Sudden Carers Guide
A practical resource for carers and family members who unexpectedly step in to care for children when their mum is taken into custody.
When a mother is taken into custody, a child’s world changes in an instant. Whoever steps in often has no warning and many urgent questions.
The Sudden Carers Guide was designed for carers supporting children while their mother is in prison, without formal Child Protection involvement. That means the care arrangement has been made within family or community networks.
It covers the practical information you need, from the first hours to the weeks ahead. What to ask. What the child might need. How to talk with them about what’s happened. School, money, staying connected to Mum and looking after yourself.
Hope Network, a Victorian organisation that has worked with women in and beyond prison for almost 80 years, developed the guide. Our work reaches into homes, families and communities experiencing maternal incarceration, because the impact of imprisonment does not stop at the prison gate.
The guide was co-designed with carers and families with lived experience, alongside our Lived Experience Advisory Panel, community partners and professionals.
You don’t need every answer today, and you don’t have to do this perfectly or alone. Our Sudden Carers Guide is here to walk you through sudden caring, step by step.
Ongoing support for you
We welcome and support all caregivers - fathers, mothers, partners, grandparents, extended family, kinship carers, guardians, foster carers, and others in caring roles.
While we’re not able to provide crisis support, we do offer free, confidential support for caregivers and their families.
You can call our office Monday-Friday 9am-5pm on 03 9873 4190 or email family support familysupport@hopenetwork.org.au
If you or your child needs urgent help, please call emergency services on 000 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
“It’s hard to ask for help because you want to be strong. But I’ve learned that real strength is knowing when you can’t do it alone.”
— A CARER, GRANDPARENT
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re caring for a child while their mum is in prison, questions come thick and fast. You may not get answers to all of them straight away, but it’s still worth asking.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions from grandparents and family carers in Victoria.
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(The first 24 hours, p. 6–10)
Start with the basics. Make sure the child is safe and has eaten, write down important information and contacts, and let their school or daycare know when the time is right. You don’t need all the answers today. -
(Practical parenting and getting set up, p. 20–21)
Keep it honest, simple and age appropriate. Remind them they are safe, it is not their fault, and they can ask questions. If you don’t know something, it’s okay to say so. -
(Keeping connected to Mum, p. 32–35)
Unless there are serious safety concerns, contact with mum is usually in the child’s best interest. In the first few weeks, contact with family is limited. After that, calls, letters and visits may be possible, and Hope Network can help you prepare. -
(Financial help, p. 44–45)
Yes. Call the Centrelink Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser on 1800 245 965. The Orange Door also connects carers with free local support, including material aid and food relief, and you don’t need a referral. -
(Self care, p. 42–43)
Many carers carry their own grief and uncertainty, and often feel alone. Looking after yourself is, in the most direct sense, looking after the child.
Hope Network offers one-on-one support for carers. Call (03) 9873 4190, Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm or email familysupport@hopenetwork.org.au