Foster Care Week is an annual event celebrating and raises awareness about foster care; the carers providing it and their role in the lives of the children and young people of Victoria who need them.

The events and celebrations held during foster care week aim to highlight and appreciate our valuable pool of foster carers and the contribution they make in the lives of children and young people and to the community.

The FCAV takes Foster Care Week as an important time to elevate the carer voice and build on sector engagement, to highlight advocacy priorities and increase collaboration and partnerships for shared aims. This is an opportunity to capitalise on the greater media and community awareness to promote foster carers, undertaking one of the most challenging but important volunteer roles in the community.

The FCAV hosts advocacy campaigns, supports carer interviews and voice in media and through our own website, social channels and via the AGM and Carer Celebration including nominations to the Commitment to Supporting Carers Awards. 

Thank you to all carers who engaged in activities and events for Foster Care Week attending one of the many Agency and ACCO carer celebrations held in their honour. Thank you to the agencies and ACCOs who hosted a range of fantastic events.

Foster Care Week - Heart of Gold - was a triumph of celebration, awareness and recognition of carers at events, online and in the media.

Click for more from the FCAV Carer Celebration and to read the FCAV 2023 Annual Report.

Commitment to Supporting Carers Awards - read more about the finalists and winning nominations here. 

Thank you to the 47 carers who nominated a worker for the awards this year and congratulations to all nominees, the shortlisted finalists and the final winners Jessica Savy (Anglicare Victoria) and Jessica Wright (ACF and Circle Program OzCHILD).

We were grateful for the work of the Lighthouse Foundation who collaborated with the FCAV to put out an important media release on the inadequacy of the Care Allowance and support to the Care Allowance Campaign. This was picked up by the Herald and printed to coincide with the start of Foster Care Week.