised manner.
- Grow child capacity through intentionally delivered caregiving, side-by-side coaching and shared Growth Action Planning processes (with child and care community).
- Work side-by-side with the care community in shared intent.
- Maintain and build wellbeing and self-care for self and all family members.
- Have access to best-practice resources, tools and professional development activities on the science of wellbeing, trauma and growth.
Children
For children to experience intentionally delivered relational and coaching experiences that grow:
- Feelings of safety and trust at all times.
- Their awareness of self, others, world and future.
- Foundational social-emotional learning, meta-cognitive, self-regulation, independence and life skills.
- The mindsets, beliefs and attitudes associated with resilient whole-of-life outcomes.
- Their capacity to develop their own wellbeing, life and growth solutions (or wellbeing plans).
Actions ('How')
Summary Actions of the Partnership Journey
- Entire capacity building initiative is founded upon the science, research and practice of intentional practice, as made practical for therapeutic residential care settings (see this research article).
- Implementation underpinned by the Care IMPACT capacity building strategy.
- LBI Foundation Community Lead: Ivan Raymond.
- Communication strategy and explainer video (see below).
- Whole-of-staff team Foundational IMPACT Training, with all support workers accredited to the IMPACT Coach level.
- Caregivers being accredited to the IMPACT Foundations level.
- Clinical coaching to caregivers and support workers.
- Implementation coaching to embed content into action.
- Professional development embedding and deepening workshops for carers and support workers.
- Foster carers having access to a rolling cycle of IMPACT specialist workshops and professional development sessions (for online sessions see upcoming events).
- Local IMPACT Trainers and Coaches delivering foundational IMPACT content.
- Key embedding strategies: What-What-How reflective practice in staff supervision and internal planning processes, side-by-side Growth Action Planning with caregivers in the home, rolling cycle of IMPACT specialist workshops and modules (delivered in home by IMPACT coaches and by LBI).
Photo source: Lutheran Care
Community Story
Photo source: Lutheran Care
Lutheran Care share their commitment
Lutheran Care provide caregivers and practitioners with tools and resources to really make a difference in the lives of the children and young people they’re entrusted to support.
September 2022
IMPACT Foundations Training
Lutheran Care IMPACT Trainers, Steve and Tessa, present the agency’s inaugural IMPACT Foundations training. The one-day training was delivered to a mixed group of participants including both Foster Carers and staff members from the agency.
Photo source: Lutheran Care, May 2024