Concurrent case planning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families

Ensure any discussions around the development of concurrent permanency goals for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child reflect and address the five core elements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle outlined in the Child Protection Act 1999, section 5C. Be aware that in the face of statutory intervention, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are especially vulnerable to becoming disconnected from their culture, family and community (Cripps and Laurens). 

Concurrent planning outlining alternative permanency goals must consider all three dimensions of permanency, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s right to self-determination, demonstrate active efforts and compliance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. Reunification with family will always be the option that best supports cultural identity development and a sense of belonging (Cripps and Laurens).

Child Safety must arrange, in consultation with the child and their family and subject to their agreement, for an independent person to facilitate the child and family’s participation in significant decisions made during the ongoing intervention. This includes decisions such as the type of intervention, type of child protection order, case planning decisions, where and with whom the child will live and how their safety belonging and wellbeing needs are met.

The independent person will facilitate the child or family’s participation in any meeting held to discuss these decisions. When it is time to review and revise a case plan, including a review of the primary and alternative permanency goals, the independent person can support the child and family to participate in the Family Group Meeting. Wherever possible, the Family Participation Program service will also be involved to facilitate a culturally appropriate family led decision making process.

A case plan is an opportunity to create change for a child. It is important to remember that concurrent planning is a fundamental part of integrating a permanency focus into a case plan – it is not a separate, additional process. Developing a concurrent plan with clear alternative permanency goals occurs across the cycle of case planning and is essential in each of the four stages; assess, plan, implement and review. 

Permanency planning during short-term care

Short-term child protection orders with custody or guardianship are a critical part of intervention for children who are involved in the child protection system. They provide Child Safety with the authority to work with a family to reduce the risk of future harm, with the aim of safely returning the child home. All case plans developed when a child is in care under short-term arrangements are required to include goals and actions for achieving permanency, with the primary goal usually reunification.
The provision within the Child Protection Act 1999  for time-limited short-term orders sets the tone for purposeful case planning to ensure timely decisions are made for the child. Concurrent planning is an essential part of this process and ensures that if reunification is not possible, a planned alternative permanency goal can be enacted without delay, in a considered way.

Develop a concurrent plan

A concurrent plan must be child centred and family focused. It requires practitioners to balance working intensively with families to support the best possible chance of reunification as well as ensuring alternative plans are well thought out and in place (Milani). Schene outlines that the development of a concurrent plan must reflect: 

• an early assessment of the conditions that led to out-of-home placement
• identification of family strengths
• articulated actions supporting timely reunification
• identified alternative care arrangements to be considered as a permanency option if reunification is not possible
• clear time lines for permanency decision making
• coordination of service provision and court decision making
• regular review timeframes.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, the concurrent plan must also include explicit actions reflecting all five elements of the Child Placement Principle: 

• Prevention: does the concurrent plan protect the child’s right to grow up in family, community and culture?
• Partnership: does the planning process facilitate the participation of community representatives?
• Placement: do alternative permanency goals reflect the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle placement hierarchy?
• Participation: are the child, parents and family members participating in decisions regarding the safety, belonging and wellbeing of the child?
• Connection: does the plan maintain and support connections between the child and their family, community, culture and country?

Permanency and concurrent planning is required by legislation and therefore needs to be documented in court materials when making any application to the Childrens Court.  

Include clear worry and goal statements in the concurrent plan so that it is clear to parents and other stakeholders (including related professionals, the DCPL and the Court) about why Child Safety is involved with the family and what needs to happen to achieve permanency for the child. 

Ensure the child’s views about permanency are included in any court material, considering their age, developmental ability or their willingness to express their view. 

Goals

Concurrent planning is most visible within the goals of the case plan. Goal statements reflect a vision for future safety, belonging and wellbeing and provide the focus and direction for the creation of detailed plans. Ensure the development of permanency goals is inclusive and the family understands the purpose behind articulating primary and alternative goals.

As with other goals stated within the case plan, permanency goals must be SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented and time limited:
Specific—the family and safety and support network know exactly what must be done.

Measurable—goals are measurable, clear and understandable, so everyone knows when they have been achieved. For concurrent planning, this is an important signpost for when alternative permanency goals need to be pursued.

Achievable—is the family able to accomplish the goal in a designated time given their available resources? It is important the family contribute to developing alternative permanency goals, so they know what will happen if goals are not able to be achieved.

Realistic—the family has had input into and agreed on the development of feasible goals. Circumstances can change, and the long-term stability of the child must remain the priority. A realistic concurrent plan can support timely, transparent decision making.

Time-limited—time frames for goal accomplishment are determined based on understanding the family's risks, strengths, ability and motivation to change, and availability of resources. This is a key consideration when planning for permanency (De Panfilis).

Permanency goals must prioritise the child’s long-term needs for safety and stability. Include the views and wishes of the child, parents and family network when making decisions about care arrangements for the child and their long-term protection needs. Case planning, including the development of a concurrent plan, is enhanced through collaborative practice.

Examples of concurrent case plan goals

The figures below provide some examples of goals and actions for concurrent case planning from the initial case plan.  The examples include goals where a long-term alternative care arrangement (physical permanency) is not yet known, where a kinship option has been identified but not confirmed and an example where the alternative care arrangement has been decided and agreed. 

The actions include who is involved, what they will be doing and (if relevant) and when the action will be completed or reviewed. 

At each review of the case plan, the alternative goal for best achieving permanency is also reviewed and updated.  The following figure extends on the earlier examples, providing examples of how each goal will change as it progresses.

If a child is subject to a long-term guardianship order and is under the guardianship of the chief executive, case planning should be focussed on how to build, maintain and enhance relational, physical and legal permanency. Determine whether the care arrangement is the most stable, permanent arrangement and preferred legal permanency option for the child.

Consider the child’s age and think about what long-term care will look like. Are there family members who would be willing to care for the child? Does the child have any other siblings in care and across different placements? 

Goal statements may look like this:

An alternative goal for strengthening permanency might be:

If, following kinship mapping, Davey’s paternal grandparents are identified and assessed as suitable kinship carers, the alternative goal could change to:

Implement a concurrent plan

Timeframes and active efforts

Once concurrent case plan goals and actions have been identified, the focus of intervention turns to implementation. Implementing the concurrent plan involves carrying out the identified actions and regularly assessing progress in meeting the articulated permanency goals. Maintain a sense of urgency and demonstrate active efforts to maximise the opportunity for reunification. The Child Protection Act 1999 provides clear timeframes for short-term orders (maximum of two years) and permanency planning must reflect this. 

Consider using a permanency timeline to support parents to understand the sense of urgency that underlies interventions to achieve long-term safety and stability for their child (National Centre for Child Welfare Excellence).

Implementation requires focus, purpose, persistence and flexibility. Work intentionally to influence change. While the formal review of the case plan occurs usually every 6 months, implementing the case plan requires continuous review and monitoring. Set up regular times with the parents during the case planning period to touch base and talk about the actions and tasks – explore and problem solve barriers and include the network in developing and adapting new strategies, ideas and approaches. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

For an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child, ensure that engagement with the child, their parents, family and community to implement the concurrent case plan is respectful and responsive to culture.
Link families to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services such as the Family Wellbeing Service, Family Participation Program or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health service to address the child protection worries.

Tell the child and family they have the right to have an independent person help facilitate their participation in decision making for significant decisions – this is especially important when considering permanency. If they consent to the involvement of an independent person, ask them who they want as their independent person and arrange the independent person’s participation.

The five elements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle must be applied to identify which permanency option will best meet the child's individual permanency needs.  The child's voice should be at the front and centre of all discussions.