COLLEEN Hill says the house she shares with her husband, Steve, is not a home unless it has kids in it.

Through short-term fostering, the couple – with three biological children of their own – have opened their home and hearts to more than 30 newborn babies.

They are babies born into tumultuous circumstances, with disabilities or fatal diagnoses, and many are addicted to drugs.

But Colleen, 68, a former nurse and Steve, 67, an ex-cop, make it their mission to make sure they know love.

“All these babies need is love, attention and a good routine,” said Colleen.

Known as “Grammy” and “Poppy”, the couple help transition vulnerable children back to their families, into long-term foster care or guardianship.

Some babies arrive in the middle of the night, others – just days old – are collected by Colleen and Steve from the hospital.

Some stay a few months, others have stayed for years, becoming part of the Hill’s large and loving family.

“We want to give these kids a good start in life and that’s what we do,” Colleen said.

The retired couple’s fostering journey began 13 years ago in Mt Gambier, SA. It continued when they moved to Tathra and now, from their home in Canberra it’s their mission to offer care for as many babies that need it.

“At one point, when we were living in SA, we were looking after four babies under 12 months all at once,” said Colleen, who gets by on about four-hours sleep a night.

Just about every baby the couple cares for requires some kind of specialised attention.

Many of the babies need to be weaned off opioid addiction using morphine, which eases withdrawal symptoms, but requires a lot of work.

“If the newborns have drugs in them, it’s not good, it can be horrific,” said Colleen.

“The babies suffer withdrawals and it can take a while for them to come down off the drugs, one baby took a week to bring him down, another baby took three months.”

Nursing infants through opioid withdrawal isn’t for the faint-hearted.

“The babies have tremors all the time, they are in a lot of pain, it really is heart wrenching,” said Colleen.

Despite caring for vulnerable children for more than a decade, Colleen said the system is “broken”. 

One of only three foster carers looking after at-risk children in Canberra, the Hills are unsure they can keep caring for kids under a system that treats carers “disrespectfully” and “re-traumatises” vulnerable kids.

“The babies are just numbers to the agencies, it’s not about them any more,” Colleen said.

Colleen argues that improvements need to be made within the ACT government’s Childcare and Youth Protection Services including better communication between agencies and more respect for carers.

“I have 29 years of experience caring for people with disabilities and nursing care and you come across a social worker straight out of uni who thinks they know everything and tries to tell you what to do, it’s really stressful,” said Colleen.

The Hills could have been empty-nesters by now, their adult children are out of the house, and have families of their own, but the need to help vulnerable kids is too great.

Colleen and Steve also foster palliative care babies, nurturing them around the clock.

One of their foster children, a terminally-ill, nine-month-old boy, had been living in the heart ward at Westmead Hospital, since birth.

“No-one wanted him and I was told he would die there if no-one took him,” said Colleen.

“He had a cleft palate, cerebral palsy, was hearing impaired, had to be tube-fed and he weighed just one kilo when he was born.”

The Hills fostered the young boy until he was almost three-years-old, fondly remembering his smile and sweet nature.

“He was so beautiful. I was told he would never walk but I had him up and walking by the time he was two,” said Colleen.

“And he didn’t die. He’s now seven, he has a new family and we still see him.”

Despite being born into difficult circumstances, most of the babies the Hills raise are “smiley” and “happy”.

“It’s hard when they leave but we are in contact with nearly all the families of the babies we’ve had and we send birthday and Christmas presents and we try to see them,” Colleen said. 

For the Hills, who invest deeply, and ache terribly when each of their foster children leave, it’s a “privilege” having been a part of the child’s journey.

“If I can get these babies right, in order for them to go to a full-time home, then that’s what makes me happy.”

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