Renée Leigh (Carter)
Chief Executive Officer
Renée Leigh (Carter) is the CEO of Adopt Change and a passionate advocate for the well-being of children and young people, with a focus on children with an experience in the Australian child protection system.
Renée leads a team of Adopt Change Changemakers across a range of work nationally and operates the government-funded My Forever Family NSW program to recruit, support, train and advocate for carers (foster, kinship, guardian and adoptive) of children in care.National activities include the annual #THRIVE National Permanency Conference; campaigns including ‘A Home for Every Child’ to find more homes and support; MyPacks first night backpacks for kids entering care; Empower Change for providing education support to children in care; along with engagement with community, government, child welfare sector; and is regularly sought to speak with media about child welfare, trauma-informed care, permanency and adoption.
Renée has held roles on advisory committees including as a member of the Institute Advisory Group for the independent research centre – Institute of Open Adoption Studies (The University of Sydney); various government and cross-sector advisory groups and taskforces; and was previously Vice Chair of NSW Committee on Adoption and Permanent Care (COAPC).
She is a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors, with a background in communications and executive management, along with board level experience in corporate and not-for-profit sectors. Her experience includes three years as Chair of charity Child Abuse Prevention Service (CAPS), an organisation focused on early intervention, education and support of families and communities; and Managing Director of corporate, investor and creative communications specialists Designate Group.
Renée is committed to influencing child welfare policy and practice for social impact – to bring about timely and effective outcomes for children so they can have better childhood experiences and a brighter future.
NSW
My Forever Family NSW
My Forever Family NSW (MFF) care for those who care for children. Their goal is to see all children receive the care they deserve, and all carers receive the support and training they need. MFF supports children and young people by recruiting and training their carers, with the goal of improving experiences and outcomes for families. They are funded by the NSW Government and operated by Adopt Change.
MFF are the first point of contact for potential carers and guardians, providing them with information about becoming a carer, permanent care and adoption. Partnering with the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), and with accredited foster care and adoption agencies throughout NSW, MFF work to ensure that there is a pool of quality carers available across the state.
MFF support carers as they begin their journey into fostering, adoption or guardianship. Whether you are a guardian, adoptive parent, short term or restoration foster carer (caring for children until they can return home to their birth family), long term carer or relative/kinship carer, MFF have developed specialised training and support services to suit carers needs.
MFF provides training across the state, including remote and regional areas, in person and online. They host multiple training events and workshops throughout the year and have a dedicated Carer Support Team who can provide personalised advice, information and support via phone or email.
MFF are dedicated to children and carers, taking on feedback from carers, NGOs and the child welfare sector to ensure they are doing everything they can to support the journey of all involved.
MFF are committed to diversity and inclusion, offering appropriate support for culturally and linguistically diverse carers.
Through their engagement with the state government and child welfare sector, they advocate for systemic change on behalf of carers and the children they care for.
NSW
Adopt CHangE
Adopt Change believes that every child has the right to grow up in a safe, nurturing and permanent family home, and that all families need the appropriate supports for children
to thrive.
Adopt Change works towards every child and young person having access to a safe, nurturing and stable family upbringing. We recognise the impact of childhood trauma, and provide a number of services and education so that children and families can be supported and thrive. We also work with government, sector and community to seek changes to legislation and policies to better provide for children and families.
We recognise the importance of permanency for positive life outcomes. We support capacity building of families to ensure that vulnerable children are able to remain within their birth family where possible. When that is not possible or safe, we advocate for other permanent options, including adoption where appropriate.
We understand the impacts of impermanency and trauma and we work to support families through workshops and online resources; research; pre- and post-adoptive supports; trauma informed supports; information and community events; as well as working with governments, departments and the sector to address issues surrounding permanency for children.
Adopt Change works towards every child and young person having access to a safe, nurturing and stable family upbringing. We recognise the impact of childhood trauma, and provide a number of services and education so that children and families can be supported and thrive. We also work with government, sector and community to seek changes to legislation and policies to better provide for children and families.
We recognise the importance of permanency for positive life outcomes. We support capacity building of families to ensure that vulnerable children are able to remain within their birth family where possible. When that is not possible or safe, we advocate for other permanent options, including adoption where appropriate.
We understand the impacts of impermanency and trauma and we work to support families through workshops and online resources; research; pre- and post-adoptive supports; trauma informed supports; information and community events; as well as working with governments, departments and the sector to address issues surrounding permanency for children.