Foster and kinship carers are the backbone of the statutory child protection system in Australia. Volunteer carers open their hearts and homes to vulnerable and abused children, many with complex behaviours and care needs and provide them with the love and stability they will need to heal from their pain and chart a pro-social path to adulthood. These carers are the unsung heros of child protection. The Foster Carer Training Initiative set out to provide carers with accredited training and a pathway into employed work in the sector. At that time some 400 carers a year left the sector and despite significant skills and training were lost to other industries. In 2009 David Bradford the then Director of Training and Specialist Support for the Department of Child Safety and Brian Smith the CEO of Foster Care Qld first explored the idea of a Certificate IV program specifically for, and contextualised to, the needs of Foster and Kinship Carers. The goal was simple, provide foster and kinship carers the opportunity and ability to become paid staff and remain in the sector. By 2012 David had left the department and established the DaVange Group, the parent company that owns Horizon 2 RTO, and Bradford Institute of Advanced Education RTO. In 2012, the first cohort of the program was established under a 3rd party arrangement with TAFE Qld Southwest. The original cohort of 18 increased to 65 by the 5th week, and the program was in full swing. By 2023 the program was operating in 3 states and more than 800 carers nationally had completed either a Certificate IV, Diploma or both. Many of the graduates have gone on to work in the sector in roles such as foster care support workers and youth workers or, complete university studies and become Child Safety Officers.