Introduction:
At times, child protection will need to request a national police history check from another state. This procedure must be followed when:
- the results of a national police history check from another state or territory (not Victoria) are not yet confirmed and
- it is unreasonable or impracticable for the subject person to leave the proposed placement and
- delay in placement of the child would be contrary to their best interests and
- delay would necessitate placement through a funded out-of-home care service.
Procedure
Case practitioner tasks
- Interview the person, specifically asking about any disclosable criminal matters.
- Obtain the person’s consent to contact appropriate referees (for example relatives) who may inform the assessment of the person’s suitability to care for or have contact with the child to be placed.
- Contact referees, taking care not to divulge private client information.
- Follow-up outstanding parts of the national police history check.
Supervisor tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and support.
- Assist the case worker to determine next steps, including follow-up of the outstanding check.
Team manager tasks
- Subject to the outcome of referee checks and further assessment, seek placement approval via your area operations manager or director, child protection or manager or on-call manager Central After Hours Service.
- Where a placement is approved by the manager or on-call manager Central After Hours Service, seek a review and endorsement of the placement from the relevant area executive director on the next working day.
Area operations manager or director, child protection, manager Central After Hours Service tasks
- Assess whether it would be contrary to the child’s best interests to reject or defer placement.
- Depending upon that assessment, seek endorsement for the placement from the area executive director.
- The manager or on-call manager Central After Hours Service can approve a placement where certain category B and C offences have been disclosed until the next working day. See Certain Category B and C offences for consideration in approving after hours kinship care placements (docx, 41.03 KB) .
Area executive director tasks
- Provisionally endorse kinship placement if satisfied that:
- the subject person denies they have disclosable interstate criminal matters or discloses matters that do not impact on their suitability to care for or have contact with the child
- referee checks have been completed and concerns have not been raised about the suitability of the person to care for or have contact with the child
- there is no information to suggest that any person within the household may have committed a Category A offence
- on the next working day, review and endorse placements made by the manager or on-call manager Central After Hours Service.
Related procedures