Regional Activity Grants Application Form

Background

Since 1999, a week has been set aside during March of each year to recognise, celebrate and thank Foster and Kinship Carers for their contribution to the lives of the children and young people in their care. As with most annual events held over time in an ever-changing environment, the time came for a review to check whether or not Foster and Kinship Carer Weekwas continuing to achieve the goals it was originally designed to meet.

To this end, PeakCare Queensland Inc. (PeakCare) as the auspicing agency for Foster and Kinship Carer Week, hosted a workshop entitled Foster and Kinship Carer Week: Where to from here – 2014 and beyond in mid-2013. This workshop was attended by members of the Foster and Kinship Carer Week Committee that comprises representatives from both government and non-government organisations, and was used to generate an ambitious plan for revitalizing Foster and Kinship Carer Week. Very importantly, FAST delegates and other peak bodies were also involved in the development of this plan. Feedback and encouragementwas also gratefully received from the Honourable Tarnya Smith MP, Assistant Minister for Child Safety.

A key component of the plan that the Committee is now working towards achieving features a broad-reaching public awareness raising campaign to be conducted in the months leading up to and including Foster and Kinship Carer Week 2014. The aims of this campaign are to:

1)enhance public awareness and appreciation of the needs of children and young people who, for various reasons and for varying lengths of time, may be unable to remain in the care of their own parents, and the critical role played by Foster and Kinship Carers in meeting their needs

2)facilitate a much broader range of sectors within Queensland society – governments, community services, corporations and businesses, media, other special interest groups and individuals – actively coming together, with shared understandings and compassion, to acknowledge the hardships experienced by many Queensland children, young people and families and, in a spirit of celebration, pay homage to Foster and Kinship Carers for the contribution they make, and

3)the engendering, amongst all existing Foster and Kinship Carers, of an increased sense of being acknowledged and respected by the Queensland community for the roles they undertake, thereby building their morale and increasing the likelihood of them continuing to perform their valued roles as well as attracting the interest of others who are appropriately motivated and suitable to become Foster or Kinship Carers.

A critical factor in contributing to the success of this campaign will be the program of regional activities and events conducted throughout the State during Foster and Kinship Carer Week 2014 to be held during the week commencing 9th March. As the three month campaign builds momentum and interest leading into Foster and Kinship Carer Week, it will be important for this campaign to reach its crescendo and culminate in a well-developed State-wide program of exciting and innovative localised events.

Applicants for Regional Activity Grants are encouraged by the Foster and Kinship Carer Week Committee to carefully consider the following information before completing their application. Proposals are sought that appropriately address the selection criteria and creatively contribute to the aims of revitalizing Foster and Kinship Carer Week in 2014 and making it a bigger and better event than ever before.

General overview of the Regional Activity Grants

Purpose of the Regional Activity Grants

The purpose of the Regional Activity Grants is to financially assist non-government organisations involved in the delivery of foster and kinship care services throughout the State to plan and deliver, in partnership and collaboration with others, local events and activities during Foster and Kinship Carer Week that draw widespread attention to, and public acknowledgement of, the contribution made by Foster and Kinship Carers to the safety, well-being and life opportunities of Queensland children and young people and, wherever possible, the support of their families.

Objectives of the Regional Activities

The key objectives established for each Regional Activity include:

1)The creation and maximisation of opportunities for local Foster and Kinship Carers and the children and young people in their care to participate in the selection and planning of events and activities that will beperceived by Carers as a genuine and meaningful expression of appreciation, thereby facilitating the building of their morale and their retention in performing their valued roles

2)The engagement of a broad range of sectors represented within the local community – multiple tiers of government, non-government and government providers of child protection and related services, corporations and businesses, local media, other special interest groups and individuals – in actively sponsoring and supporting activities that facilitate the participation of local Foster and Kinship Carers and members of their families and respectfully acknowledge their contribution to the local community

3)The facilitation of increased local community awareness about the child protection system and the critical role played by Foster and Kinship Carers within this system, thereby assisting the recruitment of new Carers who are well-suited and able to perform this role

4)The delivery of events and activities that reflect within their planning and design, an acknowledgement and celebration of the diversity of people’s cultural, socio-economic and personal backgrounds and life experiences who perform ‘general’ and ‘intensive’ Foster Carer roles as well as the values and characteristics they have in common, namely their shared commitment and dedication to the safety, well-being and life opportunities of Queensland children and young people

5)The delivery of events and activities that, as far as possible, are designed in ways that specifically acknowledge the contribution of local Kinship Carers in a personalised manner that is sensitive to their privacy and the family circumstances, usually not of their choosing, that have led them to become Kinship Carers.

Importantly, it is noted that a proportion of the available Activity Grants will be quarantined to fund at least one activity per region that pays special attention to the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, respected community members and organisations in acknowledging the valued contribution of existing and prospective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Carers in ways that are culturally meaningful and significant to them. This is in recognition of the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people within the child protection system and the importance of having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foster and Kinship Carers in place to improve compliance with the Child Placement Principle and maintain or restore these children’s identification and connections with their families, communities and culture.

Available grant funding

Generally, it is required that all grant applicants present proposals for an event or activity that will be planned and conducted in collaboration with at least one other organisation.

When developing your proposal, please note the following:

• Grants of up to $1k may be provided to an organisation where the proposed event or activity is to be conducted in collaboration with at least one other organisation, unless exceptional circumstances apply [1]
• Grants of $2k to $3k may be provided to an organisation where the proposed event or activity is to be conducted in collaboration with multiple other organisations [2]
• No more than $3k will be granted to support a single event or activity
• Only one application per event or activity is to be submitted for consideration.

Applicants are encouraged to incorporate within the planning of their event or activity, strategies to attract other donations and local business or corporate sponsorship (either in kind or money) to supplement the funding received, maximise the number of Carers able to participate in the event or activity and support the message that ‘child protection is everyone’s business’ and Queenslanders from ‘all walks of life’ should be involved in acknowledging the contribution of Foster and Kinship Carers.

Eligibility and selection criteria

To be eligible to be considered for an Activity Grant, the applicant must:

• be a non-government organisation already funded by the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to recruit, train, support and, in association with the Department, manage the assessment and approval/ re-approval of Foster and/ or Kinship Carers
• have a current ABN
• possess or have a demonstrated ability to obtain adequate public liability insurance coverage (Subject to the nature of the activity or event being proposed, an estimated coverage of $10m will be required)
• be able to identify at least one other organisation with whom the applicant has collaborated and/ or will be collaborating in developing and conducting the proposed activity or event (unless previously noted extraordinary circumstances apply which must be satisfactorily explained with the application)
• be able and willing to conduct the proposed event or activity during Foster and Kinship Carer Week (i.e. during the week commencing 9th March 2014)
• be prepared to promote access to, and make use of, resources developed and disseminated during the course of the public awareness raising campaign that will be conducted leading into Foster and Kinship Carer Week (such as media release templates and various social media strategies)
• if funded and if the applicant proposes to engage in child-related activities which are regulated by the blue card system, have an effective risk management plan and meet any blue card screening requirements [3]
• if funded, be willing and able to complete and return an ‘Event Information Form’ by the due date of Friday 16th February 2013, and
• if funded, be willing and able to complete and return an acquittal statement by the due date of Friday 11th April 2014.

Submitted applications will be comparatively assessed by the Foster and Kinship Carer Week Committee in relation to how well they address the following criteria:

1)Engagement of local Foster and Kinship Carers and the children and young people in their carein the selection and planning of the proposed event or activity

2)Breadth of the engagement of other stakeholders (e.g. local government, other non-government and government service providers, local businesses, media and special interest groups) in the planning and conduct of the proposed activity or event

3)Effectiveness of the proposed event or activity in promoting the theme Celebrating Carers, Fostering Futures and its capacity to draw widespread public acknowledgement of the contribution made by Foster and Kinship Carers from within a broad geographical catchment area

4)Consistency of the proposed event or activity with the purpose and objectives of the Regional Activity Grants including those relating to:

• increasing local community awareness about the child protection system and the critical role played by Foster and Kinship Carers
• acknowledgingand celebrating the diversity of people’s cultural, socio-economic and personal backgrounds and life experiences who perform ‘general’ and ‘intensive’ Foster Carer roles as well as the values and characteristics they have in common, and
• acknowledging the specific contribution of local Kinship Carers in a personalised manner that is sensitive to their privacy and the family circumstances that have led them to become Kinship Carers.

Where an application is being lodged specifically in relation to acknowledging and thanking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foster and Kinship Carers, the proposal will also be assessedin relation to how well it will involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, respected community members and organisations in acknowledging the valued contribution of existing and prospective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Carers in ways that are culturally meaningful and significant to them.

Lodging a grant application

Applications must be received by close of business Tuesday 10th December 2013. The application may be submitted via email or by mail.Please send completed application forms to:

Foster and Kinship Carer Week Committee

C/- PeakCare Queensland

P.O. Box 159 Paddington Qld 4064

or

Email:

Applicants will be notified of receipt of application via email and outcomes of the application by late December 2013.

Application form

1. Organisation details

Submit one application perevent. You must have an ABN as this document serves as a Tax Invoice to PeakCare Queensland Inc.

1. Payment processing - Please provide banking details for grant payment.

3. Tax Invoice to Peakcare Queensland Inc.

Amount: $______(insert requested amount)

Note the amount is inclusive of GST and subject to funding approval

I/we declare that the information provided here is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate and complete. I/We agree to abide by the conditions of funding laid out in this application form and understand that I/we will be responsible for completing an accountability of expenditure report within one month of the completion of the activity.
Signed:______Date: ______

4. Please write a brief description of your proposed activity or event for Foster and Kinship Carer Week 2014 in your local community.

Within your description, please ensure you address the eligibility and selection criteria.

• increase local community awareness about the child protection system and the critical role played by Foster and Kinship Carers
• acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of people’s cultural, socio-economic and personal backgrounds and life experiences who perform ‘general’ and ‘intensive’ Foster Carer roles as well as the values and characteristics they have in common, and
• acknowledge the specific contribution of local Kinship Carers?

[1]In extraordinary circumstances, the Foster and Kinship Carer Week Committee may consider some exceptions to this requirement. These exceptions may include, for example, a proposed activity or event to be provided for Foster and Kinship Carers in a remote location where opportunity for an organisation to collaborate with another organisation is limited. Exceptions may also include proposedactivities or events specifically and exclusively designed to acknowledge and thank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foster and Kinship Carers where, for reasons of ensuring that the activity or event is culturally appropriate and meaningful, a single organisation is best placed to organise and manage its delivery in liaison with Elders and respected community members.

[2]Generally, grants ofup to $2k will be provided to an organisation where the proposed event or activity is to be conducted in collaboration with three or more other organisations. The approval of grants of up to $3k will generally be limited to organisations where the proposed events or activity is to be conducted in collaboration with no less than four other organisations. The Foster and Kinship Carer Committee recognises that matters such as the geographical spread of the catchment area within which an activity or event is to occur, numbers of distinct communities located within the catchment area and existing infrastructure of local organisations situated within the catchment area with whom collaboration can readily occur are factors that may need to be considered in the development of proposals. An organisation that is proposing to conduct an event or activity in collaboration with less than four other organisations may submit arguments for a grant that exceeds $2k (but remains less than $3k) if it can be established that the additional funds are needed to manage higher transport costs and/ or other expenses that may need to be incurred in order to facilitate a significantly greater proportion of Foster and Kinship Carers within the catchment area being able to participate in the activity or event than would otherwise occur (i.e. without some additional funding being provided, Foster and Kinship Carers within the catchment area would be disadvantaged in relation to their ability to participate in comparison with Carers from other areas of the State).

[3]Information about blue card system requirements is available at