Drawing inspiration from Belinda Lorek's recent workshop on the Self-Care Mind Platter—a concept adapted from the Healthy Mind Platter by Drs David Rock and Dan Siegel—Billy explains why xe's not a fan of New Year's resolutions but loves new year tweaks to self-care for a happier and healthier life around caring responsibilities.

Inspired by a poignant episode of the children’s show Bluey, this blog reflects on how the little things we do, such as displaying children's art on the fridge, become the evidence of therapeutic PACE care. When we show children that what they create matters, we show them that they themselves matter!

Christmas time can be a whirlwind of joy, excitement, and emotions. However, supporting foster and kinship children during the Christmas period requires thoughtful planning, empathy, and an understanding of the unique challenges they may face. This blog has eight thoughtful tips and creative ideas for providing meaningful support over the holiday season.

Out-of-home care organisations are living systems, alive with thoughts, feelings, and values. As a living organism, organisations too are vulnerable to the toxic stress of caring for young people who have experienced trauma. Just as young people disengage with caring adults when they don't feel safe, staff become disconnected from "The Management" when they don't feel supported through the stress that comes with caring. Organisational leadership must attune to staff needs to contextualise staff experiences and plan for change that sustains the self-renewing capacities of their organisational system.

November 30 is the International Day of Consent, a great day to plan a consent related conversations with a young person, to explore a consent-myth or realign a perspective about relationships - no matter how big or small. We are celebrating a fantastic year working collaboratively across ACF and CETC with OzChild on the When Yes Means YES project. Our online course has this year been piloted with OzChild foster carers, covering trauma-informed discussions, grooming, online safety, healthy relationships, boundaries and consent.

2024 at CETC was a year of highs and lows, celebrating launches for innovative training, thought-leading panels, and empowering over 2,500 carers and professionals. Yet, it was also a year of profound loss, as we farewelled our visionary CEO, Dr Joe Tucci. His unwavering passion for children’s rights and a safer, kinder world continues to inspire us. Through every challenge, CETC’s commitment to creating meaningful change remains stronger than ever.

In the age of digital everything, printed photos still hold a unique power—especially for young people in residential care. This blog explores how photo walls and shared snapshots can spark reflection, foster connections, and help young people piece together their stories.

For children and young people in care, the summer break can often bring significant changes - transitioning between schools, year levels, or teachers, and changes to daily routine. In response to children's rising needs, we often find ourselves doubling our efforts to provide care. Although this extra effort is crucially important, taking care of ourselves can quickly fall to the bottom of our priorities.

In August 2024, the Australian Children’s Commissioner released the report ‘Help Way Earlier! How Australia can transform child justice to improve the safety and wellbeing of children.’ The report investigates gaps in Australian youth justice systems and opportunities for reform, providing 24 recommendations for a cohesive coordinated response to one of the most urgent human rights issues facing Australia today.

For OT week this year, CETC ran a virtual workshop on attuning to the sensory needs of children and young people in care. Focusing on the power of co-regulation to teach self-regulation, Jenny Gay and Jess Wright were able to breakdown the basics of sensory processing, and how to adapt our care to identify and consistently meet the evolving sensory needs of children through our relationships.

Recent alarming regressions across Australia have moved youth justice policy towards punitive measures and away from evidence-based reforms like raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The CETC's response the Senate Inquiry into Australia's Youth Justice and Incarceration System calls for national, enforceable approaches to supporting rehabilitation and well-being for justice-involved young people.

Control-seeking behaviours can be a common daily experience for carers of children who have experienced trauma. The true challenge for therapeutics carers becomes understanding and addressing the needs that these behaviours communicate. This blog suggests 10 practical strategies to help carers meet the needs underlying children's control-seeking behaviours through connection instead of a power struggle.