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Client Incident Management System (CIMS) policy

Client Incident Management System, CIMS, Critical Incident, Incident, 1516, CIMS report
1516
Follow this policy when responding to an incident or allegation of harm to a child or young person in care.
Document ID number 1516, version 1, 9 December 2024
Introduction

The Client Incident Management System (CIMS) policy applies to department-delivered or department-funded service providers. The Child Protection program is a department-delivered service provider.

CIMS purpose is to safeguard clients by providing timely and effective responses to incidents that harm them during service delivery. This enables service providers to enhance service delivery by learning from incidents.
 

Policy

Incidents that harm, are alleged to have harmed, or were reasonably likely to cause serious harm to children in care require a CIMS incident report and follow up actions, such as a CIMS investigation or review.

The CIMS policy and guidance document, including incident definitions, is found at https://providers.dffh.vic.gov.au/cims 

  • Absent client
  • Attempted suicide
  • Death
  • Emotional/psychological abuse
  • Emotional/psychological harm
  • Escape from secure facility
  • Financial abuse
  • Inappropriate physical treatment
  • Inappropriate sexual behaviour
  • Injury-explained
  • Injury-unexplained
  • Medication error
  • Neglect
  • Physical abuse
  • Self-harm
  • Serious risk
  • Sexual abuse
  • Sexual exploitation-grooming
  • Sexual exploitation - suspected
     

An illness, or dangerous actions by a child or young person, are not reportable CIMS incidents.

Practitioners must consider if the incident had a major or non-major impact on the child when submitting the incident report. All incidents of abuse, neglect, or sexual exploitation – grooming where a staff member or carer is the subject of allegation must be classified as major impact.

Child protection is responsible for CIMS reporting when the child is in the care of anyone other than a parent, approved by Child Protection or an Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care provider (Note that ‘parent’ means the same as defined in the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005). This includes when a child:

  • resides in a child protection-managed kinship placement
  • is in the care of a child protection practitioner (such as during supervised contact, or transporting a client to school)
  • is in respite care with a caregiver approved by child protection (such as another family member, following assessment by child protection).

Community Service Organisations (CSOs) are responsible for the CIMS incident report and follow up when a child is case contracted to their organisation, or when a child is residing in a CSO provided placement (such as residential care or home-based care – foster care).

Incidents that occur when the child is in the care of a parent are not in scope of CIMS.

Incidents in scope of both CIMS and the Social Services Regulator 

  • Child protection is in scope of the Social Services Regulator legislation and requirements.
  • Organisations in scope of CIMS and the Social Services Regulator can complete a CIMS incident report that will be sent to both DFFH and the Social Services Regulator. 
  • Organisations need to be aware of, and comply with, the Regulator’s other notification requirements, such as for critical notifiable incidents. 
  • See https://www.vic.gov.au/ssr-reporting-notifiable-incident

Incidents in scope of both CIMS and the Reportable Conduct Scheme (RCS)

  • Before responding to an allegation of harm in care or commencing any investigation of the incident, child protection must contact the Integrity team, Executive Services Branch for advice on whether an incident investigation must be completed as a Reportable Conduct Scheme investigation Reportable conduct scheme.
  • Incidents that are in scope of both an RCS and CIMS investigation must follow the DFFH Reportable Conduct Scheme policy and procedures https://dhhsvicgovau.sharepoint.com/sites/dffh/SitePages/Reportable-conduct-scheme.aspx
  • Child protection will complete such an investigation using a DFFH Reportable Conduct Scheme template, and the Integrity Team will submit this to the Commission for Children and Young People.
  • When endorsed by the Integrity team, the RCS investigation reports are submitted into the CIMS system to satisfy CIMS investigation requirements. 
  • This report must include a Recommendations section, to satisfy CIMS policy.
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