Sometimes children and young people can’t live with their biological parents. When that happens, someone they already know and trust — like a grandparent, aunt, uncle, older sibling, family friend, or other close connection — may step in to care for them. These people are called kinship carers.
Kinship care helps maintain a child or young person’s connection to family, community and culture. The arrangement can be informal or managed through child protection services.
This Kinship Care Week, Brophy is celebrating and recognising the important role Kinship Carers play in south-west Victoria and across the greater south-west.
What Brophy offers to kinship carers
At Brophy, we stand alongside kinship carers to help make the care sustainable and supported. Here’s how:
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Case Management Support
For children and young people (up to 18) on statutory orders, Brophy provides case management to kinship carers. This includes regular contact by phone or face-to-face, working alongside Child Protection, schools, therapists, and partner organisations, with the goal of maintaining a stable, supportive environment. Referrals for Case Management come from Child Protection. -
Advice & Information Service
This service is available to kinship carers, family members, and professionals. It offers guidance on service options, crisis support, referrals, and education or training opportunities (e.g. the “Bringing Up Great Kids” carer training). -
Support Groups & First Supports
Brophy runs support groups and “First Supports” for kinship carers, offering relational and practical peer connection, shared learning, and early help in the caregiving journey.
Why this matters
Kinship care already carries strong benefits — connection, identity, more stable relationships — but it can also bring complex challenges: navigating relationships with birth parents, managing finances, juggling support needs, and accessing resources.
The supports that Brophy provides help bridge the gap between good intention and sustainable care. They help carers feel less isolated, more equipped, and more confident — which in turn gives the child in their care a better chance to thrive.
Reach out to kinshipcare@brophy.org.au or call 03 5561 8888 for more information on how Brophy can support.