PIC: A new era of out-of-home care for children
Child welfare
Last year Victoria saw a 74% decline in enquiries to become a foster carer.
The alarming reality is that the rate of people enquiring to a become foster carer is at an all-time low. (1)
At the same time, there has been a significant reduction in active foster carer households, with a net loss of almost 100 carer households deciding to leave the sector over the past year alone. (2)
I'd say one of the most stressed parts of our system at the moment is our foster care system, and we're seeing more and more highly traumatised children that have experienced different types of abuse, family violence, sexual abuse and neglect. And they're coming to our out-of-home care system, really needing specialist input in trying to help them recover from the trauma that they've experienced.
Berry Street provides out-of-home care to children and young people who can't live with their birth families for a range of reasons, including experiences of violence, abuse and neglect.
But being removed from your family home is very traumatic. So, it’s really important to provide a safe and nurturing home environment where a child – who probably has complex needs - can recover from the trauma they have experienced.
But right now, this is much harder than ever before.
New solutions are required. Solutions that could support young people like Cameron*.
Cameron was nine when he entered the out-of-home care system.
As a result of the trauma Cameron experienced, his behaviour was complex and very hard to manage. The sad reality is that led to him being moved through placements with his grandparents, older cousin and 11 different foster carers, all within a single year.
Cameron's options were dwindling within the current out-of-home care system.
The only other options available for Cameron’s ongoing care were being placed in a standard four bed residential care unit, where he could be exposed to high-risk behaviours from other young people who would likely be working through their own experiences of trauma. Or an emergency alternative, such as staying in a hotel room with paid staff.
Neither option could provide Cameron with suitable support for his complex needs and assist him to recover from the trauma he had experienced.
But what if we could press rewind and provide another option for Cameron?
Professional Individualised Care (PIC) is a unique model of out-of-home care designed for young people with complex needs.
It originated in Germany, where it is the most successful and proven out-of-home care model for young people with complex needs (3), and in recent years it has been successfully used in NSW.
Through PIC a child or young person is matched to live in the home of a dedicated PIC carer.
PIC carers are professionals, such as social workers, youth workers, and mental health experts, who have previous experience addressing trauma and supporting people with complex needs.
PIC carers are paid a full-time salary to provide full-time care for one child or young person.
What this means for a young person is you've got someone that can appropriately respond to complex trauma and attachment needs, but also someone that can offer real connection and relationship. As long as you have children whose bodies are filled with stress hormones because they aren't sure who's going to be there for them, we can't really do that work of helping them understand their past, heal from trauma and move forward. So relationship is really the heart of the model.
PIC focuses on providing real connection and relationship.
A placement with a PIC carer means Cameron would have an opportunity to develop a secure, healthy and positive relationship with an experienced, reliable and attuned carer who has a professional skillset with which to support Cameron’s emotional wellbeing and meet his individual needs.
Berry Street is advocating for the implementation of PIC in Victoria.
We believe PIC addresses a critical need for effective and sustainable out-of-home care solutions and could provide young people like Cameron with the relationship-focused support that is so critical in addressing their trauma.
As testament to the PIC model’s credibility, we have secured seed funding to develop a pilot program in 2025. However, even more support will be needed to get a viable program off the ground in order to make PIC an ongoing option for Victorian children and young people.
Learn more about Professional Individualised Care (PIC) in episode eight of our 'Stories from Berry Street' podcast.
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the people we work with.
1. Foster Care Association of Victoria (FCAV) (2024): Victoria has the lowest Care Allowance rate in the country
2. Foster Care Association of Victoria (FCAV), 2024. 2024 Foster Carer Snapshot Report.
3. Macsenaere M., Esser, K., Knab, E. & Hiller, S. (2014). Handbook for working with youth. Freiburg: Lambertus Verlag.
Berry Street supports increasing the foster and kinship carer allowance in Victoria
