Department of Human Services

Earlier Intervention & IntakeEarlier Intervention & Intake

The Legislation in Action!

Reporting Concerns about Children or Young Reporting Concerns about Children or Young People – Child FIRST or Child Protection?People – Child FIRST or Child Protection?

• Guidance for professionals involved with vulnerable children, young people (0-17 years) and their families, including families with an unborn child.

What is Child FIRST?What is Child FIRST?

• Child and Family Information, Referral and Support team.

• The entry point into consolidated Family Services within sub-regional catchments

Child FIRSTChild FIRST

• Clear sub-regional intake into Family Services characterised by:- Single phone number for catchment- Undertakes initial needs and risk identification, assessment.- Agencies have capacity to respond to direct referrals –

consistent assessment and processes- Joint allocation involving all Family Services in sub-regional

catchment- Capacity for differentiated responses in service delivery

indicated by assessment- Joint monitoring, review and demand management

arrangements- Supported by Community based Child Protection Worker.

Defining Family Service Defining Family Service ReferralsReferrals

• All referrals to family services are about vulnerable children and families with presenting problems that impact on the child’s care or development due to factors including serious parenting problems or family conflict; mental illness; substance abuse; disability or bereavement; young isolated or unsupported families;or significant social or economic disadvantage.

Significant wellbeing Significant wellbeing concernsconcerns

• Are assessed as serious presenting problems that impact upon a child’s care and development and where the parent is unwilling or unable to access appropriate supports to make positive changes.

Significant wellbeing Significant wellbeing concerns cont’d.concerns cont’d.

• Require heightened vigilance to best ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child that includes the capacity to:– Access information to support risk assessment or

service provision without parental conflict– Consult Child Protection about any purpose of child

and family services – including risk assessment or ongoing service.

– Catchment wide overview through Child FIRST or service history and potential cumulative harm of children with significant wellbeing concerns.

Statutory authorisation for Statutory authorisation for significant wellbeing concerns are:significant wellbeing concerns are:

• Withhold the identify of a referrer in order to receive information that will assist in assessing, or accessing services, to best ensure the safety and wellbeing of a child.

• Consult with other professionals in order to inform the assessment of risk to the child or determine an appropriate service for the child.

• Consult with Child Protection to support risk assessment or safety planning for the child to undertake any purpose of a child and family service agency.

All ongoing Family Services All ongoing Family Services referrals require:referrals require:

• A current child and family action plan based on the assessment of risk and need(minimum requirement is a statement of goals as agreed between family and worker).

• Service is prioritised on the basis of need.

Child Protection Intake – Key Child Protection Intake – Key Policy DecisionsPolicy Decisions

• Child Protection will classify a report as:– an unborn child report– a child wellbeing report– a protective intervention report– a therapeutic treatment report for sexually

abusive behaviours– inappropriate/insufficient information

Child Protection Intake – Child Protection Intake – When is a Report Classified?When is a Report Classified?

• Report classification should follow information gathering and assessment.

• Preferred Practice – Report should be classified within 3 days. (Protective Intervention Report – 2 day and 14 day KPI’s are concurrent)

• Child Wellbeing Reports – KPI’s under development.

Child Protection Intake – When a Child Protection Intake – When a report is classified Child Wellbeing?report is classified Child Wellbeing?

• May result in:– Advice to Reporter– Referral to Child FIRST or other service.

Child Protection – When a report is Child Protection – When a report is classified as Protective Intervention classified as Protective Intervention ReportReport

• May result in:– Transfer to Response Team for

Investigation– Advice consultation if it is an open case.

The relevant allocated worker to follow up the new allegation.

Child Protection Intake – Care-leaver Child Protection Intake – Care-leaver seeking assistanceseeking assistance

• Classified as a Child Wellbeing Report that results in a referral to the Leaving Care Program.

• Care leaver contacts only to be classified as Wellbeing reports for under 18years.

• All contact for over 18 years to be made as a casenote in a closed file.

Child Protection Intake – Feedback to Child Protection Intake – Feedback to all reportersall reporters

• Reporters must receive feedback about the outcome of the report.

• Exception – exceptional circumstances/or it is not in the child’s best interests.

• Reasonable attempts should be made to contact reporters over the phone.

• Reporters should be informed within 48 hours of the report being classified.

Child Protection Intake – Child Protection Intake – Multiple ReportsMultiple Reports

• Where Child Protection has received 2 reports in a year which are not investigated irrespective of the classification, any subsequent report must be investigated unless the Intake Unit Manager reviews the case and assesses that an investigation is not warranted.

• If an investigation is not warranted, Unit Manager must record an explicit rationale for this decision

• If Intake Unit Manager has had previous involvement/contact with the case, preferred practice – another Unit Manager should wherever possible undertake the review.

Child Protection Intake - AHSChild Protection Intake - AHS

• If AHS receive a report that does not require an emergency outreach, they will transfer it to the appropriate region for classification.

• Role of Parentline and Maternal and Child Health Line – on basis of information provided:– 1. Provide advice as they do now– 2. Report to Child Protection if significant concerns

for wellbeing– 3. Provide details of Child FIRST/ Family Services to

the caller– 4. Refer the matter to Child FIRST/Family Services

Unborns – Key Policy Unborns – Key Policy DecisionsDecisions

• Unborn Flow Chart • The High Risk Infant program to be involved in all unborn child

reports received by Child Protection.• Child FIRST to seek consultation on unborn child referrals from

the High Risk Infant program, where advised to by the CBCPW.• Case Conferences to occur on all unborn child reports by Child

Protection where significant risk and need issues are identified, and with the mother’s consent for parents/families to be involved unless there are exceptional circumstances for them not to be

• Child Protection to provide assistance to expectant mothers/families of unborn children (with their consent) for as long as required (no timeframe).

Unborn ReportsUnborn Reports

• When a case is classified as an unborn child report this may result in:– Advice to reporter (including family where

they are the reporter)– Referral to Child FIRST or other service– Child Protection to provide direct

service/assistance to the expectant mother of the unborn child.

Unborn Reports – Considerations for Unborn Reports – Considerations for good practicegood practice

• Consideration should be given to using Family Group Conference or Aboriginal Family Decision Making when assessed as appropriate and consented to by the expectant mother.

Information SharingInformation Sharing

• The CYFA authorises certain classes of professionals to share information in certain circumstances.

1. Community services 2. Information holders3. Service agencies

1. Community Services1. Community Services

• An out of home care service• A community based child and

family service (e.g.Child FIRST, Family Support Service)

2. Information holders2. Information holders1.    Police 2.    Government department employees3.    School teachers and principals4.    Doctors5.    Nurses 6.    Psychiatrists7.    Psychologists8.    Person in charge of a relevant health service 9.    Person in charge of a relevant mental health service10.  Person in charge of a children's service (i.e. child care workers)11.  Person in charge of a disability service12.  Person in charge of a drug or alcohol treatment service13.  Person in charge of a family violence service (to be included in regulations)14.  Person in charge of a sexual assault service (ditto)15.  Person in charge of a parenting assessment and skills development service

(ditto)16.  Person in charge of a local government family service

3. Service agencies3. Service agencies

• A Victorian Government Department• A relevant health service• A relevant psychiatric service• A body funded to provide a disability service• A body funded to provide a drug or alcohol

service• A body funded to provide a family violence

service• A sexual assault service

Protection of Reporters/ReferrersProtection of Reporters/Referrers• Any person making a report to Child Protection

receives the same protections as notifiers do under the CYPA.

• Anyone making a referral to Child FIRST that is accepted as a Significant Wellbeing Concern receives the same protections as notifiers do under the CYPA

• Anyone making a referral to Child FIRST that is accepted as a general family referral does not receive these protections.

• Mandated reports remain the same – physical injury/sexual abuse.

• Mandated reporters remain the same – police, teachers, medical practitioners, nurses.

Intake information sharingIntake information sharing

• Child Protection and Child FIRST can consult with community service workers and information holders to complete a risk assessment.

• Child Protection and Child FIRST can consult with service agencies about a possible referral or joint response.

Family Service provision Family Service provision (outside Intake)(outside Intake)

• Where a family service is working with a family, information sharing requires consent except:– Where authorised by the Information

Privacy Act 2000 or Health Records Act 2001

– Where the family service wishes to consult with Child Protection about risk assessment, service provision etc.

Child Protection Investigation Child Protection Investigation Information sharingInformation sharing

1. Where Child Protection are investigating a report, the CP worker can authorise any person to provide information and disclosers are protected.

2. Classes of people can be authorised as they are under the CYPA.

3. The CYFA explicitly authorises information holders and community service workers to disclose information.

Child Protection Intervention Child Protection Intervention Information sharingInformation sharing

• The authorisation for community service workers and information holders continues through subsequent intervention.

• Most information sharing will be with knowledge and consent.

Children in out of home care Children in out of home care Information sharingInformation sharing

• The Secretary or an out of home care service must:– provide the carer with all known

information that is necessary to assist the carer to decide whether or not to care for the child

– provide the carer with any known information regarding the medical status of the child to enable the carer to provide appropriate care

Information sharing – Information sharing – Professional GuidanceProfessional Guidance

• Guidelines to be published – 4 versions for: – teachers/principals, – health professionals, – community services, – police– Others

• One page leaflets for all classes of information holder and community services

• Child Protection practice manual• Sheet for Child Protection and Child FIRST

intake workers

Registration of CSO’s and Registration of CSO’s and Minimum StandardsMinimum Standards

• There will no longer be separate program standards to meet for Family Services, Out of Home Care and Residential services from 2007.

• Most Family Services will be automatically registered (those who won’t are predominantly very small specialist agencies).

• All Child FIRST sites (Family Services providers) will be registered and have 3 years to demonstrate compliance.

• Registered services are authorised to receive referrals regarding vulnerable children, young people and families from anyone in the community who has concerns around the wellbeing of the Child.

ConsultationsConsultations

• Disclosers of information are protected • Written records • New reports

Consultations – Considerations for Consultations – Considerations for good practicegood practice

• Case Conferences – need to be considered and used for consultations and reports made to Child Protection on a case-by-case basis

• Professional Judgement – is this a consultation or should it be a report?

Qualities of an effective Qualities of an effective intake worker:intake worker:

• A willingness to learn what it is that the reporter/referrer wants from the call

• An ability to acknowledge the caller’s concerns and desires, respect that it is a difficult decision to make a call about a child

• Preparedness to offer respectful curiosity with an assumption that a caller may have additional information about a vulnerable child that needs to be given weight

• Recognition that all families have signs of safety, and an exploration as to what extent these offset the child’s vulnerability

• …an ability to hold the child at the centre of all considerations, and to practice in a manner which is consistent with s10, CYFA (2005).

Quality InformationQuality Information

• Best Interest Assessment and Case Practice Framework outlines the essential information gathering categories, each with specific prompts:– Child’s culture– Child’s age and stage of life– Child’s safety– Child’s stability– Child’s development– Parent/Carer capability– Family composition and dynamics– Social and economic environment– Community partnerships– Resources & networks

Quality analysis and decision Quality analysis and decision makingmaking

• On the basis of the information gathered, to analyse the harm (or vulnerability) to a child, examine the future risks, look at the sustainability of protective factors that have been identified, and clarify the child’s needs.

Quality analysis and decision Quality analysis and decision making cont’d.making cont’d.

• A competent analysis of the information gathered at intake will allow us to logically progress to a quality judgement, where risks and needs of the child are articulated and weighted.

Quality RecordingQuality Recording

• Agencies will have their own specific standards

• Vital that sufficient detail in relation to the concerns, the safety indicators and any apparent discrepancies are noted

• Most importantly, a clear and transparent analysis of the information gathered, which enables the reader to understand the rationale for the decisions that follow.

Quality ProcessQuality Process

• Respectful engagement of the caller• Allowing them to tell their story in their

own words, before seeking to clarify aspects

• Willingness to explore the strengths and safety indicators in the family

Sorts of questions that are Sorts of questions that are asked…asked…

• Importance of using exceptions and scaling questions to elicit strengths based information

Questions….Questions….• What in your view are the worst aspects of the

behaviour you are talking about?• What convince you to take action and call us now?• How is this behaviour a problem for you?• Have you done anything (apart from this call) to

address the problem?• What do you see as the cause of the problem?• Have you talked about these matters with anyone who

knows the family?• Would others agree with your perspective?• What would they say?• Would the parent(s) agree with your assessment of the

situation?

Questions that identify Questions that identify Exceptions &/or Strengths at Exceptions &/or Strengths at intakeintake

• It sounds like this has happened before. What have you seen the family do to sort this out?

• You mentioned that it is not always like this. Can you tell me what is happening when the situation is okay?

• What is different about those times?• Are there times when the mother is attentive rather

than neglectful?• Can you tell me more about those times?• What did the parent and child do instead?• What do you think contributed to the parent’s

responding differently?

Questions that identify Questions that identify Exceptions &/or Strengths at Exceptions &/or Strengths at intake, cont’d.intake, cont’d.

• You said the children always seem miserable and withdrawn. Are there any times when you have seen her come out of her shell? What is she like then?

• How do family members usually solve this problem? What have you seen them doing?

• Are there times when you call on other people to help solve problems? When do you do that? Who do you call on?

• Can you relate anything good about these parents? • What do you see as positive about the relationship between the

parents and the children?• Are there aspects of your relationship with the family that, in

conjunction with our intervention, might help to influence them for the better?

Scaling questionsScaling questions

• “Scaling questions can be of benefit….because they create a dialogue that assumes a continuum from danger to safety – because of this continuum they embrace the possibility of change”

Turnell & Edwards, 1999

Safety Goals at IntakeSafety Goals at Intake

• The situation sounds serious. What do you think should happen? How would that solve this problem?

• Calling this agency is a big step. In your opinion, what would it take to make the child safe?

• What do you imagine us doing to make the child safe?

• Do you think any other agency might be able to help with this situation?

• What do you think this family should do?• What are they capable of doing?