It is not uncommon to hear foster carers and child protection case workers comment about a child's behaviour both before and after parental contact. Frequently these comments are negative, the view being expressed that contact should be reduced because the children get upset at seeing their parents for a limited time, and then at having to separate from them. The child's resultant distress seems too difficult to manage for foster carers. Some foster parents even go so far as to suggest that parental contact should completely cease. This article sets out the rationale for parent–child contact after a Children's Court has ruled that there is “no realistic possibility of restoration” of a child to parental care. In doing so, the article revisits many of the old arguments put forward for reducing parent contact. However, alternative ways of approaching children's difficult behaviours both pre- and post-contact are also proposed to suggest different ways of managing these behaviours. The legislation and child protection practice in New South Wales provides the frame of reference for this article.

Foster care has been available in Australia for almost 150 years. Carers have long been recognised as “the ultimate volunteers” who care for the most traumatised, emotionally disturbed children in the nation. Given that they provide the foundation stone of the child protection system, one might expect carers to be supported and valued. Numerous studies have shown otherwise. Warning signs over the years have been ignored by child welfare authorities resulting in carers leaving the service faster than they could be recruited and the most needy young children being placed in caravan parks, cheap motels and group homes supervised by occasional, inadequately trained, generalist carers employed on seven hour contracts by agencies.

This article discusses the outcomes of a research project undertaken in 2011/2013 by a team of researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in collaboration with Wanslea Family Services. The project aimed to address the relative lack of voice of biological children in the fostering task, despite the increasing acknowledgement of children's rights and their capability to be involved in decision-making processes. Data was collected through the use of focus groups and interviews with a small number of biological children, foster carers and service providers in Western Australia (WA). The data indicated the necessity to reconsider the rights of biological children in the fostering task and the need for specific strategies to address these rights. The findings of the study informed the development of a set of interactive resources for supporting biological children of foster carers during all stages of the fostering process in Australia. The resources also have potential value for use in overseas jurisdictions.