Introduction
For detailed information on the case planning process, see Case planning - advice.
Working with the family, communities and other professionals to enact the child’s case plan is essential to achieve the permanency objective for the child in a sustainable way. Maintaining the momentum of protective intervention to achieve change requires active monitoring of the case plan, actions table and any other plans that support a child and family.
Practice Principles
Enacting a plan can be:
- a formal process (for example, where a case plan has been developed and must be implemented)
- an informal process (for example, where a practitioner has developed a home visit plan with dot points to prompt discussion during the visit).
Regardless of the type of plan, some key practice principles apply, outlined below.
Be child-centred
- The child or young person is the client of Child Protection and must be kept at the centre of all casework, actions and decisions.
- Client-centred work is grounded in the importance of rights, dignity, individual choice, empowerment and self-determination.
Be relationship-focused
- The key to effective work is the quality of the connection between the worker and client in a relationship that is ‘the principle vehicle for change’ (Turnell & Edwards 1999).
- In Child Protection, relationships must be built and maintained with a wide range of people, children, young people, parents, caregivers, community and agency partners.
Be strengths-based
- A strengths-based approach maximises collaboration to enact a plan.
- Finding, calling out and building on strengths within a family offers the greatest chance of achieving safety (remember, safety is strengths demonstrated as protection over time).
Be culturally aware-Working with Aboriginal children
- Acknowledge the experience of Aboriginal people with the child protection system and the impact of child removal policies that have caused intergenerational trauma and dispossession (s. 7A).
- Consider the recognition principles (s. 7E) and Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (ACPP) and further principles (s. 13-14) throughout Child Protection involvement and at key points of decision-making.
- Provide opportunities for a child’s family, community, Elders and Aboriginal-led services to participate in case planning and decision-making.
- Acknowledge Aboriginal perspectives, knowledge, customs, and cultural diversity.
- Promote the child’s connection to Aboriginal culture, family, community, language and Country.
Procedure
Case practitioner tasks
- Read the current endorsed case plan and actions table and make sure you understand your role in implementing the endorsed decisions in the case plan.
- Confirm all professionals and services noted in the case plan are aware of and agree to their roles.
- Follow up within the specified timeframes, including:
- visiting or having other contact with the child as per the client contact statement, providing purposeful intervention
- service referral and communication placement related actions, including for Aboriginal children application of the ACPP (s. 13) which requires assessment and ongoing reassessment of whether a suitable placement becomes available that is higher on the placement hierarchy, along with application of further principles (s. 14)
- continuing assessment
- upon receipt of significant new information, a risk assessment review must occur and for Aboriginal children, advice sought from Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice and Support Service (ACSASS).
Following substantiation and for the duration of Child Protection involvement, it is expected that the child protection practitioner will routinely have direct contact with each child for whom they are responsible, and the frequency of this contact be recorded in the actions table of the child’s case plan.
The frequency should take into account the following factors:
- risk assessments
- the child’s permanency objective
- the safety and stability of the placement
- any additional oversight of the child by an external support service
- additional support needs due to a change in circumstances.
Fortnightly contact with the child would generally be a reasonable minimum for an allocated case, and more, or less frequent contact should be discussed and agreed with your supervisor when the case plan is reviewed, or at least quarterly within supervision.
Where a child is awaiting allocation or an allocated child protection practitioner is on leave it will be necessary for the team manager to determine how (when and by whom) regular direct contact with the child will occur.
- Consult your supervisor and alert them to significant concerns or critical incidents.
- Monitor progress towards achieving the permanency objective.
- Consider whether a family preservation or reunification funding package would assist – see Family preservation and reunification packages – guidelines for Child Protection.
- Identify if the case plan needs to be reviewed due to changes to a significant decision, significant changes to the child’s circumstances or need to review the permanency objective.
- Monitor the actions table to ensure that it contains all current areas of concern and update the areas of concern on CRIS if required.
- Engage the child and family in any discussions about changes to the case plan and actions table. When visiting the child or their family, use the actions table to discuss progress, implementation issues or identify additional tasks and responsibilities.
- Maintain contact with services and programs involved with the child and family to monitor progress and identify any issues in relation to service provision.
- For Aboriginal children this requires assessment and ongoing monitoring of whether the services are culturally safe and/or whether there is a more appropriate service to refer the child and family to support the child’s cultural needs.
- If there are multiple professionals and services involved with the family, consider holding a case conference.
- Register further reports received in CRIS and follow up as appropriate, including, if the child is Aboriginal, ensuring that advice from ACSASS is sought - see procedure New allegations.
- Update essential information categories with significant new information.
- Engage the child or young person in discussions about the implementation, and review of the case plan in a manner appropriate to the child’s age and circumstances.
- Schedule a review of the case plan not later than six weeks before the protection order expiry date or, when working with the family by agreement, a review is required at the 90, 120 and 150 day mark.
- Consult with ACSASS for all decision making and activities involving the review of a child’s case plan.
- Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making (AFLDM) is the preferred process for meeting with the child’s family for decisions and review of an Aboriginal child’s case plan.
- Prepare a new version of the case plan on CRIS when required and provide a copy of the case plan and other relevant documentation including updated actions table to the child (where age appropriate) and parents.
There can only be one current endorsed case plan in CRIS at any one time. When a new version of the case plan is being prepared, CRIS will refer to this as a “draft”. Case plans that have been endorsed will be listed in succession on CRIS with a version number.
- Complete CRIS requirements, including court screens, client and placement details and records of actions, decisions and rationales, including, for Aboriginal children, how the recognition principles (s. 7E) have been considered in decisions and actions taken (The ‘Statement of Recognition’ case note category should be used for recording at all points of child protection involvement).
- Review the Compliance Dashboards in CRIS for activities that are due, or actions required.
Supervisor tasks
- Provide ongoing supervision and consultation.
- Review any recommended significant decisions or proposed changes to the case plan.
- For Aboriginal children, confirm the recognition principles (s.7E) and the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle and Further principles for placement of Aboriginal child (s.13 and s.14) are considered.
Case planner (CPP5.2 or more senior officer) tasks
- Ensure that best interests principles and decision making principles are considered.
- Confirm all the requirements in relation to Aboriginal children have been met and are recorded on CRIS including:
- Best interest principles (s.10)
- Decision making principles (s.11)
- Additional decision making principles (s.12)
- Aboriginal Child Placement Principle (s.13)
- Further principles for placement of Aboriginal child (s.14)
- Endorse the case plan and any significant changes to it.
- Endorse review risk assessment.