16.2 The reporting of harm or risk of harm to a child, and incident reporting by Communities
Purpose
This procedure outlines the process for responding to information provided by Communities about alleged harm, or risk of harm to a child or a young person considered to be at risk of homelessness and requiring income support. This applies when a child is subject to youth justice intervention or both youth justice intervention and intervention by the department.
Authority
- Policy No. 29-3: Health and well-being: suicide risk alert system
- Policy No. 111-1: Operation of the case management protocol between commonwealth agencies and state/territory welfare authorities for unsupported young people and the provision of youth support payment
- Policy No. 372-2: Recordkeeping policy
Notifier confidentiality
When a report of harm or risk of harm is made to the department by a Communities officer or the youth justice case worker for the child, their identity is subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Child Protection Act 1999.
Reports of harm and risk of harm to a child
The Communities youth justice case worker (or another person or agency associated with the provision of services to a child) may contact the department to report child protection allegations or concerns with respect to the following matters:
- alleged harm or unacceptable risk of harm to a child;
- harm or unacceptable risk of harm to a child placed in out-of-home care (matters of concern);
- an unborn child considered to be at risk of unacceptable harm after their birth, based on the current actions or environment of the pregnant woman; and
- an unsupported child who is considered to be at risk of homelessness.
Regardless of whether a child is subject to youth justice intervention only, or to intervention
by both Communities and the department, when the report is made the CSO receiving the information will:
- gather and record all relevant information from the notifier;
- discuss the notifier's role as a service provider to the child and family, including:
- the extent and nature of intervention by Communities (or other person or agency), including details of the child's youth justice order, associated conditions and the youth justice case plan for the child; and
- whether there are particular considerations that the CSO should take into account prior to, or during, the investigation and assessment (should the information be 'screened in' as a notification);
- ascertain whether the notifier has informed the child, the family and, if applicable, the youth justice case worker that a report has been, or is to be made to, the department;
- explain departmental processes and the likely outcomes of their contact with the department; and
- ask the notifier (where the notifier is from a government or non-government agency) if they require feedback about the departmental response to their report, and if so, provide this feedback in accordance with the applicable procedural requirements.
The CSO will subsequently respond to the information received in accordance with relevant intake procedures and, where a notification is recorded, investigation and assessment procedures will apply.
|
|---|
Unsupported young people and youth support payment
If a Communities youth justice case worker (or another person or agency associated with the provision of services to a child) contacts the department in relation to an unsupported young person who is considered to be at risk of homelessness and/or requires income support, the CSO is to respond to the intake in accordance with:
- relevant departmental procedures; and
- the Case Management Protocol between Commonwealth Agencies and State/Territory Welfare Authorities for Unsupported Young People (the Youth Protocol).
Where the department receives information relating to an unsupported young person who is considered to be at risk of homelessness, the departmental response may include a referral to Centrelink for income support if this is considered appropriate. In such circumstances the CSO will refer the matter to Centrelink by telephone, complete the necessary referral form within 48 hours and advise Communities of the referral.
The information received will be 'screened in' as a notification where the young person is:
- under 15 years of age and homeless; and
- without a means of financial support; and
- unable to return home (or refusing to return home) due to allegations of physical or serious emotional harm, neglect or sexual abuse.
The department must liaise with relevant Centrelink staff in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Youth Protocol. The CSO responsible for undertaking an assessment in relation to the child's circumstances (including undertaking an investigation and assessment, if applicable) is to incorporate information provided by, or obtained from, relevant Centrelink staff.
The necessity for any interim financial assistance for the young person will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions outlined in the Youth Protocol, and the youth justice case worker (if applicable) will be informed of the emergency financial arrangement put in place.
In all circumstances where there is concurrent intervention with the young person, the CSO must inform Communities about the progress and outcome of actions taken.
Incident reporting by Communities
The youth justice case worker or detention centre staff will contact the CSO with case responsibility to inform them of a reportable incident in relation to a child (as recorded by Communities), when a child is subject to both a detention order or remand in custody, and a child protection order granting custody to the chief executive or a kinship carer or guardianship to the chief executive.
Where the information provided by Communities constitutes a critical incident, as defined in the departmental policy and procedure, the CSO is responsible for:
- complying with the department's requirements for reporting critical incidents as outlined in the policy on Critical Incident Reporting
; and - liaising with:
- their team leader or manager about the critical incident reporting process, including how best to inform the child's parents or carers' of the incident (where the chief executive has guardianship of the child under the child protection order); or
- relevant Communities staff to ensure that the child's parents or carers' are informed of the incident, as appropriate (where the child's parents retain guardianship under the child protection order).
In addition, the CSO will refer to, and implement appropriate departmental policies and procedures, where the information provided by Communities relates to:
- a child death;
- a child considered to be at high suicide risk; and
- an alert identified as occurring within the family.
|
|
|---|
Information provision to Communities - departmental critical incidents and alerts
For any child subject to concurrent child protection intervention (regardless of the nature of the intervention or the type of child protection order) and a youth justice order, the CSO will:
- verbally inform the child's youth justice case worker about:
- any level 1 and level 2 critical incident reports recorded by the department;
- any alerts recorded by the department (including suicide risk alerts) in relation to the child or family (where the nature of the alert is relevant to service provision by Communities officers and other persons or agencies involved in the implementation of the youth justice case plan); and
- any matters potentially constituting a critical incident report to the department;
- provide written confirmation of the information provided to Communities within two working days of providing the information; and
- where a suicide risk alert is recorded, involve the child's youth justice case worker in the development of immediate and medium to long-term management strategies (until such time that the youth justice order is completed or the case is closed by the department).
A copy of all written information provided to Communities will be retained on the departmental client file.
|
|---|
- Last updated
- 23 April 2009
Other languages