Brophy has joined a new statewide alliance calling for urgent action to strengthen Victoria’s foster care system.
The Foster Care Alliance brings together foster carers, Community Service Organisations, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and the Foster Care Association of Victoria to advocate for better support, recognition and funding.
The Alliance has launched as foster carer numbers continue to decline, while demand for family-based care remains high and children entering care increasingly require complex support.
Without meaningful reform and investment, more children risk missing out on the safety, stability and belonging that family-based care can provide.
A stronger voice for carers and children
More than 40 foster carers are actively involved in the Alliance, ensuring lived experience helps shape practical solutions alongside sector expertise.
Its advocacy will focus on three priorities:
- Stronger support for carers, including training, respite and practical assistance.
- Respect and recognition, with carers valued as partners in the child protection system.
- Fair funding for care, reflecting the real costs of supporting children with increasingly complex needs.
Alliance Co-Chair and foster carer Alison McCarroll said listening to carers would lead to stronger services and better outcomes.
“When carers are part of the conversation, policies and services are stronger.”
The Alliance also recognises the important role foster care can play in supporting Aboriginal children to remain connected to family, community, culture and Country while family and kinship options are strengthened.
Working together for change
Brophy is proud to stand alongside carers and organisations across Victoria to help build a stronger, more sustainable foster care system.
By combining lived experience with sector knowledge, the Alliance will advocate for practical reform while keeping children and young people at the heart of every decision.
Learn more at fostercarealliance.com.au.