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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
  • 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

Quicklinks

• Acronyms
• Glossary of terms
• Previous versions
• Printable version
• Updates
  • CSPM_Sep_2008 updates
  • Stage 9 updates
  • Stage 8 updates
  • Stage 7 updates
  • Stage 6 updates
  • Stage 5 updates
  • Stage 4 updates
  • Stage 3 updates
  • Stage 2 updates
  • Stage 1 updates

Stage 6 updates

Released online on 14 December 2006. Operational from 1 January 2007.

Stage 6 includes both amended content and new procedures. Stage 6 also introduces a new chapter of general procedures. The new chapter includes procedures that span the child protection continuum, rather than sitting in a particular chapter. The Stage 6 content is outlined below with a summary of the changes

General procedures

• Decision making about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: moved from chapter 1.3, with updated 'SCAN System' content.
• Staff safety and well-being: new procedure, previously a practice paper entitled 'Worker safety in child protection practice'.
• Structured decision making: includes content from previous introduction section and 'Appendix C: SDM'.
• Statutory obligation to notify QPS regarding possible criminal offences - section 14(2): new procedure that outlines the requirements for notifying the police of suspected criminal offences, as outlined in the Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(2).
• Case management: content from previous introduction chapter.
• Information sharing: previously a practice paper.
• Making a referral to Evolve: new procedure for making referrals to Evolve services, which are being rolled out across Queensland.
• Referral for active intervention services: new procedure for making referrals to RAI prevention and early intervention services in 10 locations across Queensland.

Chapter 1

All sections have been edited. The key practice changes are outlined below:

• 1.4 Notifiers: This section has additional content about notifiers, additional notifiers and confidentiality provisions, and clarifies the mandatory reporting requirements under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 148.
• 1.6 Providing feedback to notifiers from government and non-government agencies: includes the requirement to advise notifiers from government or non-government agencies of the department's intended response, where the information is critical to the notifying agency, or, if a safety issue is identified.
• 1.7 Gathering information from the notifier: this combines the previous practice guideline and the information gathering guide from Stage 5.
• 1.9 Pre-notification checks: minor amendments to clarify the procedure and include the participation of recognised entities for indigenous children.
• 1.11 Completing the screening criteria tool: this is an amended procedure that now contains all procedural information for screening criteria tool and has the definitions attached as a resource.
• 1.12 Completing the response priority tool: this is an amended procedure that now contains all procedural information for response priority tool and has the definitions attached as a resource.
• 1.13 Responding to a child concern report: amendments to include information about RAI referrals.
• 1.14 Recording a notification: the previous practice guideline and procedure have been combined and the interim guideline for recording additional concerns has been included.
• 1.17 Downgrading or deleting an approved notification: the previous practice guideline and procedure have been combined into one procedure.

Chapter 2

The following sections have been amended:

• 2.1 Investigation and assessment: an overview: amendments in relation to the need for a holistic assessment and the need to ask specific questions to determine whether a child or other person is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and record the information.
• 2.2 Planning the investigation and assessment: minor amendments, in particular in relation to the SCAN System, the approval of the investigation plan prior to commencing an investigation and assessment, and planning interviews.
• 2.5 Joint investigations with the Police: this section has expanded content to inform the joint investigation process, including information about joint planning, interviews, ICARE interviews and SCAN System referrals.
• 2.9 Interviewing and sighting children: additional requirements in relation to interviewing children.
• 2.10 Interviewing parents and other adults: minor amendments.
• 2.11 Safety assessment: includes clarification of issues in relation to 'private arrangements' and the use of care agreements.
• 2.12 Completing a safety assessment: minor amendments only.
• 2.14 When a child and family cannot be located: minor amendments only.
• 2.17 Investigation and assessment outcomes: includes minor edits, clarifies the age a child can be recorded as a person responsible, requires a CSSC manager approve an investigation and assessment undertaken by a team leader and includes information about RAI referrals.
• 2.20 The SCAN System: the previous practice guideline and procedure have been combined and amended in keeping with updated SCAN System procedures.

Chapter 5

• 5.5 Care agreements: amended to include additional requirements when considering use of a care agreement, including:
  • the involvement of both parents when parents reside separately and/or one parent does not agree to the child being placed in out-of-home care
  • the interface with family court orders or parenting plans and care agreements
  • clarification of the maximum time for a child protection care agreement in a 12 month period
  • the use of private arrangements.

Chapter 7

The sections within chapter 7 have been rearranged and there are four new procedures and three amended procedures, as outlined below:

• 7.2 Providing out-of-home care to children: minor amendments relating to Education Support Plans.
• 7.3 Pre-placement matching: new procedure.
• 7.4 Placement of a child under section 82(1)(f): amended to clarify procedures and for the process of placing a child under section 82(1)(f).
• 7.15 Participation of children in high and very high risk activities: amended to join the high and very high risk categories, and provide examples of these activities.
• 7.16 Decision-making about end of life medical treatment of a child in out-of-home care: new procedure.
• 7.17 Obligations, actions and responsibilities upon the death of a child in out-of-home care: new procedure.
• 7.21 Child health passports and health plans: new procedure.

Chapter 8

The sections within chapter 8 have been rearranged, a number of guidelines and procedures have been combined and there are four new procedures and three amended procedures, as outlined below:

• 8.3 Enquiries about becoming a foster carer: minor amendments only.
• 8.4 Provisional approval of foster and kinship carer applicants: minor amendments only.
• 8.5 Provisional approval of carers: a range of amendments to the assessment and approval process, including personal history screening requirements.
• 8.7 Application for a certificate of approval or renewal of a certificate of approval as a carer: amended to include foster and kinship carer applicants, and amends the procedure for the lodgement of forms and personal history checks.
• 8.8 The initial assessment of foster carer applicants: amendments to the recording of an assessment.
• 8.9 Personal history checks for carer applicants and other household members: updated information about personal history checks, the role of the CSU, requesting DV and traffic history, interstate and international CP history checks and record keeping.
• 8.15 Approving initial carer applications: combines the decision-making and approval process for foster and kinship carer applicants.
• 8.17 Conducting an assessment for the renewal of approval of a foster carer applicant: updates the renewal of approval and recording processes.
• 8.18 Decision-making with regard to a carer who has made an application to renew their certificate of approval: minor amendments only.
• 8.19 The initial assessment of kinship carer applicants: the previous practice guideline and procedures have been combined and amended.
• 8.20 The renewal of approval for kinship carers: minor amendments.
• 8.23 Amendment, suspension and cancellation of a provisionally approved carer's certificate of approval: minor amendments to the procedure for suspension or cancellation of a provisionally approved carer's certificate of approval.

Chapter 9

• 9.5 Responding to a matter of concern for a child placed under section 82(1)(a-e) - notification: amendments to this procedure in relation to who should be interviewed as part of investigation and assessment and removing the mandatory need to refer MOC to the SCAN AM Team.
• 9.6 Responding to a matter of concern for a child placed under section 82(1)(f) - notification: amendments to this procedure in relation to who should be interviewed as part of investigation and assessment and removing the mandatory need to refer MOC to the SCAN AM Team.

Chapter 10

• 10.1 Unborn children - responding to concerns prior to a child's birth: the previous practice guideline and procedure have been combined and amended.

Appendices

• Appendix C - SDM: Information included in the beginning of the appendices has been moved to the general procedures section. The definitions for the screening criteria and response priority tools are now a linked resource in the relevant procedures (1.11 and 1.12)

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