4. Develop and monitor an action plan
The assessment or investigation and assessment in response to a matter of concern must be completed in a timeframe that allows for the action plan to be finalised and approved by a team leader within six weeks of the decision that a matter constitutes a matter of concern. The team leader is also responsible for advising the CSSC manager of the details of the action plan.
The CSSC manager is responsible for ensuring that:
- where there is a breach of the standards of care, or harm or risk of harm to the child by an approved carer or staff member, an action plan is developed to address the matters of concern
- appropriate mechanisms, including bring-up systems, are developed and implemented within the CSSC to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the action plan and taking action to address issues that remain unresolved or continue to arise.
4.1 When to develop an action plan
An action plan must be developed for all matters of concern that have one of the following outcomes:
- child placement concern report - ‘Breach of standards’
- investigation and assessment - ‘Substantiated – matter of concern’
- investigation and assessment - ‘Unsubstantiated – matter of concern – breach of standards’.
There are two exceptions to this requirement. No action plan is required where:
- a decision is made to cancel an approved carer’s certificate of approval, unless the decision is overturned by the Children Services Tribunal
- the child is removed from a kinship carer and there are no other children placed with the carer.
4.2 Who will develop the action plan
When an action plan is required:
- Child Safety Services is responsible for developing an action plan for an approved carer or a staff member of another entity
- the licensed care service is responsible for developing an action plan for a staff member of a licensed care service, given the legislative obligations of the licensed care service nominee under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 130.
Licensed care service
Where the licensed care service is responsible for the development of an action plan, liaise with the licensed care service to ensure the development and review of an action plan and discuss:
- which persons are to be involved in the development of the action plan
- the key items to consider, and where appropriate include, in the action plan.
When the licensed care service is responsible for the development and review of an action plan, they are also responsible for providing the CSO and the Community Support Team (CST) manager with a copy of the completed action plan for addressing matters of concern.
Assistance by the Matters of Concern Review Unit
The Matters of Concern Review Unit may be contacted by the CSSC manager or senior practitioner only, where it is considered that assistance is required to develop a clear and effective action plan. For further information refer to 8. What if assistance is required from the Matters of Concern Review Unit?
4.3 Who will participate in the development of the action plan
Child Safety Services or the licensed care service will involve the following persons in the development of an action plan:
- the child, where of an appropriate age and ability
- the CSO with case responsibility for the child
- the recognised entity, where the child is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- the approved carer or staff member
- the approved carer’s support worker (from the licensed care service, Child Safety Services or another entity)
- the manager or coordinator of the licensed care service, where relevant.
4.4 Review suitability as part of the action plan
Consideration will be given to a review of the approved carer or staff member’s suitability where:
- the investigation and assessment outcome is ‘Substantiated – matter of concern’, and:
- the nature of the harm of future risk of harm is considered very serious
- the provision of protective intervention, for example, through providing direct services and enhanced supports and monitoring, would not adequately ensure the child’s safety and well-being in the care environment
- the approved carer or staff member has more than one matter of concern where they are the person responsible for a breach of the standards or harm or risk of harm to a child in out-of-home care, or there is a pattern of similar concerns, irrespective of the outcomes
- identified concerns remain unresolved after six months from the original approval of the action plan, or where new matters of concern continue to arise leading up to the six month period.
Any decision that a review of the suitability of an approved carer or staff member is necessary, will be made by the CSSC manager, in consultation with the senior practitioner.
For an approved carer, document this decision in the action plan. For a staff member of a licensed care service, the CSSC manager will contact the nominee for the licensed care service and:
- request that a review of the staff member’s suitability be conducted by the licensed care service
- discuss the rationale for the request
- request that the nominee’s decision as to whether to conduct a review of the staff member’s suitability be incorporated in the action plan.
If the nominee decides, following the discussion with the CSSC manager, that a decision to review the staff member’s suitability is not necessary or appropriate, the CSSC manager will contact the zonal director to discuss whether action may be required to amend, suspend or cancel the licensed care service’s license.
4.5 Develop the action plan
Prior to developing the key items
Where a change in the child's placement is being considered in response to the outcome of a matter of concern, discuss the matter with the senior practitioner and CSSC manager, prior to its inclusion in the action plan.
Where a decision is required about whether to take legislative action to amend or suspend an approved carers certificate of approval, discuss the matter with the CSSC manager, prior to its inclusion in the action plan – refer to Chapter 8, 9. What if a foster or kinship carer's certificate of approval requires amendment, suspension or cancellation, other than on blue card grounds?
Key action plan requirements
The action plan, developed by either Child Safety Services or the licensed care service will:
- incorporate all actions considered necessary to address the identified concerns and prevent further concerns from arising
- outline the responsibilities of Child Safety Services, the approved carer or staff member and the licensed care service or another entity for implementing and monitoring the action plan tasks
- respond to the child’s safety and support needs within the placement, particularly where the child presents with a history of behavioural disturbances or multiple placements
- respond to any systemic issues identified that have contributed to the breach of the standards of care, that can be addressed by Child Safety Services, licensed care service or another entity
- identify the approved carer or staff member’s specific supervision, support and training needs and how they will be resourced
- document strategies to deal with any systemic issues likely to impact on the ability of stakeholders to address the identified concerns
- incorporate when and how the review will take place - refer to 4.7 Review the action plan.
The action plan will also include specific actions considered necessary to address the breach of standards, such as:
- a review the current case plan for the child – refer to Chapter 4. Case planning
- a review of the appropriateness of the placement to meet the child’s needs – refer to Chapter 5, 1.1 Placement matching - an overview
- a review of the placement agreement to:
- clarify the goals and outcomes for the placement
- identify any specific support needs for each child, for example, financial or therapeutic support, and the carer, to assist them meet the standards of care for the child
- more frequent home visits to the child and the approved carer or staff member
- a review of the foster carer agreement for an approved foster carer
- identifying whether any of the following actions are required:
- a review of an approved carer’s suitability
- the decision to amend an approved carer’s certificate of approval
- the decision, by a licensed care service, to review a staff member’s suitability.
The ‘action plan’ form is located in ICMS under the ‘Assessment & outcome’ tab in the ‘MOC - I&A’ event.
4.6 Implement and monitor the action plan
Provide a copy of the action plan to the child, where age and developmentally appropriate, the approved carer or staff member and all persons responsible for the implementation of the action plan.
The implementation of the action plan is to be documented by either Child Safety Services or the licensed care service, until such time that the matter of concern issues are considered by Child Safety Services and the licensed care service, if applicable, to be adequately resolved.
If actions do not relate to a specific child, record progress of the action plan in a ‘MOC – action plan follow up’ case note in the ‘Support’ event in ICMS. If the actions relate to a specific child, record the progress in a ‘MOC – action plan follow up’ case note in the ‘Placement’ event on ICMS.
4.7 Review the action plan
The review of an action plan will occur within six months of being approved, and the review is the responsibility of either Child Safety Services or the licensed care service that developed the action plan. The review meeting is to include all persons responsible for the implementation of the action plan, including the approved carer or staff member. Where the timeframe permits, the review may also be incorporated into the review of the placement agreement for the child or the review of the foster carer agreement.
Ensure that a copy of the minutes of the review meeting are filed on:
- the child’s file
- the approved carer’s Child Safety Services' file.
Where identified concerns remain unresolved after six months, or where new matters of concern have been recorded within the six month period, the team leader is required to consult with the CSSC manager, to determine the most suitable action to be taken. At this time, consideration must be given to either:
- the amendment, suspension or cancellation of an approved carers certificate of approval
- the amendment, suspension or cancellation of the licensed care service's license, if applicable
- whether it is considered necessary that the licensed care service take action in relation to the employment status of the staff member.
- Last updated
- 29 June 2009
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