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

You are here:

1. Home
2. Chapters
   • Framework for practice and maps
   • Introduction
   • Practice papers
   • Quicklinks
   • Resources
   • Structured Decision Making
3. 10. General
   • 1. Intake
   • 2. Investigation and assessment
   • 3. Ongoing intervention
   • 4. Case planning
   • 5. Children in care
   • 6. Intervention with parental agreement
   • 7. Support service cases
   • 8. Regulation of care
   • 9. Standards of care
4. 10.14 Referring to Family and Child Connect or intensive family support services for early intervention
   • 10.10 Warrant for the apprehension of a child
   • 10.11 Staff safety and well-being
   • 10.12 Professional supervision
   • 10.13 The video taping or recording of departmental staff
   • 10.15 The role of the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre
   • 10.16 Referral to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family support service
   • 10.17 Complaints management
   • 10.18 Interstate and New Zealand matters
   • 10.19 Systems and Practice Reviews following the serious physical injury or death of a child
   • 10.1 Decision-making about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
   • 10.20 Victims of crime and the role of Victim Assist Queensland
   • 10.21 Family courts
   • 10.22 International child protection matters and the Hague Child Abduction Convention
   • 10.2 Statutory obligation to notify the Queensland Police Service of possible criminal offences
   • 10.3 Information sharing for service delivery coordination
   • 10.4 Providing adoption services
   • 10.5 Recording sensitivity
   • 10.6 Downgrading or deleting an approved notification
   • 10.7 Undertake the substance testing of parents
   • 10.8 Responding to self-harming behaviour
   • 10.9 Responding to suicide risk behaviour
   • Resources
   • What ifs
5. Key steps
   • Resources
   • What ifs
6. 2. Roles and functions of intensive family support services

Intensive Family Support services are funded services that provide family support delivered under a lead case management model to address multiple and/or complex needs and assist families to build their capacity to care for and protect their children.

The purpose of Intensive Family Support is to build resilience and independence in highly vulnerable families.  The benefits being sought from this initiative are: 

1. Highly vulnerable families receive the support they need to become stronger, more capable and resilient
2. Improved life outcomes for vulnerable children, including a reduction in the number of children in need of protection and in out-of-home care and a reduction in risk factors amongst vulnerable children and their families

A more sustainable support service system for families, where government investment proportions shift from tertiary to secondary service delivery; includes a community shift from reporting to Child Safety to referring families to support services.

The intent of Intensive Family Support is to assist vulnerable families to address multiple and/or complex needs and build their capacity to safely care for and protect their children. Engagement with families must involve the active participation of the family in case planning and in demonstrating their willingness for positive change. The primary focus of the engagement is to strengthen the protective factors within the family to ensure children can safely live at home.

The target group for receipt of Intensive Family Support services are children and young people (unborn up to under 18 years) at risk of entry or re-entry into the statutory child protection system, and their families.

Intensive Family Support services provide intensive family support including case management, practical in-home support, brokerage and links to specialist services. A mix of practical, personal development, therapeutic and enabling services are utilised as appropriate, including:

• practical services that address a specific need in the family, such as transport to medical appointments, establishing daily routines related to meals or getting to school or respite care
• personal support and development including information and advice, parenting skills courses, budgeting and household skills development
• clinical or therapeutic services include casework, counselling, emotional support, family mediation, anger management, domestic violence intervention programs, development of social supports
• enabling services to link the family to other supports via referral and advocacy (e.g. assist with access to housing, child care, emergency relief payment, rental assistance) and case management to coordinate service delivery.