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4. Ongoing intervention

• 4.1 Ongoing intervention and case planning: an overview
• 4.2 Undertaking the assessment stage
• 4.3 Completing the child strengths and needs assessment tool
• 4.4 Completing the parental strengths and needs assessment tool
• 4.5 Case planning and family group meetings
• 4.6 Preparing for a family group meeting
• 4.7 Convening the family group meeting
• 4.8 Developing key items in the case plan
• 4.9 Endorsing and distributing the plan
• 4.10 Implementing the case plan
• 4.11 Engaging a service provider
• 4.12 Minimum departmental contact requirements between the CSO and the family
• 4.13 Visiting a child, parent or carer
• 4.14 Substance testing of parents
• 4.15 Completing a case plan review
• 4.16 Completing the family risk re-evaluation tool
• 4.17 Completing the family reunification assessment tool
• 4.18 Assessing the progress of the case plan
• 4.19 Preparing a review report and a revised case plan
• 4.20 Case closure
• Resources

4.7 Convening the family group meeting

Purpose

This procedure outlines the process for convening a family group meeting to develop or review a case plan for a child in need of protection.

Authority

• Child Protection Act 1999, section 5, 6(3)(b), 51O, 51S

Considerations when convening a family group meeting

The Child Protection Act 1999 does not prescribe a process for convening a family group meeting. The format of a meeting is to be determined by its purpose and based on the following considerations:

• the wishes and views of the child and family about how they would like the meeting to be conducted;
• cultural advice obtained from a relevant agency. For a meeting in relation to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, the agency will be the recognised entity. If it is not possible to obtain the recognised entity's input, advice about how the meeting can be appropriately conducted should be obtained from members of the community to whom the child belongs (Child Protection Act 1999, section 6(5));
• the case plan requirements;
• whether the meeting is being held in relation to a sibling group; and
• the likely complexity of the issues.

In some cases, more than one family group meeting may be required to develop the case plan.

Where a family group meeting is to be held for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child and an Indigenous convenor is not available, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander staff member must, wherever possible and appropriate, be assigned to assist the convenor in preparing for and facilitating the family group meeting.

Separate family group meetings

Where separate family group meetings were held due to issues of violence or major conflict between the parents, each parent must be provided with a copy of the case plan. It is important to consider safety issues of a parent, or the child, in recording the case plan. If safety issues exist, and a parent or child's location can be identified by the outcomes and actions in the case plan, careful consideration of the wording of the case plan will be required. For example, a case plan action should not contain the specific identity of a domestic violence counselling service, as safety issues may exist if a violent parent or partner is aware of where and when the domestic violence counselling will occur.

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Key stages of the family group meeting held to develop the case plan

A family group meeting held to develop the case plan will be structured around the needs of the child and issues that must be addressed in the case plan, the overall case plan goal, outcomes, key actions, responsibilities and timeframes for actions. A convenor will undertake the following five steps to convene a family group meeting:

1. Beginning the meeting

The welcome and introduction must be respectful of the child and family's cultural traditions.

At some meetings, an elder from the child's cultural community may open the meeting or introduce the child and members of the child's family group.

At the beginning of the meeting the convenor must also:

• ensure each participant is introduced and their relationship to the child is stated;
• provide housekeeping information, such as, toilet location and fire exits;
• outline the roles and responsibilities of each person present;
• state the agreed duration of the meeting;
• advise participants of the confidentiality obligations and the need to maintain and respect people's privacy;
• explain the likely process following the meeting, which may entail another meeting to continue to develop the plan;
• get agreement on ground rules for participation; and
• address any other issues that the child and child's family members would like addressed at the meeting.

2. Providing information

The convenor must ensure that all participants are encouraged to provide information from their perspectives and that the meeting process is safe and respectful.

Assessment information

The information from the assessment stage informs the family group meeting process and development of the case plan. The CSO responsible for the assessment must attend the family group meeting to explain how the risks of harm and areas of strengths and needs were identified. This information, and any new information, will be discussed by participants. Outcomes and actions will be developed to build on strengths, reduce the risk of harm and address the critical areas of need.

The CSO will also provide information about the reasons for the department's involvement and actions taken, such as removing a child from the parent's care. The information should encompass:

• the assessments of risk and associated strengths and needs;
• any expert or specialist reports (for example, medical, cultural, psychological or educational) obtained as part of the assessment processes;
• any SCAN AM Team recommendations;
• critical areas of need that the CSO and team leader propose as priorities to be addressed through the case plan outcomes and activities; and
• the department's position or, minimum requirements, considered important by the CSO and team leader.

This information must be presented in a clear and factual way that is respectful of any child attending the meeting. The convenor should facilitate questions and answers about the information presented and feedback from the family members about the proposed areas of critical need.

The child and family group members will have information to present. This information may be provided directly, or where appropriate, through another person such as an elder. It will include information about:

• the current situation of the child and family;
• family dynamics and how the child and family have previously responded to address the child's protection;
• the view of the child and the family about the assessments of risk and strengths and needs, and what needs to happen to address the risks to, and needs of, the child;
• the resources within the family group and wider network of support that may be able to be mobilised for the case plan, including commitment to the child, support, ability to provide respite care, maintaining connections with the child and assisting the child's connections with other family and community members; and
• the issues the family want addressed at the meeting.

Service providers attending the meeting will need to be given an opportunity to provide information about services, resources and treatment facilities. The recognised entity may provide information about the relevant family context and assist in identifying what priority needs for the family should be addressed in the case plan, for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child.

	Practice paper: Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (PDF 102 KB)

The convenor must ensure that the views of people not attending the meeting and information about resources and services provided by service providers unable to attend are presented at the meeting.

3. Reaching agreement

The meeting should be aimed at developing an agreed case plan. To do this, the convenor should obtain agreement about:

• the purpose of the meeting;
• the critical areas of need to be addressed in the case plan;
• how the family group meeting process will proceed; and
• the issues to be addressed in the case plan.

A family's disagreement about any of these issues will not prevent the development of the case plan. Any points of disagreement should be noted, and people should be encouraged to reach an agreement, which meets the protection and care needs of the child.

The convenor must decide on the most appropriate process for determining the goal, outcomes, key actions, responsibilities and timeframes to be worked through in the meeting. There are two options:

• private family time; and
• structured facilitation.

Private family time

The convenor can adjourn the meeting so that a child's family group and significant others can meet in private to discuss what changes need to occur and to develop a plan for the child. This option recognises and promotes the capacity of families to take responsibility for protecting their children (Child Protection Act 1999, section 5).

A child may choose to attend the whole meeting or different points of the meeting and should have a support person present. The convenor may also participate in private family time, if invited by the family group for particular reasons, or at different points of the private family time.

Once the family group has developed its plan, the convenor will resume facilitation of the meeting to work through the proposals for the purpose of reflecting them in the case plan.

Structured facilitation

The convenor can facilitate the development of all items of the case plan through structured discussion. This may be appropriate if the option of private family time poses a risk to a child's safety and emotional well-being, or where the power dynamics within the family group indicate that the 'private family time' strategy may not be inclusive.

The following strategies can be used during structured facilitation:

• questioning proposals for actions and outcomes to test whether they address the risks of harm and identified needs;
• asking participants about their concerns and ways to resolve these concerns;
• brainstorming solutions and options before making decisions;
• checking possible actions and responsibilities to ensure they are realistic and achievable; and
• regularly checking with participants for agreement about case plan items.

If matters in the case plan cannot be agreed to, the CSO and team leader will be responsible for preparing the case plan (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51S).

4. Compiling and confirming the case plan

The convenor must ensure that the outcomes, strategies and decisions agreed at the meeting are recorded, and must finalise and confirm the contents of the plan with the participants. Any significant points of difference about any items must be acknowledged and recorded. Minutes of the discussion are not required.

People must leave the meeting knowing:

• whether another meeting will be held to continue to develop the case plan;
• how the case plan is endorsed;
• who will be given copies of the case plan;
• whether an application for a child protection order will be initiated or progressed; and
• the likely process for reviewing the case plan, including what happens if an unscheduled review is required.

5. Recording the case plan

The convenor is responsible for the recording of the case plan developed, using language and terms that are understandable to the child and family. Once completed, the approved form should be forwarded to the team leader for endorsement (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51O).

A senior practitioner also has the delegation to endorse a case plan.

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