Child and Family Information Referral and Support Teams (Child FIRST), services in The Orange Door, and registered family services, are able to consult with child protection at any time under s. 38 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (CYFA).
The Orange Door and Family Services operate to assess well being and are an easy entry point for families to access support services. They receive referrals and make independent assessments about the families’ needs and promote early engagement with appropriate support services on a voluntary basis.
Community-based child protection practitioners have a role in providing consultation under section 38 of the CYFA to community-based child and family services or agencies on matters including supporting the development of risk assessments, decision making and ongoing support for infants, children and young people.
Currently, child protection practitioners should not attend visits or meetings (and phone calls) with families in conjunction with community-based child and family services or agencies when there is no open report (post intake) to Child Protection, including in the context of Community Based section 38 (CYFA) consultations.
Senior practitioner (community-based) tasks
- Consult with Child FIRST, The Orange Door or a registered family service when contacted by them about a child, unless the case is an open child protection case or circumstances require an immediate protection report to be made.
- Register the consultation as a ‘s. 38 Consult’ in CRIS. Choose ‘s. 38 Consult’ from the drop down menu in the ‘Add case’ section found on the 360° page. The s. 38 consultation should provide a detailed summary of the consultation including recommendations and any appropriate attachments.
- Close the consultation on the day you register it after all notes have been recorded.
It is important to enter all notes and close the s. 38 consultation in CRIS on the day it is registered. If a report is received by intake or the AHCPES, they will be unable to record the report in CRIS while a s. 38 consultation is open.
- Record each subsequent consultation as a newly created s. 38 consult.
- Consider whether the case should be discussed at the local catchment consultative panel.
- Initiate a new report if the consultation raises significant concerns for a child’s safety. A s. 38 consult must be closed on CRIS before a new report can be registered.
- If a request for information is received under the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS), see Child Information Sharing Scheme and Child Protection for further information.
- If a request for information is received under the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, see Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme decision trees and Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme and Child Protection for further information.