Sofie Keeps Childcare Worker Baby Lily for More Than Six Months
Sofie, a Melbourne childcare worker and early childhood educator, agreed to take baby Lily home for a weekend after child protection asked for help. More than six months later, she was still caring for the child.
The request came after a court decided Lily was too much at risk and removed her from her mother that morning. Lily arrived at Sofie’s house at 7pm on a Friday night with a few bags of clothes, toys, nappies and food, and no one had fed her since that morning.
Melbourne childcare centre request
Child protection asked a Melbourne childcare centre whether someone could look after Lily for the weekend. The centre had already agreed to enrol the baby after that request, and Lily had attended only a handful of days there.
Sofie said on the phone to the child protection worker, “no, we are not working here Saturday and Sunday.” After she called her husband, she added, “It’s a big responsibility, but if she has nowhere to go.”
Nina, the owner and director of the childcare centre, said, “This is very short notice. The only way we can see this being done is we do this together, 50-50.” She said the child protection worker told her a person’s name was needed on the paperwork.
Friday night at Sofie’s house
Sofie said the first version of the arrangement sounded temporary, “Like babysitting, you know?” She said child protection later told her, “but maybe it will be a week” and then “but maybe it will be a month.”
The baby’s stay has stretched far beyond that. It is now more than six months since that call, and Sofie is still caring for Lily.
The case shows how a weekend placement can turn into a long-term arrangement once a child is already in a carer’s home. In this case, the handoff began with a court removal, a same-day request, and a placement that was first described as weekend care before it was extended in stages.
More than six months later
For Sofie and Nina, the practical arrangement was never a standard foster placement. Nina said the centre could only see it working if she and Sofie did it together, “50-50,” while Lily stayed with Sofie and was looked after as the weeks passed.
The details also show the pressure on individual carers when a child protection placement is made at short notice. A child who arrived with clothes, nappies and food for a weekend was still living with the same carer more than six months later.
