Becoming a

Parent or
Carer

Types of parents and carers

Types of parents and carers
Biological parents Describe the different type of
Social parents parents and carers
- adoption Explore the impact of legal, social
- fostering and technological change on social
- step-parenting parents by considering changes in
- surrogacy - legislation
Carers - community beliefs and attitudes
- repdroductive technology
- primary
- informal and formal
Becoming a parent or carer
To most, becoming a parent is the most rewarding, satisfying and
challenging job in the world. Children are not born with manuals and,
although there are many resources out there to support parents, many
parents tend to learn on the job.
Similar to this is the role of a carer. Carers are unique. They play a
significant role in the community and are equipped with a vast array of
specialised knowledge and skills. While parenting is the process of
raising and nurturing children, caring is looking after the needs
and wellbeing of another individual.
Parenting promotes the development of an individual within a
family, while caring involves meeting the needs of a dependant
that may or may not be related.
Carers can be parents, and parents can be carers, but not all carers
are parents...
Roles/Responsibilities of a parent Characteristics of a parent

.
Types of parents and carers
Dependant: An individual who is under the care of someone else; includes children
and the cared for Eg

There are two main types of parents: biological parents and social
parents.

Both have a significant impact on their children. The importance of

providing love, support and encouragement is combined with the practical
tasks of providing for physical needs. Parents also have the major
responsibility to meet the needs of their children appropriate to the
circumstances and the childs stage of development. Parents also play an
important role in the effect they have on their childs emotional, economic,
cultural, physical, spiritual and social wellbeing.
Biological parents
A biological parent has provided the genetic material
to create a foetus. Generally, biological parents
contribute genetic material as a result of sexual
intercourse.
With Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), the creation
of a foetus may involve other procedures. These methods
include:
in vitro fertilisation(IVF)
embryo transfer (ET)
gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT)
Social Parents
A social parents is an individual who has parental responsibilities for a
child they do not share a genetic relationship with.
Eg. adoption, fostering, step-parenting and surrogacy.

Out-of-home care is a term used for the system where children and young people
(up to the age of 18 years) are unable to live with their birth families due to a
number of circumstances. Adoption and fostering may be the options taken here.

According to the NSW Governments Family and Community Services, the Out-of-
Home Care program provides care to children and young people who are not able
to live at home safely. They may have experienced significant harm or be at risk of
abuse, or their families might be unable to care for them because of disability,
drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence or mental illness.
- Adoption
Adoption is an option used to provide permanent care for
children who are unable to live with their birth families. It is a
legal process where all legal rights and responsibilities are
transferred from birthparents to adoptive parents.

In todays society, open adoption is often practised. This is where

all parties agree to contact and information exchange (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2011).
The child and parents benefit because the child has a secure
adoptive family and an ongoing relationship with their biological
parents.
Type of care Description
or adoption
Local adoption Children from infancy to two years of age
Birth parents voluntarily make a decision to have their child adopted
Permanent care Children are under the responsibility of Family and Community Services
Children are unable to remain in the care of their parents or family
members
Out-of-home It is assessed that children are not able to live with their parents or
care adoption extended family
Children are placed with authorised carers
Intercountry Adoptions between Australia and a country that is a member of the Hague
adoption Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption
Intrafamily Adoption of a child who lives in New South Wales by a step-parent or
adoption relative
Can be one of two types: step-parent adoption or relative adoption
In New South Wales, adoption is a responsibility of Family and
Community Services (FACS) and other registered agencies, such as
Anglicare, Barnados and CatholicCare
 According to The Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, an
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child
can only be placed with a non-Indigenous
carer if an appropriate placement cannot
be found in these three groups:

the childs extended family (kin)

the childs Indigenous community (kith)
other Indigenous people

The graph shows the number of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander children living in
out-of-home-care.
- Fostering
Fostering provides an alternative living arrangement for children whose
parents are temporarily unable to care for them in their family home.
The caregivers are volunteers who are paid a fortnightly allowance to help
them meet the needs of the child eg. buying furniture or clothing.
Foster care can last from a few days to a few years and includes immediate or
crisis care, respite care, shortmedium care, long-term care and relative or
kinship care.
A child may be put into foster care if:
they are considered to be at risk of harm
their basic physical and emotional needs are not being met
there may be risk of abuse or exposure to domestic violence.
In addition, sometimes a parent is unable to provide care owing to physical or
mental health issues or because the parent is in prison .
 Foster care is arranged in familiar locations where possible,
and the foster children and biological parents may be
encouraged to keep in contact regularly. This helps to
maintain the childs self-esteem, sense of belonging and
continuity.
Foster carers must be authorised by FACS. It is now mainly
managed by non-government agencies, as FACS is
transferring the Out-of-Home Care program to the non-
government sector. Non-government services include
Anglicare, Barnardos, CatholicCare and KARI Aboriginal
Resources for Indigenous children.
http://www.barnardos.org.au/get-involved/become-a-carer/why-kids-need-foster-care/

Suggest changes in community beliefs and attitudes about fostering that might result from this story.
Step-Parenting
When a man or woman marries or forms a de facto relationship with a partner
who has a child or children from a previous relationship, they become a step-
parent. This can occur due to divorce, separation, death or other circumstances.

The number of step and blended families has grown by more than 50 % in the
last 10 years and they now represent 10.6% of all couple families with children.

Under the Family Law Act 1975 a step-parent:

is not a biological parent of the child
is or has been married to, or has been a de facto partner of, a parent of the
child (includes same-sex couples)
treats the child as a member of the family formed with the parent.
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/step-parenting.html

Questions:
1. What may be some of the reasons a third of Australians getting
married have children from previous marriages?

2. Examine the impact of step-parenting on the child, parents and

other siblings.

3. Identify the ways in which families can become step-families.

- Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement between a couple who cannot have a
baby and a woman who gets pregnant on behalf of a couple. It is the
intention that the child is handed over to the couple after the birth.

A woman may need a surrogate if she is infertile, has had a

hysterectomy or suffers from a serious medical condition. Surrogacy
often means having IVF treatment, as the surrogate mother may use
donor ova or sperm or the parents own egg or sperm.

A person cannot be paid to be a surrogate, but generally the

adopting parents will cover all medical expenses.
 There are two types of surrogacy.

Traditional surrogacy is when a woman is pregnant with

her own biological child but conceives the child with the
intention of handing it over to be raised by others.

Gestational surrogacy is when a woman is impregnated

with a fertilised egg to which she has no genetic connection
and carries the child until birth
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2438835/Wombs-rent-India-Inside
-house-surrogates-poverty-stricken-women-carry-babies-wealthy-foreigners.
html
Prior Knowledge Confirmed New Learning Misconceptions Wonderings
Debate
Surrogacy is always immoral
Split the class in half (for and against). You will have 5 minutes to discuss with
your groups as many points for your argument before the debate.