Introduction
High-risk youth, generally aged 12–17 years but occasionally as young as 10 years, with multiple, complex difficulties need intensive, sustained support.
Risk may be episodic, or chronic, and in some cases life threatening.
Detailed assessment and thoughtful, trauma-informed case planning and intervention are essential to effective risk management and stabilisation of a young person.
Good practice is founded on a good understanding of the young person’s history and current situation; multiservice collaboration and coordination; clinical consultation and relationship-based engagement with the young person.
Risk assessment and case planning is sensitive to the possible effects of adverse early childhood experience, including exposure to trauma, on the young person’s cognitive development and behavioural responses.
For additional information see High-risk youth - advice.
Procedure
Case practitioner tasks
Intake phase
- Register and process the report according to usual procedure.
- If the report involves a homeless young person without an effective guardian, classify the report as a protective intervention report and transfer to appropriate team, unless otherwise approved by the team manager.
Investigation, protective intervention and protection order phases
- Undertake the investigation and assessment according to usual procedure.
- If the report is substantiated, commence the case plan process to formulate and enact a plan:
- Liaise with youth justice and NDIS funded disability services if relevant.
- Consider consultation with a practice leader or principal practitioner about assessment and possible interventions.
- Consider crisis support and assistance (including accommodation, health and family counselling support).
- Review and update the safety plan regularly. For children in care, ensure roles and responsibilities of the care team are clearly defined in the child’s LAC records and Care and Placement Plan. If there are significant decisions, review the case plan.
- Where the young person is in care, consult with the care team and consider if the young person would benefit from a behaviour support plan if one is not already in place. See Practice guide: Behaviour planning to best support children and young people in out-of-home care.
- Consider NDIS behaviour supports for children with a disability see Case management: NDIS and children with a disability and/or complex medical needs.
- Identify and document the young person’s family and social networks and be clear about the strengths and risks.
- Ensure a care team is established and meets regularly if the young person is in out-of-home care.
- Refer to relevant specialist treatment services – alcohol and other drugs, mental health/neuropsychological or educational assessment.
- Think about the young person’s general health, diet and development and seek advice.
- Discuss the assessment with your supervisor and ensure the case plan and actions to implement it are aligned with the young person’s needs, vulnerability and risk factors.
- Update the essential information categories and the evidence-based risk factors as you work with the young person and their family.
- If there are family violence risk factors, seek any MARAM assessments that have been undertaken by partner agencies.
- Develop a safety plan specific to the young person’s behaviour, risk triggers and capacity.
- The safety plan may be recorded in the actions table in CRIS under crisis management:
- Review client incident reports as a source of information about the young person’s behaviour patterns, triggers and risks.
- Consider prevention of future incidents, and the strengths and risks of the young person’s social and family contacts and networks.
- Identify the young person’s primary professional and social relationships and engage them in safety planning.
- Review and update the safety plan regularly and ensure safety plan is short term only as risks can change and escalate quickly. The safety plan may be recorded in the actions table under crisis management. If there are significant decisions, review the case plan.
- Where the young person is in care, consult with the care team and consider if the young person would benefit from a behaviour support plan if one is not already in place. See Practice guide: Behaviour planning to best support children and young people in out-of-home care
- Consider NDIS behaviour supports for children with a disability see Case management: NDIS and children with a disability and/or complex medical needs.
- Consult your supervisor to determine whether the young person should be placed on the high risk schedule. See High-risk panels and schedules.
Supervisor tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and consultation.
- Consider recommending to the chair of the high-risk panel that the young person be included on the high-risk schedule.
Team manager tasks
- Endorse decision to classify a report about a young person who is homeless as a protective intervention report, unless investigation is not in the young person’s best interests. If a report about a homeless young person is not classified as a protective intervention report, record the rationale on CRIS.
- Endorse the risk assessment on CRIS.
- Endorse the case plan.