Lutheran Care’s partnership with LBI Foundation is already resulting in improved confidence and a more robust toolkit for Foster Carers supporting children and young people with complex needs.

LBI Foundation is a local not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to build a wellbeing and trauma-responsive Australian community. Lutheran Care has partnered with the Foundation and engaged its co-founder and Clinical, Research and Education Director, Dr Ivan Raymond, to work with Foster Care staff and deliver the Foundation’s IMPACT Program to the Lutheran Care Foster Care community.

IMPACT is a capacity-building program that equips and empowers children and young people, caregivers and communities to understand and intentionally apply the science of wellbeing, trauma, resilience and growth for themselves, and in the support they provide to others. The program brings together all the therapeutic training, tools and models at Foster Carers’ disposal – such as Dan Hughes’ PACE Model, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and the Circle of Security Program – into one framework. Participation in IMPACT increases the likelihood of a caregiver being able to recall the right training and use therapeutic parenting strategies in the moment.

Foster Carers Mark and Karen have embraced the training, sharing that the learnings are already assisting the family in practical ways.

“I just wanted to say thank you for what has given me a whole new way to manage day-to-day life strategies,” Mark said.

“I re-read the IMPACT manual and highlighted a number of areas that I found would particularly help me with some immediate issues.

“It is my plan now to use the LBI IMPACT model every day,” he added.

“The LBI program is the lens used to bring it all together and help us use the appropriate tools as needed.”

Foster Carers can engage in the IMPACT Program through coaching conversations and modules with their Foster Care Case Workers, through free online training with LBI Foundation, and by attending an accredited training workshop with Lutheran Care or LBI.

For more information on the IMPACT Program, visit: www.lbi.org.au/impact

To find out about becoming a Foster Carer with Lutheran Care, visit: www.lutherancare.org.au/foster-care/