Anglicare Victoria 

Raising the profile of foster care

The Project

Conversation Co was engaged by Anglicare to develop and deliver an engagement program to be delivered in conjunction with Foster Care Week to raise the profile of Anglicare Victoria, create curiosity in becoming a carer as well as understand any barriers or challenges in becoming a carer. Conversation Co undertook part of this project as a ‘Heart Project’ because it aligns with our values and was a great opportunity to showcase the community focused work Anglicare does. 

The aim of the project was to create awareness of fostering opportunities with Anglicare Victoria, gain a baseline understanding of the perception of foster care and understand the perceived barriers and challenges to becoming a foster carer.

For this project we undertook community pop-ups at two different locations to provide a varied snapshot of the community within their region.

Outcomes

  • We spoke to over 180 people during the two pop-up events from a diverse range of ages, suburbs and genders.

  • Participants provided insights into their perceived barriers and challenges and were able to have indepth conversations with Anglicare staff to better understand the opportunities for becoming a foster carer.

  • Four participants asked for further information about providing foster care through providing their email address and one household attended an information session as a result of attending a pop up and meeting the Anglicare staff.

  • Findings from this engagement were used to help Anglicare develop further strategies to create awareness in the community of the role Anglicare Victoria plays and the opportunities for foster care.

Reflections and Key Learnings

  • Participants appreciated the in person conversations and the ability to ask bespoke questions to the Anglicare staff, this highlighted the importance of being visible in the community and going to where the people are.

Challenges

  • Engaging with people who were concerned we were trying to sign them up on the spot to be a foster carer or to ask for a donation.

Keys to Success

  • Community pop-ups were held at a market and a shopping centre, and participants could easily participate as they went about their day to day activities.

  • Providing incentives; packets of vegetable, herb or flower seeds as a thank you for participating, as Anglicare was planting the seed of foster care.

  • Providing experiences of current foster carers to help participants understand the benefits of being a carer.

  • Providing knowledge; employees from Anglicare attended the pop-ups to provide knowledge and experience, having the ability to have in depth conversations and answer questions about foster care.

  • Informative and interactive props were used to inform participants about foster care and debunk some of the common misconceptions about eligibility.