Access keys | Skip to primary navigation | Skip to secondary navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer |

• 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 9 updates

Released online on 28 April 2008.

Stage 9 includes both amended content and new procedures. The content of Stage 9 is outlined below with a summary of the changes.

General procedures

Two new procedures and three amended procedures:

• GPiii Structured Decision Making™: reference to children under the age of three has been removed in the 'Completion of SDM tools at critical decision making points' table.
• GPiv Statutory obligation to notify the Queensland Police Service of possible criminal offences: amendments to clarify and narrow the policy requirement to immediately advise the QPS of any possible criminal offences in relation to harm to a child, and the inclusion of additional criminal offences that relate to children in the schedule of offences.
• GPviii Referral for active intervention services: amendments to the existing referral criteria to increase the numbers of families eligible for RAI services, expanding the age limit from 0 – 8 to 0 – 10 and increasing the types of referrals to allow for referrals from Queensland Health and the Department of Education, Training and the Arts.
• GPxiii Providing adoption services: a new procedure outlining the process for CSSC staff to undertake adoption services with clients, in consultation with Adoption Services Queensland.
• GPxiv The video taping or recording of departmental staff in the workplace: a new procedure outlining processes for supporting the privacy of all departmental staff when being video or audio taped in the workplace and in circumstances when they become aware of footage or personal details of staff being inappropriately published.

Chapter 1

The following procedures have been amended:

• 1.1 Intake: an overview
• 1.3 Gathering information from the notifier
• 1.4 Harm or risk of harm to a child by a person living outside the home
• 1.8 Responding to child concern reports
• 1.9 Recording a notification
• 1.10 Recording additional concerns prior to the approval of a notification
• 1.14 Recording sensitive clients

The above procedures include the following amendments:

• The inclusion of information to integrate unborn children requirements into all chapters.
• The inclusion of additional information in relation to section 14(2) – reporting criminal offences in relation to harm to a child.
• Clarifying information about when to record a general enquiry in ICMS.
• The addition of information clarifying who is a subject child.
• The inclusion of links to two new resources to assist staff at intake.
• The inclusion of the advice that any I&A on a staff member to be conducted by senior staff from another zone.
• The inclusion of amended information in relation to 'Referrals for active intervention' (RAI) in procedure 1.8 – Responding to child concern reports.

Chapter 2

The following procedures have been amended:

• 2.1 Investigation and assessment: an overview
• 2.2 Planning the investigation and assessment
• 2.3 Planning the investigation and assessment
• 2.4 Commencing an investigation and assessment
• 2.6 Recording additional concerns during investigation and assessment
• 2.8 Interviewing and sighting children
• 2.9 Interviewing parents and other adults
• 2.15 Investigation and assessment outcomes

The above procedures include the following amendments:

• The inclusion of information to integrate unborn children requirements into all chapters.
• The inclusion of additional information in relation to section 14(2) – reporting criminal offences in relation to harm to a child.
• Clarification of exceptions to the requirement to sight a subject child.
• The inclusion of additional information about the following:
  • the need for holistic assessments;
  • the inclusion of education authorities in the planning of investigation and assessments;
  • the filing of written interview notes on children/s paper files when they may be required for a police investigation;
  • the need for two officers to attend investigation and assessments;
  • verbal approval for investigation and assessment plans for urgent matters;
  • interviewing non-related adults that live in a child's home; and
  • balancing risk and protective factors.
• The inclusion of amended information in relation to 'Referrals for active intervention' (RAI) in procedure 2.15 - Investigation and assessment outcomes.

Chapter 4

The following procedures have been amended:

• 4.1 Ongoing intervention and case planning: an overview: amendments to introduce a uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of case plans for all ongoing intervention cases.
• 4.8 Developing key items in the case plan: amendments in relation to uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of case plans for all ongoing intervention cases.
• 4.14 Substance testing of parents: amendments that allow the department to meet the associated costs of substance testing of parents.
• 4.15 Completing a case plan review: amendments in relation to uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of case plans for all ongoing intervention cases.

Chapter 5

The following procedures have been amended:

• 5.1 Support service cases: amendments in relation to uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of support plans for all support service cases, except for a pregnant woman, where there will be an initial support plan developed, and a review prior to the expected birth date for the child.
• 5.2 Intervention with parental agreement: amendments in relation to uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of case plans for intervention with parental agreement cases.

Chapter 7

The following procedures have been amended:

• 7.1 Out-of-home care as part of an integrated response: amendments in relation to uniform minimum requirement of six monthly reviews of case plans for all ongoing intervention cases.
• 7.2 Pre-placement matching: amendments to remove the PASP information form 'Table 2: Placement options'
• 7.5 Medicare cards: amendments to include information about rebates for medical and pharmaceutical rebates for expenses that occur prior to a child being enrolled with Medicare Australia.
• 7.10 Family contact for children in out-of-home care: amendments to include information about managing issues of domestic violence during family contact and responding to new child protection concerns gathered during family contact.

The 'Authority' section of the following procedures have been amended to remove rescinded policies:

• 7.12 Deciding custody and guardianship matters for children in out-of-home care
• 7.14 Decision-making about end of life medical treatment of a child in out-of-home care
• 7.15 Obligations, actions and responsibilities upon the death of a child in out-of-home care
• 7.16 Child health passports and health plans
• 7.20 Transition from care - planning and support
• 7.21 The use of respite for children in out-of-home care

Chapter 8

The following procedures have been amended:

• 8.3 Provisional approval of carers
• 8.5 The application assessment and approval process for kinship carer applicants
• 8.6 The renewal of approval for kinship carers
• 8.9 The application, assessment and approval process for foster carer applicants
• 8.17 The renewal of approval for foster carers

The above procedures include the following amendments:

• Updated information about the revamped 'Application for Approval – Form 3 (APA)' which now has four parts and is used for foster and kinship carer applications and renewals.
• Updated information, clarifying the requirements for a carers application to be 'properly made'.

In addition, the following procedures have had other specific amendments:

• 8.6 The renewal of approval for kinship carers: amendments to include information about the need for kinship carers to make an application for initial approval, where they do not apply for renewal prior to the expiry of the existing approval.
• 8.9 The application, assessment and approval process for foster carer applicants: amendments to include information about the requirement for standard modules to be completed within 12 months of initial approval as a foster carer.
• 8.14 Conducting a household safety study: amendments to include information about new smoke alarm requirements as part of the household safety study, and the inclusion of additional resource links in relation to safety for children.

Chapter 9

The following procedure has been amended:

• 9.3 Investigating and assessing a matter of concern notification: an amendment to the timeframe for recording a critical incident report for a matter of concern notification from 24 hours to the close of business the following business day.

Chapter 10

The previous procedure has been amended and split into the following three separate procedures that reflect the phases of child protection and clarify requirements:

• 10.1 Unborn children - responding to concerns prior to a child's birth
• 10.2 Unborn children - Investigation and assessment
• 10.3 Unborn children - intervening after an investigation and assessment

Chapter 11

The following procedure has been amended:

• 11.2 Transferring ongoing intervention cases: this procedure has been reviewed and rewritten in consultation with the CSSC managers. It includes new timeframes, principles and exceptions for case transfers, to improve the transfer procedure.

Top of page

Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy | Access keys | Other languages

© The State of Queensland (Department of Child Safety) 2008.

Queensland Government