Child Safety Practice Manual

• Introduction
  • Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
  • Relevant legislation
  • Other key documents
  • Child safety service centres: staff roles and responsibilities
  • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
  • Respecting diversity
  • Delegations
  • Accountability for children in Queensland
  • Resources
• Framework for practice and maps
  • Practice maps
    • Child protection phases
    • Intake phase
    • Investigation and assessment phase
    • Ongoing intervention - Support service case
    • Ongoing intervention - Child in need of protection
    • Standards of care reviews and harm reports
• Chapters
  • 1. Intake
    • Key steps
      • 1. Gather information about the child and family
      • 2. Assess the information and decide the response
      • 3. Record the outcome and provide to the relevant CSSC or RIS
      • 4. Provide relevant intake information to external agencies
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 2. Investigation and assessment
    • Key steps
      • 1. Plan the investigation and assessment
      • 2. Engage the family and gather information
      • 3. Assess the notified concerns and the child's need for protection
      • 4. Finalise the investigation and assessment
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 3. Ongoing intervention
    • Key steps
      • 1. Decide the type of ongoing intervention
      • 2. Consult with OCFOS and make a referral to DCPL
      • 3. Undertake ongoing intervention activities
      • 4. Close an ongoing intervention case
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 4. Case planning
    • Key steps
      • 1. Assess and prepare to develop a case plan
      • 2. Plan for a family group meeting
      • 3. Develop the case plan
      • 4. Implement the case plan
      • 5. Review and revise the case plan
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 5. Children in care
    • Key steps
      • 1. Place a child in care
      • 2. Support a child in care
      • 3. Decision-making for the child
      • 4. Conclude a care placement
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 6. Intervention with parental agreement
    • Key steps
      • 1. Provide intervention with parental agreement
      • 2. Review an intervention with parental agreement case
      • 3. Place a child using a child protection care agreement
      • 4. Close an intervention with parental agreement case
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 7. Support service cases
    • Key steps
      • 1. Provide intervention through a support service case
      • 2. Review a support service case
      • 3. Close a support service case
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 8. Regulation of care
    • Key steps
      • 1. Pre-application
      • 2. Assessment
      • 3. Approval
      • 4. Renewal
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 9. Standards of care
    • Key steps
      • 1. Provide support to carers
      • 2. Monitor the standards of care
      • 3. Decide the appropriate response when concerns are identified
      • 4. Continue monitoring the standards of care
      • 5. Conduct a standards of care review - carers
      • 6. Conduct a standards of care review - care services
      • 7. Investigate and assess a harm report
      • 8. Action plans
    • What ifs
    • Resources
  • 10. General
    • 10.1 Decision-making about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
      • Key steps
        • 1. Enable meaningful participation in decision-making
        • 2. Arrange for an independent person to facilitate the child's and family's participation
        • 3. Refer the family for family-led decision-making
      • Resources
    • 10.2 Statutory obligation to notify the Queensland Police Service of possible criminal offences
      • Key steps
        • 1. Decide if a matter must be reported to the QPS
        • 2. Report the matter to the QPS
      • Resources
    • 10.3 Information sharing for service delivery coordination
      • Key steps
        • 1. Key principles for information sharing
        • 2. Decide when information may be shared
        • 3. Decide if stated information is needed
      • What ifs - responding to specific information sharing matters
      • Resources
    • 10.4 Providing adoption services
      • Key steps
        • 1. Provide adoption services
        • 2. Determine the primary case worker
        • 3. Supervise services delivered by the primary case worker
        • 4. Provide pre-consent counselling to parents
        • 5. Facilitate an adoption care agreement for a child whose parents are receiving pre-consent counselling
        • 6. Witness consents to an adoption
        • 7. Provide information and counselling to a child and consider the child's views
        • 8. Pursue adoption for a child subject to a child protection order
        • 9. Respect Aboriginal tradition and Island custom
        • 10. Respond to a request to provide one-off post adoption services
        • 11. Record information
      • Resources
    • 10.5 Recording sensitivity
      • Key steps
        • 1. Determine whether a person or event is sensitive
        • 2. Classify a person or event as sensitive
        • 3. Manage a sensitive person or event
        • 4. Review the sensitivity plan
        • 5. Manage sensitive records
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.6 Downgrading or deleting an approved notification
      • Key steps
        • 1. Consider whether to downgrade or delete an approved notification
        • 2. Obtain approval to downgrade or delete an approved notification
        • 3. Downgrade a notification
        • 4. Delete a notification
    • 10.7 Undertake the substance testing of parents
      • Key steps
        • 1. Overview of substance testing
        • 2. The substance test and test results
        • 3. Implement substance testing
        • 4. Implement concurrent assessment, monitoring and intervention strategies
      • Resources
    • 10.8 Responding to self-harming behaviour
      • Key steps
        • 1. Identify that a child is at risk of self-harm
        • 2. Respond to the child with a self-harm alert
        • 3. Review the self-harm risk management plan
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.9 Responding to suicide risk behaviour
      • Key steps
        • 1. Identify that a child is at risk of suicide
        • 2. Respond to the child with a suicide risk alert
        • 3. Review the suicide risk management plan
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.10 Warrant for the apprehension of a child
      • Key Steps
        • 1. Apply for a warrant
        • 2. Enact a warrant
      • Resources
    • 10.11 Staff safety and well-being
      • Key steps
        • 1. Implement strategies to promote staff safety and well-being
        • 2. Implement strategies to avoid client aggression
        • 3. Manage aggressive behaviour by clients
        • 4. Respond to an incident of aggressive behaviour
        • 5. Implement strategies to manage stress, vicarious trauma and critical incident stress
      • Resources
    • 10.12 Professional supervision
      • Key steps
        • 1. Implement supervision requirements
        • 2. Fulfil roles and responsibilities
        • 3. Develop a supervision agreement
        • 4. Implement the supervision agreement
        • 5. Record supervision
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.13 The video taping or recording of departmental staff
      • Key steps
        • 1. Implement actions when staff are video taped or audio recorded while performing work duties
        • 2. Implement actions when the personal details or footage of a staff member are inappropriately published
        • 3. Consider preventative strategies for enhancing personal privacy and safety
      • Resources
    • 10.14 Referring to Family and Child Connect or intensive family support services for early intervention
      • Key steps
        • 1. Roles and functions of Family and Child Connect
        • 2. Roles and functions of intensive family support services
        • 3. Referrals to Family and Child Connect or an intensive family support services
        • 4. Making a referral to Family and Child Connect or an intensive family support service
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.15 The role of the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre
      • Key steps
        • 1. Interface between the CSAHSC and CSSCs or RISs
        • 2. Make an after hours referral
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.16 Referral to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family support service
      • Key steps
        • 1. Determine eligibility for an ATSIFSS referral
        • 2. Make a referral to an ATSIFSS
        • 3. Action following a referral to an ATSIFSS
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.17 Complaints management
      • Key steps
        • 1. Intake
        • 2. Complaint management process
        • 3. Alternative response
        • 4. Investigation
        • 5. Internal review
        • 6. Privacy complaints
        • 7. Public Interest Disclosure
        • 8. Conduct and Performance Excellence
      • Resources
    • 10.18 Interstate and New Zealand matters
      • Key steps
        • 1. Overview of interstate and New Zealand matters
        • 2. Make a request to another jurisdiction
        • 3. Respond to a request from another jurisdiction
        • 4. Enacting a warrant
      • Resources
    • 10.19 Systems and Practice Reviews following the serious physical injury or death of a child
      • Key steps
        • 1. Actions following the serious physical injury or death of a child
        • 2. Participate in the review
        • 3. Actions arising from review processes
    • 10.20 Victims of crime and the role of Victim Assist Queensland
      • Key steps
        • 1. Respond to victims of crime
        • 2. Provide information to a victim of crime
        • 3. Make an application to Victim Assist Queensland
      • Resources
    • 10.21 Family courts
      • Key steps
        • 1. The family courts and child protection interface
        • 2. Exchange of information
        • 3. Assess information received about harm or risk of harm
        • 4. Respond to an order requesting intervention by the department - section 91B orders
        • 5. Undertake an investigation and assessment
        • 6. Respond to a child in need of protection
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10.22 International child protection matters and the Hague Child Abduction Convention
      • Key steps
        • 1. Manage international child protection matters
        • 2. Manage intervention under the Hague Child Abduction Convention
      • Resources
    • What ifs
    • Resources
• Practice papers
• Resources
  • Forms and templates
  • Departmental Resources
  • External
• Structured Decision Making
  • What is Structured Decision Making?
  • Background to implementation
  • How do SDM assessments fit with professional judgement?
  • SDM assessments
  • Case reading
  • SDM resources
• Quicklinks
  • Acronyms
  • Glossary of terms
  • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
  • Previous versions
  • Printable version
  • Updates
    • CSPM July 2013 updates
    • CSPM February 2013 updates
    • CSPM June 2012 updates
    • CSPM August 2011 updates
    • CSPM November 2010 updates
    • CSPM July 2010 updates
    • CSPM February 2010 updates
    • CSPM July 2009 updates
    • CSPM June 2009 updates
    • CSPM May 2009 updates
    • CSPM April 2009 updates
    • CSPM December 2008 updates
    • CSPM November 2008 updates
    • CSPM September 2008 updates
    • Stage 9 updates
    • Stage 8 updates
    • Stage 7 updates
    • Stage 6 updates
    • Stage 5 updates (31 May 2006)
    • Stage 4 updates (20 February 2006)
    • Stage 3 updates (16 September 2005) (Note - SDM operational 30 October 2005)
    • Stage 2 updates (1 May 2005)
    • Stage 1 updates (7 March 2005)

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1. Child Safety Practice Manual

The Child Safety Practice Manual provides a comprehensive set of procedures that guide and inform the delivery of child protection services by the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women in Queensland.

The Child Safety Practice Manual consists of the following chapters:

• Chapter 1. Intake
• Chapter 2. Investigation and assessment
• Chapter 3. Ongoing intervention
• Chapter 4. Case planning
• Chapter 5. Children in care
• Chapter 6. Intervention with parental agreement
• Chapter 7. Support service cases
• Chapter 8. Regulation of care
• Chapter 9. Standards of care
• Chapter 10. General

For information about the format of the chapters and how to use the Child Safety Practice Manual, please refer to How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual.

A printable version of the Child Safety Practice Manual is also available.