Transcript Earlier Intervention

Earlier Intervention & Intake
The Legislation in Action!
Department of Human Services
Reporting Concerns about Children or Young
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?
• Child and Family Information, Referral
and Support team.
• The entry point into consolidated Family
Services within sub-regional catchments
Child FIRST
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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
Referrals
• 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
concerns
• 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
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
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
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
Policy 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 –
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
report is classified Child Wellbeing?
• May result in:
– Advice to Reporter
– Referral to Child FIRST or other service.
Child Protection – When a report is
classified as Protective Intervention
Report
• 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
seeking 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
all 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 –
Multiple 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 - 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
Decisions
• 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 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
good 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 Sharing
• The CYFA authorises certain classes of
professionals to share information in
certain circumstances.
1. Community services
2. Information holders
3. Service agencies
1. Community Services
• An out of home care service
• A community based child and
family service (e.g.Child FIRST,
Family Support Service)
2. Information holders
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Police
Government department employees
School teachers and principals
Doctors
Nurses
Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Person in charge of a relevant health service
Person in charge of a relevant mental health service
Person in charge of a children's service (i.e. child care workers)
Person in charge of a disability service
Person in charge of a drug or alcohol treatment service
Person in charge of a family violence service (to be included in regulations)
Person in charge of a sexual assault service (ditto)
Person in charge of a parenting assessment and skills development service
(ditto)
16. Person in charge of a local government family service
3. Service agencies
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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/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 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
(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
Information 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
Information 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
Information 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 –
Professional Guidance
• Guidelines to be published – 4 versions for:
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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
Minimum 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.
Consultations
• Disclosers of information are protected
• Written records
• New reports
Consultations – Considerations for
good 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
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 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
making
• 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
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 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 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
asked…
• Importance of using exceptions and
scaling questions to elicit strengths
based information
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
Exceptions &/or Strengths at
intake
• 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
Exceptions &/or Strengths at
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 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 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?