Why we're here

We are a growing community of individuals and organisations who are committed to the fundamental reform of child protection and out-of-home care (foster care and residential care institutions).

There are more than 45,000 children and young people in out-of-home care across Australia. Many are growing up without the long term, safe and secure relationships every child needs.

Too many kids and teens are being raised in residential care institutions by rotating shift workers, without consistent adults in their lives. Even in foster care, children are often moved from placement to placement, losing the very relationships that should help them heal and feel safe. The system makes it hard to build and sustain the relationships that matter most, with family, carers and workers alike.

Compliance, forms and risk assessments crowd out connection. Excessive rules and regulations undermine relationships. 

This is a system that, by design, creates barriers to the one thing that children need most: real, lasting connection. This isn’t just a policy issue. It’s a heartbreak. Because relational deprivation is harm.

Our call for change

We want a world where:

• far fewer children are removed into the care of the State because parents and families can access timely, wraparound support in their communities, and children are supported to stay with people they know and trust when home isn’t possible.
• every child in out-of-home care is surrounded by safe, steady relationships with adults who show up, stay close, and stand firmly in their corner.

That’s why we’re advocating for another way: a shift to a Child Connection System that keeps children connected to the people who know and love them, helps parents and families earlier, cuts unnecessary bureaucracy, and reduces the need for government intervention. If children do enter statutory care, they stay connected and are held in strong, relational support.

Led by experience and evidence

Our work is guided by lived experience and grounded in what evidence, neuroscience and frontline practice already show: children do best when relationships are at the centre.

Lived experience: We’ve never met a young person who says it was paperwork that changed their life; they say it was ‘Tom’ or ‘Rhonda’: a carer, worker, family member or mentor who stayed, listened and showed up. The answers are already there in what children, families, carers and workers have been saying for years: relationships change lives. >> Your Stories

Neuroscience: The research is clear. The more attuned, caring adults a child has, the safer and stronger they become. Those relationships also depend on care workers having the time, trust, continuity and organisational support to work relationally. >> What is Relational Care?

Public health approach: Our call for a public health approach is grounded in Supporting Children and Families to Flourish, our collaborative research project with the Australian Public Policy Institute. It brings together academics, policy experts, practitioners, First Nations-led organisations, lived experience and frontline workers, and draws on more than 100 research papers and case studies.

How you can help

Join us
Be part of the movement for change. Sign up to show your support and stay connected and follow us on LinkedIn.

If you’re a practitioner
Keep connection at the centre of your practice, deepen your understanding (check out our Knowledge Hub), do a self-check, bring others with you, and speak up for the conditions that make relational care possible. You are part of something bigger. Everyday shifts in practice matter, and together they can help drive broader change.

If you’re a policymaker or leader
Help drive progressive change by reshaping the conditions that enable relational systems of care. This means treating child and family wellbeing as a social justice issue, and shifting policy, funding and accountability towards trust, connection and community-led support. >> Learn more