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)

You are here:

1. Home
2. Structured Decision Making
   • Chapters
   • Framework for practice and maps
   • Introduction
   • Practice papers
   • Quicklinks
   • Resources
3. SDM resources

• Children's Research Center
• Child safety practice framework

Information sheets

• Introducing Structured Decision Making
• Screening criteria and response priority
• Safety assessment and family risk evaluation
• Parental and child strengths and needs assessment
• Family reunification assessment and family risk re-evaluation when a child is living at home

Practice tips and resources

• Structured Decision Making manual
• Completion of Structured Decision Making assessment by work process
• Myths and facts sheet
• Developing a safety plan
• SDM Practice tips: The safety assessment
• SDM Practice tips: Family reunification assessment

SDM assessment

• Screening criteria
• Response priority
• Safety assessment
• Family risk evaluation
• Child strengths and needs assessment
• Parental strengths and needs assessment
• Family risk re-evaluation
• Family reunification assessment

Case reading resources

• Case reading manual
• Case reading spreadsheet

Academic papers

• The Children's Research Centre publications
• Research-based risk assessment: Adding equity to CPS decision making
• The improvement of child protective services with SDM™ - The CRC model