One Door: A unified approach for caregivers

New Zealand currently operates separate doors and different entry pathways for people wishing to adopt, foster or offer permanent care for a child. This presentation outlines the work now underway to develop a unified application, preparation, assessment, training and support system for applicants wishing to care for a child, whether by adoption, guardianship or as a transitional (foster) caregiver. Placing the child at the centre, One Door uses a framework comprised of six core attributes for parenting a child not born to you; safety; attachment; resilience; identity; integrity; and support. A challenge for the One Door design team will be the application of the model to the family/whänau caregiver whose entry into the care system is, in the main, through necessity not desire.