I am new to forums but have been dealing with docs now for a while. A brief history: We are foster carers, We have been doing this for just over 3 years now, this is something we decided to do to try and make a difference to someones life. We look after long term placements and are currently in the process of a tribunal hearing and allegations of neglect and abuse. I cannot understand what a lot of people here are going through but can certainly recognise similarities with dealing with docs. I do not want to get too much into our case as we are still fighting this and I don't want to jeopardise our chances. I will say that the child's family are happy were the child is, The child will never go home and is happy to stay with us as we are considered Mum and Dad.

We have been asked by people "Why noy just give the child back and get on with your life"? My answer to that is simple. We are the voice for this child, what chance do they have if the people that are supposed to love and care for them won't stand up and fight for them. Have I thought about giving up? Hell yes!! But then I see where we have come in 3 years and the happiness that is now evident in the child we care for and realise that I could not give up because to do that would be to say we do not care enough about you to warrant a fight.

I have spent weeks and weeks looking for info on Docs and other people that are having problems and for a while I thought it was just us ( I know, very niave), I am astounded by what I have found and read and in this I have found the strength to continue. My heart goes out to all those that have been persecuted by these mindless idiots at docs. It is now a matter of principal to prove that docs and partners have lied and made stuff up to suit themselves. Our day will come, of this I am sure. Things can only be covered up for so long. We have been lucky that we have kept every bit of correspondence from docs and partners and are able to prove the lies that they are spreading.

It is sad that you are apparently guilty and are left to try and prove your innocence. At no point have we been asked to discuss the matters that have been brought against us. We have according to all reports met the standards of care and never had a matter of concern raised against us but here we are fighting to stop a removal from happening.

I know that there are plenty of people who see foster carers as the enemy or the people that took there kids away, all I can say to that is most of the people I have met that are foster carers truly believe in what they are doing. Everyone is titled to there own opinions.

During my researching on the internet I found something very interesting regarding child safety laws. I was amazed to see that basically the child protection act gives its workers absolute power with no chance of being prosecuted for what they have done, but this is not the case with the Government. I will copy below what I found and can only hope that this will some of you in your fight against these bastards. I will be using this as soon as I have won my case. ( I cannot think of losing as it takes me down a path I do not wish to go).

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that public services and governments are to provide children with the freedom and opportunities to express their views and that the service or government must consider their views in a meaningful way.
The Convention came into force in September 1990 and is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.
Australia ratified the Convention in 1990 and in doing so, committed to protecting and ensuring children's rights and to being held accountable for this commitment before the international community.
The four core principles of the convention are:
non-discrimination
devotion to the best interests of the child
the right to life, survival and development
Respect for the views of the child.

Keep fighting, At least that is the one thing they cannot take away from you.

Everyone tells me docs have more power than the cops
You better believe it they do as if you piss them off their like a nest of meat ants as when you disturb them they gang up and come out fighting.
What I would like to know is why are docs pissing off so many foster carers lately, or are they trying to replace them with the new breed foster carers?.

Just found this site this morning Its great but I will do some reading before I start to ask some questions.
Thanks for this site its exactly what we want.

i need to find a picture under my name. I don't know how to do it but I will ask for help from a family friend.

Foster is not adoption. You should be willing to give these children back in a heart beat. Didn’t DOC's tell you this..

Typical of them to not let you know what foster is about, they raise your hopes and let you down.

Going through the NSW courts we put some noses out of place and we started to get 3rd party harassment and a couple of toons who seem to have a command for what was going on in our lives started harassing us, throwing bottles at our home yelling stuff about the children.

We moved 5 times and every time DOCS would broadcast our address against our wishes in every court document they could submit. It was like they did this knowingly. The children were experiencing a tough time because of this abuse of privacy at a time when we needed it most….

Well it got to the point we had to leave the state. as we were out of places to move and we were close the qld border. DOC's took our children.

It was two years until we found suitable housing and wanted to have our children returned.

These damned foster parents obviously wanted to adopt my children, hid our gifts in the garage and denied phone access even though we had phone access.

To cut a long story short, they were poisoning my children’s minds against restoration.

Restoration is your job as a foster carer in every sense. Unless the child is at risk and not the risk DOC's always bullshit about, you should be encouraging the child to return home.

If the child is at risk you should not be encouraging the child to do anything. Remember “every’ child from DOC's is at super risk. However this may not the case.

As a foster parent you are at risk of being poisoned against the parents by DOC;’s and in turn the children are at risk of being poisoned by you.

Trust me! If I was a foster parent, “you” and I got wind of the total bullshit they were scribing in documents about us I would try keep these kids too.

The thing is! DOC’s already know the crap they fabricate and once it looks like they are in the clear legally they will want to return the children to the home to save tax payers dollars. You just get caught up in all the false alligations.

It’s hard for me to respond to you as you offer little information on the particulars of your situation.. You leave a lot of room for us to fill in the blanks, and fill in the blanks we will until you remove the shroud and join us. We can be a very suspicious lot when we detect that something isn’t being said as it reminds us of something you are experiencing through your own dealings. Either you are with us or not.. Spill the beans as it is useless us reading powerless words and we are not capable of responding to anything you post here properly.

REMEMBER FOSTER IS NOT ADOPTION..

so give it up already.

Sorry I don't have much time for most of the Foster Carers today as all they are is accomplices in Child Stealing.

For Christs Sake.
Welcome srcandsnc.
Anyone who is affected by Docs should feel welcome to post here.
Just because we dont know the full story we dont need to jump to conclusions.
Im not willing to spill my full story either - and i am a parent who is fighting for 4 children to be returned.
Dont be so damn harsh.
We're all here for help and to realise we are not alone. Not to be distrusted.

Words Well Said
Well At least this site popped up because of a long abused person thanks to DoCS and myself and my family were abused by DoCS so as a collection we all have one thing in common we all despise the lying pigs that work for DoCS.

Thanks for the welcome.

I would like to make something very clear... We understand that fostering is about reunification with the family, I would love to see this happen. In our situation the child will never go back to the family, unfortunately for them it is not an option, this is not our desicion. The remaining family members are quite happy to see the placement continue as thaey have been able to witness the progress and improvement in this childs life.

As stated previously, everyone is entitled to their opinions. I know that foster carers are not looked on favourably, the ones that I have met were all concerned about one thing, the child and how whatever is happening affects the children and their family. I admit I do not go out of my way to meet many other carers so I cannot guess how they act, I also cannot say that all of them are only concerned about reunification or how the kids are affected by whatever is happening within their lives.

I can speak from my point of view and what I have witnessed rom my side of the fence. I believe I also said that after reading some of the stories here my heart goes out to alot of you. I know how we are feeling at the moment and could not even guess how you must feel. It makes me sick just thinking about how people seem to be treated in docs. JUst because I don't have my own kids being ripped away from me doesn't mean I don't understand or care about what is happening. Quite the oppposite.

We have invested over 3 years of our heart and soul for this child who has suffered enough already in their short lives. (this is not fabricated but proven abuse substantiated by other family members). To see a child who has started calling you mum and dad (we have never asked for that and we constantly talk about the true family to this child as where they come from is an important issue for us) and is feeling secure and safe in their family environment with regular contact with their true family being ripped away by malicous bullshit is devastating.

You don't have to like foster carers, you don't have to like us (personally)either, I understand that to many we are the enemy or participants in "child stealing" as posted, All I am trying to get across is that we are in a similiar situation to alot of you and I wanted you to know that we understand your pain and suffering and wish that everything will work out for all of you and that if we can help we would love to offer our support.

Get back in your box kcus s'CoD! I thought this site was about supporting people who are going through problems with DOCS, not interrogating everyone because you think they have something to hide. I think it has taken a lot for this foster carer to come forward and post something on here. Especially with the amount of narrow minded fools who think that foster carers are child stealers as well!

Of course foster care isn't adoption. There's a whole other section of DOCS that deal with adoptions. But for children who are in long term care (as in they will be in foster care until they are 18 years of age), it is better for them to be with the same foster care family for stability and continuity. I think this is what srcandsnc is trying to say.

kcus s'CoD I think you need some schooling in what fostering is about!