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• Introduction
  • Acknowledgments
  • The Department of Child Safety
  • Relevant legislation
  • Other key departmental documents
  • Accountability for children in Queensland
  • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
  • Respecting diversity
  • Recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entities
  • Delegations
  • Child safety service centres: Staff roles and responsibilities
  • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
  • Practice maps
• Chapters
  • 1. Intake
  • 2. Investigation and assessment
  • 3. Use of powers and assessment orders
  • 4. Ongoing intervention
  • 5. Intervention with parental consent
  • 6. Intervention with a child protection order
  • 7. Children in out-of-home care
  • 8. Regulation of care
  • 9. Matters of concern
  • 10. Unborn children
  • 11. Transfers
  • 12. Professional supervision
  • 13. Critical incident reporting
  • 14. Child deaths
  • 15. Family Court of Australia
  • 16. Youth justice and child protection interface
  • 17. Interstate matters
  • General procedures
• Practice papers
• Resources
• Quicklinks
  • Acronyms
  • Glossary of terms
  • Previous versions
  • Printable version
  • Updates

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

4.5 Case planning and family group meetings

Pupose

This procedure outlines the process for developing a case plan for a child who is assessed as being in need of protection and who is subject to ongoing intervention.

Authority

• Child Protection Act 1999, section 51A-Y,

Case planning requirements

Case planning is a process for managing ongoing intervention for a child in need of protection, in accordance with the Child Protection Act 1999, section 51A-Y, and the principles of case planning (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51D). It involves a cycle of assessment, planning, implementation, and review.

A case plan must be developed and regularly reviewed for any child considered in need of protection (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51H(1)). The case plan is written document that outlines the reasons why the child is considered in need of protection and outlines strategies for addressing a child's protection and care needs during ongoing intervention. It is recorded in an approved form under the Child Protection Act 1999.

The requirement to develop a case plan applies, whether or not a parent is being criminally prosecuted for a matter relating to a child protection concern.

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Family group meeting to develop a case plan

A family group meeting to develop a case plan may be initiated by the department (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51H(1)) or directed by the Childrens Court (Child Protection Act 1999, section 68(1)(d)(i)). The family group meeting must be held within 30 days of the decision that a child is in need of protection, or within the timeframe set by the court on an adjournment.

The purposes of family group meetings are:

• to provide family-based responses to children's protection and care needs; and
• to ensure an inclusive process for planning and making decisions relating to children's well-being and protection and care needs.

A family group meeting may also be convened to:

• review the existing case plan and prepare a new case plan; and
• consider, make recommendations about, or deal with other matters relating to the child's well-being and protection and care needs.

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Family group meeting 'convenor'

Every family group meeting will be convened by an officer specifically delegated for this task under the Child Protection Act 1999. This person will be called the 'convenor'. The convenor's role involves:

• preparing people to participate in the meeting;
• facilitating the family group meeting; and
• finalising and recording the case plan on the approved form.

The CSO with case responsibility will have some specific tasks related to the conduct of the family group meeting, however, the majority of the tasks will be completed by the convenor.

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People who must be given an opportunity to attend the family group meeting

All people who are significant to the child must be given a reasonable opportunity to participate in, and attend the family group meeting which is convened to develop a high quality and holistic case plan for the child. The case plan should reflect and combine the knowledge, strengths, resources and supports of the child's family and support network, with the professional expertise and resources of the department and other service providers.

The following people must be given the opportunity to participate in the family group meeting (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51L):

• the child, unless it would be inappropriate because of the child's age or ability to understand;
• the child's parents as defined in the Child Protection Act 1999, section 51F;
• members of the child's family group who the convenor considers likely to make a useful contribution to the plan's development at the meeting. A child's family group is defined broadly in the Child Protection Act 1999, section 51E;
• other people with whom the child has a significant relationship, for example, the approved carer for the child;
• any legal representative for the child;
• a member of the recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entity for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child;
• anyone else who the convenor considers likely to make a useful contribution to the development of the case plan at the meeting, for example:
  • a service provider who has an established working relationship with the child and family, including government child protection partners; and
  • a cultural representative or elder, who could assist in developing the case plan by providing information and advice;
• if the convenor is a private convenor, the chief executive (or delegate); and
• any support person nominated by the child or parent, for example:
• a youth worker;
• an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander elder; or
• a legal representative.

If a SCAN CI Team has been convened as a SCAN System strategy, members of that team should also be invited to attend the meeting.

The CSO who has case responsibility for the child must attend the family group meeting. If the case is to be transferred to another CSO, the CSO who will have ongoing case responsibility will also attend the family group meeting. In the rare circumstance that the CSO is not able to attend, both CSOs will ensure that the case plan developed is discussed with the family when the new CSO is introduced to the family.

These participants must be sufficiently prepared and informed for the meeting (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51D and 51M) so that they can fully participate in the development of the plan.

Participants are to be invited to the family group meeting, using either the 'FGM invitation letter' or 'FGM invitation and essential information letter'.

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Deciding who will attend the family group meeting

It is the responsibility of the convenor to decide who will attend the family group meeting. This determination in every case is based on whether the participation or attendance of a person in the process, is in the child's best interests, and whether the person is likely to make a useful contribution to the development of the plan. Parents do not have a right to veto another person's participation, and do not have to agree to the convenor inviting any particular family member to attend the meeting. The convenor will make this decision based on:

• the understandings of the child and child's parents about who comprises 'family' and where a child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or a child from another cultural group, members of the child's clan, tribe or other cultural group who are regarded, within the family, as members of the child's family;
• the availability of resources to assist people to attend the family group meeting;
• the extent to which the family members are actively connected to and supportive of the child and child's parents, taking into consideration:
  • the length of the relationship between the person and the child;
  • the level of the person's involvement with the child; and
  • the child's view of the relationship;
• whether any family members have been involved in previous departmental interventions with the child and child's parents; and
• the particular protection and care issues to be addressed by the plan and likelihood that particular family members will be able to be involved in implementing the plan for the child.

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Case plan requirements for the Childrens Court

Case plan requirement for a final child protection order

An application to the Childrens Court for a child protection order can be made at any stage, with or without the consent of the child's parents, however, the court cannot grant a final child protection order for a child unless it is satisfied that there is an endorsed case plan that responds to the child's assessed needs.

Where possible, the CSO should not apply for a child protection order until a family group meeting has been convened to develop the case plan, however, the child's welfare and best interests must be of paramount importance at all times.

Where agreement is reached at the family group meeting that a child protection order will be sought, an application is then able to be made with the consent of the parent/s. In this case, the court must still be satisfied that the provisions in the Child Protection Act 1999, section 59, are fulfilled, before granting the child protection order.

Applying for a child protection order where there is no case plan

If an application for a child protection order must be made before a family group meeting, the CSO will lodge the application and the court may then adjourn the proceeding under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 67, and:

• make an interim order granting temporary custody of the child to the chief executive or a suitable person who is a member of the child's family; or
• make directions about a parent's contact with the child; and
• order that a family group meeting be convened to develop the case plan and that the plan be filed in court (Child Protection Act 1999, section 68(1)(d)(i)).

Note: the court cannot make an interim order for a protective supervision order.

Material to be provided with the case plan to the court

In cases where an application for a child protection order is made, an affidavit must be filed with the case plan and other evidence in support of the application attached, addressing the following:

• the process used to develop or review the case plan; and
• the child's assessed protection and care needs.

If the case plan has been reviewed, a copy of the most recent review report and the current case plan, must be filed with the court (Child Protection Act 1999, section 51X).

If the case plan and supporting material have been filed in court and the case plan is subsequently reviewed, all review reports and revised case plans prepared under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 51X, should be filed with the court, until such time as the court makes a final determination about the application for an order.

Case planning for sibling groups

Where there is a sibling group, one family group meeting will be held for all children, but a separate case plan will be developed for each child. Where children have different parents, however, separate family group meetings may be required.

Preparing the case plan if not developed at a family group meeting

If the case plan is not developed at a family group meeting because a meeting was unable to be convened, or people were unable to reach agreement about the matters to be addressed in the case plan, the CSO and the team leader will be responsible for preparing the case plan for the child, taking reasonable steps to obtain the views of the following people, if they were not obtained previously:

• the child, unless it would be inappropriate because of his or her age or ability to understand;
• the child's parents;
• other members of the child's family group who are considered likely to make a useful contribution;
• other significant people for the child (for example, a foster carer);
• any legal representative for the child;
• a recognised entity for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child;
• a relevant service provider; and
• anyone else considered likely to make a useful contribution to the plan.

If the convenor has obtained these people's views in preparation for the family group meeting, it will not be necessary to consult with them again.

Taking into consideration these views and information obtained through the assessment process about risks to the child and the needs and strengths of the child and family, a case plan that best meets the child's protection and care needs must be prepared in the approved form and endorsed by a team leader or senior practitioner.

Record why the case plan was developed without a family group meeting

Where the case plan has been developed by the convenor or team leader and an application for a child protection order is made, an authorised officer is required to provide the court with evidence about why the case plan was developed in this way.

Where a family group meeting was not convened, the CSO is required to satisfy the court that it was not possible to convene a meeting within the terms of the Child Protection Act 1999, section 51S(2).

The threshold of 'not possible to convene a family group meeting' is high, and will require a court to be satisfied that all steps were taken by the department to convene a meeting in compliance with the Child Protection Act 1999, chapter 2, part 3A. A lack of time and resources will not be sufficient criteria to meet this threshold.

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