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Child Safety Practice Manual

Care arrangement matching

The 2013 conceptual framework outlined in the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry’s Final Report recognised that children in care need more than "stability of placement" to achieve the best outcomes. They also require the continuation of existing, and the establishment of new, enduring relationships.

Existing relationships can be maintained through family contact, community and cultural connections and relationships at school, while new relationships can be formed with carers.

Continuity of care arrangement alone is unlikely to result in permanency. Care arrangements need to meet the child’s social, emotional and physical needs to have the best chance of achieving permanency. Care arrangement matching, where all possible options are explored to ensure the care arrangement reflects the child’s needs and the requirements of the relevant child protection order, is very important.

Including the child, their family and prospective carers in the care arrangement matching process may lead to stability in the care arrangement. This in turn may increase the longevity of the child’s care arrangement and lead to better outcomes for the child.

Care arrangement matching factors need to be included in your care arrangement referral, outlining the child’s or young person’s needs and your and their hopes in a care arrangement. With this information, the PSU is able to better match children and young people to care arrangements and offer care arrangements that will provide for  children's and young people’s safety, belonging and wellbeing needs.

The following table outlines various factors to consider for care arrangements. 

Care arrangement factor Child or young person factors Carer factors
Views and wishes

Consider:

  • the views and wishes of the child, their family, and community.

Consider:

  • the views and wishes of the carer and household members.
Cultural safety

Consider:

  • cultural connections
  • community connection
  • traditional language group
  • cultural customs and traditions
  • cultural child rearing practices
  • cultural kin structures.

Consider:

  • the carer's ability to meet and support the child's ongoing connection to culture and to support cultural traditions and child rearing practices
  • the carer's awareness and knowledge of the child's culture.

 
Type of care arrangement required and case plan goal

Care arrangement type required:

  • short-break care
  • primary care arrangement 
  • family-based care - foster or kinship care
  • residential care
  • supported independent living service
  • a care arrangment with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander carers
  • long-term or permanent care.

Consider the goal of the case plan - long-term care or reunification.

Consider:

  • the carer's approval status and the type of care the carer can provide (for example, short-break care)
  • foster carer agreement details (for example, are the carers approved for 3 children under the age of 12?)
  • the level of experience of the carer
  • the current commitments and availability of carer to meet the  child's needs
  • the age of the carers (that is, when seeking a permanent care arrangement for a 4-year-old, consider if the carer's age may affect their ability to provide long-term care)
  • the carer's flexibility when goals change
  • the carer's ability and willingness to partner with parents and Child Safety to reach case plan goals.
 

Consider:

  • keeping the child within their community for continuity of relationships with their family, school, child care, and community
  • a care arrangement as close as possible to support continuity of relationships, if required to place outside of community
  • can the child be placed within a short driving distance of their family and community, unless it is unsafe to do so.

Consider:

  • the carer's location in proximity to family
  • carer's ability to transport child to current school, child care, and community activities.

 
Safety worries

Consider:

  • does a child present as a risk to others in the care arrangement, or do others in the care arrangement present as a risk to the child? 
    •    past incidents of conflict or bullying with children in the care arrangement.

Consider:

  • the carer's capacity to supervise and manage complex behaviours
  • the carer's ability to protect the  child and other children in the care arrangement (that is, develop and implement a safety plan for the household)
Relationships and connection with family

Consider:

  • contact and connection with parents, siblings, extended family, friends, and their community will be maintained
  • can siblings will be placed together.

Consider:

  • the carer's capacity to support and implement family contact
  • the carer's capacity to partner with the parents
  • the carer's capacity to care for the child's siblings, if relevant.
Services (for example, Evolve, medical, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS))

Consider:

  • the existing services the child accesses, such as the NDIS
  • potential services the child may require, such as Evolve.

Consider:

  • the carer's capacity to access and support child's involvement with current and potential required services.

 
Age and gender

Consider:

  • the child's age and the appropriateness of the care arrangement offered
  • the child's gender and sexual orientation, if relevant.

Consider:

  • the household composition of ages, gender and sexual identities
  • how the child will match with other children in the care arrangement (for example, a 10-year-old being offered a residential care arrangement with 3 older young people is not a good match).
Safety, belonging and wellbeing needs Consider the child’s:
  • health
  • education needs
  • behaviour
  • emotional stability, deelopmental delays and any disability needs
  • attachment needs and style, particularly for children under 5 years of age
  • complexity of needs.
 Consider:
  • the carer's ability and capacity to support identified needs
  • the needs of other children in care in the home
  • any likely impact of needs on other children
  • the carer's experience and skill including completed training
  • carer's ability to connect with the child and suitability of home environment.
Past experiences

Consider:

  • the child's child protection history, including harm experienced at home and in care
  • history of care arrangement changes.
 Consider:
  • any standards of care history for the carer 
  • the child’s history of care arrangements and any themes that may impact on the carer's ability to provide for the child's needs.
Lifestyle and personality

Consider:

  • the child's personality, interests and hobbies.

Consider:

  • the carer's lifestyle and availability so support child's interests and hobbies.

 

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