Our Service
Family respite and support service
We provide regular respite care to children living with one or both parents, who are struggling with multiple issues in their household. We match each child with a supportive family for respite care, usually for one weekend each month. Our staff, our carers, the child and their family work as a team to best strengthen and support children. This connection with a carer’s family is often sustained for the whole of the child’s life.
Grandparents respite and support service
Many grandparents have full time care responsibilities for their grandchildren. Time for Kids can arrange regular respite care with a volunteer family and provide support to grandparents. Each year, we provide an overnight camp and day activities for grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy together.
Relative and Kinship respite and support service
We provide regular respite care for children in the State Care system, who are living with relatives or kinship carers. We match children with supportive families for respite care, usually for one weekend each month. Our staff, our carers, the child and their family work as a team to best strengthen and support children. The connection with a carer family is often sustained for the whole of the child’s adult life.
Mentor’s program
Overnight respite care is not suitable for every child or every carer and positive role models come in all ages,
shapes and sizes. We match children with supportive individuals or families for regular mentor’s days. Often this
is a shared activity that both child and mentor love to do. Mentor’s days takes place once a week, fortnight or
month and can be for a morning, afternoon or a day. Typical shared activities include playing sport, going to
football, soccer or basketball, bike riding, bushwalking, cooking, movies, arts or providing a child with an
opportunity to explore South Australia at places like the museum, art gallery, parks or beaches. The gift of time is
the greatest gift you can give a child.
School holiday program
Each school holidays we provide week-long placements for children. City children can go to a regional South Australian location and children from regional areas can come to the city. Children stay with a volunteer carer family and return to the same holiday destination in subsequent holidays, forging strong links.
Carer support services
Time for Kids recruits, assesses, trains and manages the approval process for our carers. All Time for Kids carers are registered foster carers in South Australia. We offer a peer support network, social functions and a resource library, and we hope to establish a carer resource and education centre and online resources in the near future.
Parenting support program
Time for Kids offers the families of referred children access to a support team for referral, advocacy and counselling. Families have access to our financial management program which includes emergency relief funds and resources, ongoing assistance from our financial counsellor and parenting and household skill development. Every child and their family is supported by an allocated team consisting of a family support worker and social worker.