8. Regulation of care

Purpose

This procedure outlines the process for approving carers who can provide a child with a safe and acceptable standard of care, when Child Safety intervention with a child and family requires that a child is placed away from their parent's care.

The purpose of regulating foster and kinship carers, including provisionally approved carers, is to ensure that an individual who provides care for a child placed with them by the Child Safety, is suitable to care for the child and continues to meet suitability requirements for the duration of their approval.

Key steps

  1. Pre-application
  2. Assessment
  3. Approval
  4. Renewal

What ifs - responding to specific regulation of care matters

Standards

  1. Consideration is given to placing the child with kin, as a first option.
  2. All persons must be considered 'suitable persons', prior to being issued with a certificate of approval as a foster or kinship carer or provisionally approved carer.
  3. Applications for approval, or renewal of approval, are decided within legislative timeframes.
  4. Personal history checks are undertaken by the CSU for all applicants and adult household members.

Practice skills (Key areas for reflection)

  • Have I accessed all sources of relevant information in undertaking the assessment?
  • Have I applied the five elements of the child placement principle during engagement, assessment and review processes, where relevant?
  • Did I include in my assessment report relevant, factual and concise information, including evidence and professional opinion, which supports the recommendation for approval or refusal of an application?
  • Have I undertaken the assessment in an open, accountable and transparent manner and treated the applicant fairly, with courtesy and respect?
  • Have I addressed issues of concern with the applicant during the assessment process?
  • How did I facilitate the applicant's participation in decision-making?

Authority