Dear All, 

I watched this 9 News Queensland clip today, and my heart went out to "Dianne" a  foster mum and her foster son "Charlie" - apparently the names had to be changed for legal and privacy reasons.  So, as she went on TV to explain her problem, and perhaps to ask for help in general, I thought to write this petition on their behalf. Could we all help her out by signing and forwarding this petition to our friends and family?

The request:

We respectfully ask the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs to:

-          Assist Charlie with getting his Australian citizenship,

-          Allow Charlie to continue living with his foster mother Dianne until he is adopted,

-          Allow Dianne to apply as Charlie’s adoptive parent.

Background:

According to 9news, two year old Charlie is of Indian descent, and was born to international students in Brisbane who could not look after him. When he was four days old, he was given to his foster mum  – Dianne. She looked after him lovingly and was granted the right to foster Charlie till he was 18 years old. However, that decision was reversed because he’s to be adopted.

Now, I don’t know Dianne, and while adoption is ultimately a good decision, I can see this reversal causes problems in the short term:

-          Charlie cannot live with Dianne while adoptive parents are being looked for/assessed. He’s to be placed with another family (or families) until that time. This makes no sense as Charlie already has a loving home. A mother-child bond will be unnecessarily broken ahead of time, causing trauma to both.

-          The foster care situation in Queensland can involve multiple foster families for the foster child. Research shows multiple foster care homes can cause social, psychological and developmental delays and problems in children [1,2]. This could occur for Charlie. It makes more sense to reduce damage by only having one foster home, Dianne’s, not a second or a third home.

-          Dianne is not allowed to adopt him. I personally don’t know if age is a factor, but if she was given the right to foster Charlie till he was 18, why can’t she now adopt him?

He may also face deportation unless Queensland sponsors his citizenship. So let’s ask the Queensland Government to sponsor his citizenship, especially as he’ll face a worse COVID situation in India.

Many of us are parents. Can you imagine your two year old being placed into the hands of strangers when you are willing and able to care for him? Please sign this petition, and prevent unnecessary trauma being visited on an innocent child.  Alternatively, please voice your concerns with your local Member of Parliament.

Many thanks in advance.

Samanthi

PS - In case the link doesn't work the The 9 News Queensland clip can be found here: 

Brisbane toddler could be deported after Child Safety tell foster mother she can't adopt him

https://www.9news.com.au/national/brisbane-toddler-could-be-deported-after-child-safety-tell-foster-mother-she-cant-adopt-him/79e8faa8-404c-456c-9aa5-4d2884c4d109 

PPS - the references I used:

1] Casey Family Programs 2018, ‘What impacts placement stability’, Casey Family Programs, Seattle, Washington, viewed 3 June 2021,

<https://www.casey.org/placement-stability-impacts/>

2] Connell, CM, Vanderploeg, JJ, Flaspohler, P, Katz, KH, Saunders, L & JK Tebes, ‘Changes in placement among children in foster care: a longitudinal study of child and case influences’, Social Service Review, vol. 80, no. 3, pp 398–418, viewed 3 June 2021, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204626/>