Terms of reference
- Background context
- Staffing
- Our shared purpose
- Context
- Scope
- Membership
- Tenure
- Principles
- Meeting protocols
Background context
In July 2004, the Child Protection Statewide Partnership Taskforce was established with representatives from non-government and government agencies to provide strategic direction for the implementation of statewide and zonal partnership networks and service planning. The taskforce contributed to the development of the child protection system by:
- providing feedback into a number of frameworks and processes
- participating in a number of consultations including legislative reform
- For the first two years of operation the Taskforce focussed primarily on recommendations 6.9 through 6.12 of the CMC.
Following a review of the taskforce in 2006, the members re-focussed work on capacity building and facilitating partnerships in order to improve outcomes for children and young people in the statutory system and their families. Within these overarching foci, the taskforce has considered placement and support, Indigenous services and prevention and early intervention. Two taskforce meetings have been held in each of the three key areas.
Having completed the focussed meetings on each of the key areas it is considered timely to review the partnership mechanism to progress the strategic directions with respect to Child Protection.
Staffing
The existing positions of two Statewide Principal Planning and Partnerships Officers, (one located in the non-government sector and auspiced by PeakCare Queensland and one in Service Delivery Partnerships Division in Department of Child Safety) will support and resource the participation of members of the Forum and provide the link between the Forum and the work of the Zonal Planning and Partnerships Officers (ZPPOs).
The existing ZPPOs, who are all departmental staff, are located in each of the seven zones of the department to facilitate, support and develop productive local partnerships between the child safety service centres and non-government partners. Networks undertake service system planning work at the local level which is contributed to the zonal plan.
The Program Support Officer coordinates minutes, agenda papers and financial reporting for the Forum.
Our shared purpose
It is proposed that the mechanism to progress strategic work in the areas of child protection will be the Child Protection Partnership Forum. The outcomes being sought by the Child Protection Partnership Forum are:
- the safety and well being needs of children and young people in the statutory system are effectively met
- families of children in the statutory system are supported to care for their children.
Context
Whilst the members of the previous Child Protection Taskforce had a commitment to supporting vulnerable children and families across the continuum of child protection, it has been identified that the continued growth in the number of families entering the statutory system necessitates that the scope of the forum focus on the safety and well-being of children and families who are clients of the Department of Child Safety and/or clients subject to Referral for Active Intervention (RAI) where it intersects and impacts on the statutory system process.
Scope
Within the parameter of the overarching outcomes, the Child Protection Partnership Forum will provide strategic advice to develop the service system (government and non- government) including:
- development of policy and new initiatives
- development of service capacity
- promotion of quality services
- the intersection with Referral for Active Intervention (RAI)
The engagement of the Child Protection Partnership Forum in the above areas is designed to support the service system to respond appropriately to the needs of children and families in the statutory system and could include:
- Providing policy input to the design, development and support of placement options and models to meet the needs of children and young people in care, including Indigenous children and children with complex support needs.
- Provide policy input into the principles in Permanency Planning.
- Providing input to the design and development of intensive support options and models to assist families in the statutory system, to care for their children.
- Provide input into the enhancement of the quality of child protection practice across the state.
- Provide input to a range of Indigenous child protection policy and service delivery imperatives.
- Providing input into the development of strategies to enhance child and youth participation in the statutory system and supported transition from the system.
- Provide input into the development of training and support for Foster and Kinship Carers.
- Contribute to the development of non-government services to deliver quality tertiary support to children and families, including Indigenous, in the statutory system.
- Linking into whole of government strategies to attract, train, support and retain quality staff to provide services to children and their families in the statutory system.
- Linking into whole of government strategies to design and develop sustainable and appropriate services in remote communities, particularly Indigenous.
- Strategically linking with other initiatives in the Child Protection continuum eg Child Safety Directors Network.
- Identifying trends from local information provided by ZPPOs and developing strategies to address issues at a cross-government level.
- Promotion of quality and accountability in service delivery.
- Issues (within the tertiary end of the child protection continuum) identified by non-government partners will also be discussed/addressed by the Forum.
Membership
The Partnership Forum will consist of peak child protection bodies and representatives from the key service types, Child Safety representatives from key government organisations and a representative to bring the perspective of academia working together to achieve our shared purpose. The membership includes one representative from each of the following:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Partnership
- CREATE Foundation
- Family Inclusion Network
- Foster Care Queensland
- PeakCare Queensland
- Non-government representative from the main funded service types
- Indigenous Recognised Entity (WuChopperen)
- Placement Service (Mercy Family Services)
- Support Service (Lifeline Community Care)
- Child Safety Directors Network - Department of Housing
- Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian
- Department of Communities (Program Management)
- Department of Child Safety - Director-General, Executive Directors from the Service Delivery Partnerships and Policy and Programs and Sunshine Coast Child Safety Service Centre Manager.
- Academic - Associate Professor Neil Wigg, President Paediatrics and Child Health Division, Royal Australian College of Physicians.
Tenure
The above participants will have membership of the Forum for a period of two years.
Principles
In working together, the members of the Partnership Forum will be committed to the principles of participation, collaboration, partnership and learning.
These principles recognise that:
- partnership development is a process
- an effective partnership continuously evaluates its performance through:
- feedback loop
- member satisfaction
- consistent review of forum workplan.
The forum members, supported by the Chair, have a responsibility to ensure that the following group values and norms are respected:
- maintaining focus on the business of the forum, issues outside this should be presented at another forum
- confidentiality, where clearly stipulated by members
- mutual respect, for example, differing views are to be respected
- active Listening, for example, mobile phones are used only during breaks
- open and respectful communication
- opportunity for all to contribute
- commitment to achieving the purpose.
Meeting protocols
Frequency
- Meetings are to be held on a quarterly basis for a full day.
- If the agenda does not require a full day, meetings can be shortened.
- Principal Planning and Partnership Officers are to attend every meeting.
Chairing
- The forum will be chaired by the Director-General, Department of Child Safety or Executive Director, Service Delivery Partnerships Division.
Meeting agendas and minutes
- Agenda items will be set at the end of each meeting for the subsequent meeting. Any proposed agenda items raised between meetings are to be communicated to the Principal Planning and Partnerships Officers for discussion with the Chair.
- A draft agenda will be distributed two weeks prior to the forum meeting for comment with a final agenda and meeting papers to be sent one week prior to the meeting.
- A statement of recommendations and actions will be attached to draft minutes of the Forum meeting and distributed in the week following the meeting.
Attendance
- There is an expectation that the forum members will attend all meetings.
- Where this is not possible, a proxy from the organisation who has been informed and has the capacity to brief the standing member may attend.
- Only one representative from each organisation will attend.
- Members are to advise of their non-attendance and the name of their proxy and the Principal Planning and Partnerships Officers will contact the proxy to advise them on the meeting protocols.
- People outside the Forum can be invited by the Forum to participate in relevant discussions on key issues.
Decision making
- Where decisions can be agreed at a meeting, this will occur. Larger decisions will allow two weeks for feedback allowing formal process for endorsement.
- During feedback stage, any substantive comments or suggested changes are recirculated for comment - advice on changes are noted and published to the group.
- Active signoff - attempt to contact those members who have not provided feedback - manage risk of decisions not being ratified at the next meeting
- If decisions cannot be reached, perhaps broaden the input from outside and try again.
- Decisions will ideally be reached on a consensus model, but if consensus cannot be reached the majority view will be progressed.
- When decisions are made based on majority view, alternative views will be recorded and reported to Minister.
Communicating and reporting
- The forum reports through Deputy Director-General, on to Minister and across government.
- Minister will attend all meetings where possible.
- Forum members are to be responsible for reporting to their own agencies, staff, members and networks.
- A newsletter will be prepared after each Forum Meeting which will be distributed.
- Last updated
- 2 July 2008