• Do you want to make a real difference in the life of a tamaiti/child?

• Are you looking for something that rewards you in more ways than most jobs?

• Do you share our vision that every child’s mana be upheld, and that every moment in a child’s life should matter?

If your answer to those questions is āe (yes!), then let us tell you about who we are and what we need from you.

We are Key Assets New Zealand; an organisation dedicated to promoting the wellbeing of tamariki. A big part of what we do involves providing care for young people facing circumstances where they need our support to have a secure, supportive, and nurturing home.

That’s where you come in. We need foster carers, or mātua whāngai, to work as part of our team. With you providing the richness of a home environment, our team will provide expertise in youth work, social work, education, therapeutic practices, and whānau restoration. Together we will work to change lives! We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation and have experience in supporting many unique and diverse carers who have dreamed of fostering a child.

We want to be open with you – the journey can be challenging. The tamariki we support have faced significant adversity. This means that they can have complex challenges and needs. Those challenges and needs require purposeful support to help them navigate life successfully. We will be there with you, to help them do that.

Now that we've captured your interest and you're thinking, "Wow, maybe I could do that!”, let us tell you about what we need from you:

• you will be part of a household with at least two adults – partners, siblings, mum and daughter etc but simply put, adults who have got what it takes. One of you will need to be able to consider being a matua whāngai as their fulltime role

• you will have resilience and be able to work through challenging behaviour and uncertainty

• some understanding of attachment and trauma would be an advantage, however we will support you with training, skill development and coaching

• you will be able to be at home during school hours when needed

• you will be available and willing to engage with others involved in the young person’s life. This could be attending therapeutic appointments, meetings with the professionals involved in their care, or supporting whānau contact

• you will celebrate every success and achievement of the child within your care – big or small. You will take joy from the difference that you are making to their life – and to their life chances.

If that sounds like you, we would love to kōrero with you about joining our mahi whānau.