Team managers have responsibility for actively monitoring and managing cases within their team.
This procedure sets out minimum expectations for cases awaiting allocation and does not negate other relevant procedures. At all times the best interests of the child are the paramount consideration.
Refer to Case allocation – advice for additional information about making case allocation decisions.
Case practitioner tasks
- Undertake tasks for cases awaiting allocation as assigned by the team manager. These may include but are not limited to the following:
- Complete priority referrals, and follow-up service engagement and progress.
- Seek or receive information from key sources involved with the child and family including, parents, support networks, involved professionals, care team members, or the child.
- Visit the child, parent or carers to conduct and update risk assessments.
- Attend and participate in case conferences.
- Manage court applications and hearings.
- Complete outreach tasks, including in relation to urgent matters or in response to a crisis.
- Record tasks and outcome of assigned work on CRIS.
- Alert the team manager if you become concerned about the safety, well-being or development of a child or young person awaiting allocation.
In all instances, seek clarity about the purpose and objective of the assigned task and prepare sufficiently to achieve the objective.
Supervisor tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and support to the case practitioner.
Team manager tasks
- For all cases awaiting allocation, assign or complete the following tasks:
- Advise the child, parent, carer and relevant professionals that the case is awaiting allocation and provide relevant contact details.
- Visit infants at least fortnightly (consistent with procedure Infant risk assessment and response decision) and at least monthly for children aged two years and over.
- Visit the parents and carer, as assessed necessary.
- Regularly seek information from professionals involved with the child and family.
- Record a brief case progress summary monthly, including, where a case plan is in place, any progress made on implementation as set out in the Actions table.
- Complete kinship assessments and initiate caregiver payments if required
- Record any case activity and oversee the recording of tasks assigned to practitioners
- Monitor and assign tasks to fulfil Court, legal and policy requirements, for example prepare court reports or complete carer assessments
- Allocate or complete tasks as required for the phase and circumstances of the case, as set out below.
Depending on the phase of the case, assign or complete relevant tasks as follows:
Investigation phase
In investigation phase, the following tasks take priority:
- Prepare and record investigation plan
- Complete first home visit in line with KPIs
- Reach substantiation decision and record outcome.
For detail on tasks to be completed in investigation phase see Procedures – Investigation section of the manual.
Protective intervention phase
When protective concerns have been substantiated, and legal intervention is not required, the following tasks take priority:
- Refer to the AFLDM program where the child is Aboriginal
- Engage the child, family and relevant professionals in preparing a case plan to support working with the child and family by agreement
- Endorse the case plan
- Provide the case plan to the child and parents within timelines
- Make key referrals to progress the permanency objective (family preservation)
- Review the case plan as required at 90 days (team manager review), and arrange reviews at 120 days (deputy area operations manager review) and 150 days if required (area operations manager review).
When protective concerns have been substantiated, and legal intervention is required, the following tasks take priority:
- Issue a protection application and, where required, arrange appropriate care for the child
- Prepare and lodge a protection report in support of the application within required timelines
- Monitor compliance with interim accommodation order conditions
- Where the child is in out-of-home care, support, arrange and supervise contact as required
- If not already completed, engage the family and professionals in preparing a case plan; endorse the case plan; and provide the case plan to the child and parents
- Prepare a disposition report
- Complete referrals to progress the case plan.
For detail on tasks to be completed in protective intervention phase see the procedure Case management in protective intervention.
Protection order phase
When administering a protection order, the following tasks take priority:
- Monitor compliance with order conditions (where applicable).
- Support and arrange supervision of contact as required, where the child is in out-of-home care.
- Review the case plan as required, endorse where amended, and provide to the child and parents within timelines.
- Make referrals as required to progress the case plan.
- Monitor engagement with and progress of services being provided to the child or parents.
- Where appropriate contract case management to a funded service.
For detail on tasks to be completed in protection order phase see the procedure Case management.
Closure phase
- Complete administrative tasks associated with closure.
For detail on tasks to be completed in closure phase see the procedure Closing a case.
Deputy area operations manager tasks
Protective intervention phase
- Review cases that have been unallocated for more than 45 days to identify strategies to progress critical tasks, work towards closure or support seeking a final court outcome where appropriate.
- Record a brief summary of the review and the rationale for any decision made in CRIS.
Protection order phase
- Review cases that have been awaiting allocation for more than 60 days to identify strategies to progress critical tasks, work towards closure or support seeking a final court outcome where appropriate.
- Record a brief summary of the review and the rationale for any decision made in CRIS.