Assess a harm report—family-based care

A harm report assessment is completed by a CSO, who will be accompanied by:

• another CSO or
• a police officer, for a joint response with the QPS.

If another CSO is not available and the matter is not suitable for a joint response, a senior team leader may decide that one of the following with accompany the CSO:

• another Child Safety practitioner
• a cultural practice advisor
• a child safety support officer
• a student undertaking field education.

The decision must consider the nature and complexity of the assessment, the experience of the CSO and whether the person’s involvement in the assessment would impact any later work with the child or carer.

The ability to assess a harm report may be affected the length of time between the alleged incident and the disclosure or the notification to Child Safety. Contact Reportable Conduct Investigations (family based care) (RCI) for assistance when planning the response to historical concerns.

Plan the harm report assessment

Taking the time to plan the harm report assessment will facilitate the methodical and professional consideration of relevant factors, the collection of relevant information, and the timing of actions to prioritise the safety, wellbeing and best interests of the child.

It supports the analysis of harm or risk of harm to the child that will determine the outcome of the assessment and any subsequent decisions.

Thorough and effective planning will: 

• assist identifying any action required ensure the child’s immediate safety
• mean there is a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities
• support the assessment to be conducted in a way that is culturally safe
• allow for the principles of procedural fairness to be considered and prioritised
• ensure that all sources of relevant information are identified
• assist with meeting the required completion timeframe of 8 weeks.

Plan the assessment with:

• the family based care service
• the CSO with case responsibility for each subject child
• the senior team leader and senior practitioner (if required) of the CSSC responsible for the harm report assessment
• the RCI investigator
• the Child Safety planning officer, who will consult with the QPS if a joint response is required (Refer to Procedure 2 Consult with the Queensland Police Service to decide if there will be a joint response.)
• the QPS (if appropriate).

In planning the harm report assessment , consider:

The harm report assessment is to be undertaken and completed within 8 weeks. (Refer to the Checklist for planning a harm report assessment.)

Consider factors relating to the child, the carer, whether to advise the child’s parents, how to maintain the integrity of the assessment, the sources of relevant information and the interviews. 

Develop the harm report assessment plan and: 

• gain verbal approval from the senior team leader
• record the details in the harm report – assessment plan form on the plans tab in Unify
• provide a copy of the plan to those responsible for the assessment actions.

Provide information to relevant parties

If during planning it is deemed appropriate to pre-arrange interviews, determine whether the Child Safety practitioner or the family based care service will contact the carer. The CSO will contact the child (if age and developmentally appropriate.)

Tell the child and carer:

• that an assessment will be undertaken in response to concerns about the child’s safety and wellbeing, and what the process involves
• that a reportable conduct investigation may also occur and if so, an RCI investigator will be in contact with the carer
• of their right to have a support person present during the interview, and to have assistance with identifying options for accessing support
• how the information they give will be used, and who it might be shared with. 

Provide written notice

Complete the Letter to carer—advice of harm report and provide this to the carer as early as possible before the interview (if the safety of the child and the integrity of the assessment will not be compromised). 

Also provide a copy of the letter to the manager or coordinator of the family based care service, where relevant. 

Attach a copy of the letter to the documents tab in Unify.

Interview relevant parties

In exceptional circumstances when a child cannot be sighted or sighted and interviewed to commence the harm report assessment within 24 hours, arrange for a QPS officer or health professional to have contact with the subject child and provide Child Safety information about the child’s  safety.

The CSSC manager is responsible for seeking the regional director’s advice if it is not possible commence a harm report assessment within 24 hours.

Gather relevant information in the interviews

Gather relevant information that will enable an assessment of:

• whether the child has experienced harm  (Refer to Assess harm and Assess cumulative harm.)
• whether the child is at risk of harm (Refer to Assess the risk of harm.)
• whether the standards of care are met (Refer to Discuss the standards of care concerns.)
• whether an immediate change of care arrangement is required (Refer to Procedure 7 Remove a child from a care arrangement.)
• whether systemic or contextual factors have contributed to the standards of care not being met for the child (Refer to Identify contributing factors.)
  and
• whether further children can be placed with the carer while the assessment is undertaken.

Record the interview in the information informing assessment tab in the harm report - assessment case in Unify.

Sight and interview each subject child

Before interviewing the subject child:

• talk to the child, if age and developmentally appropriate, and explain
  • the harm report assessment process 
  • that a reportable conduct investigation may also occur  
• give them a copy of My rights in care – information for children or My rights in care – information for young people and explain their rights to them
• tell them of their right to have a support person present during the interview, and to have assistance identifying options for accessing support
• ensure the support person (if relevant) has been provided with information to help them understand their role and to ensure they are aware of the requirement for confidentiality under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 188. (Refer to the practice guide The role of a support person.)
• explain how the information they give will be used, and who it might be shared with. 

Sight each subject child and complete face-to-face interviews with each subject child who can communicate. Also interview any other child who was placed in the care arrangement or was placed in the care arrangement at the time of the concerns.

Explore the child’s account of the concerns. Gather information about their concerns and experiences in the care arrangement and give them the opportunity and support they  need to:

• express their views and wishes
• raise matters about the quality of care they are experiencing
• voice how their rights under the Child Protection Act 1999, schedule 1 are being met.

Genuinely listen to and attempt to understand their views so that they can be considered  in the harm report assessment. Record the information gathered in the information informing assessment tab in the harm report – assessment case to be considered in the assessment.

Respond to new concerns

If the child discloses new concerns about abuse or neglect by the carer or adult household member during the interview, report the concerns to RCI via the mailbox RCI@families.qld.gov.au as soon as possible after the interview. This is regardless of whether the original notified concerns were reported to the Queensland Family and Child Commission. 

If the child makes a disclosure about abuse or neglect by a carer or adult household member in a previous care arrangement, refer to Receive concerns about a child’s care arrangement.

Take action to ensure a child’s safety

If a child is at immediate risk of harm or unacceptable risk of harm in their care arrangement and any proposed actions would not ensure their safety and wellbeing, the CSSC manager can decide to remove the child from the care arrangement. (Refer to Procedure 7 Remove a child from a care arrangement.)

Harm to children not recorded as subject children

If a child in care recorded as an ‘other child’ is reasonably suspected to have experienced harm, or be at risk of harm, change their role in the case to ‘subject child’ and include them in the harm report assessment.

If a child who lives in the household but is not in care may have experienced harm, take action in line with usual intake processes. (Refer to Procedure 1 Assess the information and decide the response.)

Respond to a child who is alleged responsible for the harm

If the alleged person responsible  for the harm is another child in care, consider and respond to the needs of this child during the assessment, as well as the subject child’s needs. Refer the child to appropriate support services (for example, medical or therapeutic services) if required.

Interview the carer, alleged persons responsible and other adults

Where possible, gather relevant information and interview the child, adult household members, and other relevant persons prior to interviewing the carer or adult household member who is the alleged person responsible. This will enable the carer or adult household member to respond fully to the concerns.

Before interviewing a carer:

• Give them the the Letter to carer—advice of harm report if they have not recieved it previously.
• Tell them that a reportable conduct investigation may occur and that
  • they may be contacted directly by a member of RCI
    and
  • any information they provide will inform the reportable conduct investigation, if one occurs.
• Make all reasonable attempts to accommodate a legal representative where this will not unreasonably delay the interview.
• Ensure the support person (if relevant) has been provided with information to help them understand their role and to ensure they are aware of the requirement for confidentiality under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 188. (Refer to the practice guide The role of a support person.)
• Tell them how the information they give will be used and who it may be shared with.

A carer may record the harm report assessment interview. If they choose to record the interview advise them that:

• it is an offence to publish information that leads to the identification of a child in care (Child Protection Act 1999, section 189)
• circulating or placing video or audio footage which identified a child as being known to Child Safety in an accessible public place or on the internet, is in breach of the confidentiality provisions of the Child Protection Act 1999
• committing an offence under the Child Protection Act 1999 could result in the person being liable for prosecution or punishment by way of a fine or imprisonment.

During the interview  tell the carer what each of the concerns are and the information that has been gathered in relation to the concerns, and give them an opportunity to respond.

Make sure interviews are also conducted with:

• other persons alleged responsible for harm to the child 
• both carers listed on the certificate of approval
• adult household members in the care arrangement who may have relevant information.

Analyse the information

Assess the information gathered from each subject child, the carer, adult household member and other sources to inform a decision about:

• whether the child has experienced harm 
• whether the child is at risk of harm 
• whether the standards of care have been met.

Assess harm

Assess whether the child has experienced harm, that is, whether there has been a detrimental effect of a significant nature on a child’s physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing, taking into account the impact of cumulative harm (Child Protection Act 1999, section 9). 

For a detrimental effect to be of a significant nature it will:

• have more than a minor impact on a child’s physical, emotional or psychological wellbeing
• be substantial, serious and demonstrable (that is, measurable or observable on the child’s body, functioning or behaviour)
• likely be long-term (more than transitory) or adversely affect the child’s health or wellbeing to an extent that the general public would consider unacceptable.

Assess cumulative harm

Consider whether the child has experienced harm caused by a series or combination of acts, omissions or circumstances by the carer or adult household member (Child Protection Act 1999, section 9(4)).

Children who have experienced harm in the past are more vulnerable to experiencing harm in the future. It may be difficult to separate past harm (caused by another person) that has been exacerbated by the carer’s behaviour, from harm that has been caused by the carer or adult household member. For cumulative harm to be attributed to the carer or adult household member, there needs to be a clear connection between the behaviour (abuse or neglect) of the person alleged responsible and the impact on the child (the harm). 

When assessing whether a child has experienced cumulative harm caused by the carer or adult household member, consider whether:

• the behaviour that has caused the alleged harm was recurring abuse or neglect
• the carer had adequate information about the child’s previous experiences of harm to know how they may be impacted by the behaviour
• the behaviour was a deliberate or intentional series of acts or omissions
• there is a direct link between the carer or adult household member’s behaviour over time, and the observable, adverse impact on the child’s physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. 

Assess the risk of harm

To assess the risk of harm, consider:

• the likelihood (probability) the child will be harmed in the future and the severity of the harm the child will experience, if nothing changes
• the presence of risk factors 
• other factors that mitigate the risk
• the carer’s understanding of the concerns, and their ability and willingness to work with the child’s safety and support network to mitigate risk
• evidence that the carer can meet the child’s safety needs.

Assess the standards of care

Assess whether the standards of care have been met and are being met for the child (Refer to Child Protection Act 1999, section 122.)

Complete the assessment within the timeframe

In exceptional circumstances, a harm report assessment may not be completed within timeframe when:

• the scope and complexity of the assessment requires multiple interviews of a relevant person
• someone declines to be interviewed, or is currently living in a distant location
• additional concerns are received before the assessment is completed, which need to be addressed
• additional subject children are identified and included in the assessment
• the allegations date back years or decades
• the QPS request Child Safety not proceed with interviews of relevant parties to ensure the integrity of the criminal investigation. (Refer to Respond when a criminal investigation is occurring.)

In these circumstances, arrange for the CSSC manager to write to the carer to advise them of the delay, the reasons for the delay and to provide an estimated completion date.

Decide the outcome of a harm report assessment

To decide the outcome of the harm report assessment:

• assess the information that has been gathered and consider contextual factors specific to the child and their care arrangement
• discuss the assessment with the senior team leader and form a recommendation about the outcome for each subject child
• provide the carer an opportunity to respond to a proposed adverse finding, if relevant (Refer to Give notice of a proposed adverse finding.)
• provide an adult household member who is assessed as responsible for harm or risk of harm to a child, an opportunity to respond to a proposed adverse finding (Refer to Give notice of a proposed adverse finding.)
• refer the matter to a practice panel to
  • confirm the outcome to recommend to the CSSC manager for each subject child
  • identify actions necessary to respond to harm, risk of harm or the standards of care not being met. (Refer to the practice guide Practice panels.)

The CSSC manager is delegated to decide the outcome of a harm report assessment. 

In making a final decision about the outcome, the CSSC manager will consider:

• all information provided by the child
• the responses to concerns given by the carer and the adult household member (if relevant), including written submissions provided in response to a proposed adverse outcome 
• the views of the family based care service
• other relevant information gathered to inform the assessment
• the practice panel’s recommended outcome.

Give notice of a proposed adverse finding

When the outcome to be recommended to the practice panel is ‘substantiated – standards met’ or ‘substantiated – standards not met’, the CSSC manager will give any person who has been assessed as responsible for the harm or risk of harm, written notice of the proposed outcome using one or both of the following templates, as required:

• Letter to carer—advice of proposed harm report outcome
  or
• Letter to other—advice of proposed harm report outcome.

Ensure the letter contains:

• each of the concerns raised, including the original notified concerns and any subsequent concerns raised during the harm report assessment
• the information gathered that supports the proposed decision
• the proposed outcome, including the abusive action and corresponding harm.

Give the alleged person responsible 14 days to provide a written or verbal response to the proposed outcome.

If in their response the alleged person responsible requests that additional information is gathered to inform the assessment, either:

• gather the information and consider it when deciding the outcome 
  or
• ensure there is a clear rationale for not gathering the information, if a decision is made not to obtain it.   

Harm report assessment outcomes

The outcome of the harm report will be one of the following.

Substantiated―standards not met   

 This outcome is appropriate when:                                                                                                                                                  

• the child has experienced harm or is likely to experience future harm
  and
• the carer or adult household member is responsible for the harm
  or
• another person is responsible for the harm and the actions or inactions of the carer have contributed to the harm. 

Record at least one of the carers as a person responsible for the harm. This outcome cannot be used if it is not possible to identify the person responsible for the harm.

This outcome requires an action plan. (Refer to Develop an action plan.) 

Substantiated – standards met

 This outcome is appropriate when:                                                                                                                                   

• the child has experienced harm or is likely to experience future harm
  and
• the  carer or adult household member did not cause the harm 
  and
• the actions or inactions of the carer have not contributed to the harm
  and
• there is no indication that the standards of care required under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 122 have not been met.

The person responsible for the harm will be either:

• another adult who resides in, or frequents, the care arrangement
• another child (if aged 10 years or over and the child is assessed as having the developmental ability or capacity to understand the consequences of their actions)
• a person responsible who is unable to be identified.

This outcome requires a review of the child’s case plan.

Unsubstantiated―standards not met

This outcome is appropriate when:                                                                                                                                        

• the child has not experienced harm and is unlikely to experience harm in the future
  and
• the carer or adult household member has not met the standards of care required under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 122.

This outcome requires:

• a review of the placement agreement (Refer to Procedure 6 Review the placement agreement.)
• additional processes, where relevant, such  as
  • a review of the foster carer agreement (Refer to Procedure 6 Consider an additional, early review of the foster carer agreement.)
    or
  • a review of carer suitability. (Refer to Review carer suitability.)

Unsubstantiated―standards met

This outcome is appropriate when: 

• the child has not experienced harm and is unlikely to experience harm in the future
  and
• the care provided to the child is consistent with the standards of care required under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 122.

No outcome

In exceptional circumstances, it may not be possible to record a harm report assessment  outcome. Exceptional circumstances may include if the allegations date back months, years or decades and relevant people cannot be contacted to assess the information. (Refer to the practice guide Assess the concerns to the extent possible.)

When an assessment is not able to be completed, the senior team leader will consult the senior practitioner to confirm the outcome and will provide clear rationale for approving ‘no outcome’. 

Do not use this outcome if the reason for not assessing is resourcing or workload issues. 

Record the outcome

Document the interviews with relevant parties in the harm report – assessment - engagement/information gathering form in the information informing assessment tab in Unify. Include:

• the date, time and details of all contact with the subject child, the carer and if relevant, adult household members 
• details of who sighted and interviewed each subject child, carer, and if relevant, adult household member
• any action taken to refer the matter to the QPS under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 14(2).
• a summary of the key information gathered from interviews with each subject child, the person alleged responsible and other relevant persons
• details of responses to the allegations, including any disclosures, admissions or denials
• any response given by a carer or adult household member to a proposed adverse outcome 
• observations of each subject child and the care arrangement.

Document all relevant information gathered from other sources to inform the assessment, including:

• information from the family based care service
• information from government or non-government agencies
• information from the QPS
• action taken to assist with the harm report assessment, such as a medical examination of the subject child

in the information informing assessment tab.

Check the relevant parties in the harm report – assessment case to ensure the information is up to date. If necessary:

• add additional parties or persons
• edit roles to reflect any changes
• assign the role of ‘person responsible’, if relevant.

Complete the harm report – assessment and outcome form, documenting:

• an assessment of whether the child has been harmed and whether there is an unacceptable risk of harm
• the person responsible for the harm
• the assessment of whether the standards of care have been met for the child and if not, which standards have not been met
• whether action was taken to move the child from their care arrangement and the reasons for this.

Submit the harm report – assessment and outcome to the senior team leader for approval.

Advise parties of the harm report assessment outcome

After the harm report assessment is approved, advise relevant parties of the outcome. Provide verbal advice to:

• the child (if appropriate, given their age and level of development)
• the carer 
• any other person alleged as responsible for harm contacted during the harm report assessment
• the adult household member, if they are responsible for harm or risk of harm to a child
• the family based care service 
• the CSO responsible for any other child placed with the carer
• at least one parent of the child.

Provide written advice to:

• the carer using the Letter to carer—outcome of harm report
  and
• an adult household member, if they are assessed as a person responsible for harm or risk of harm to a child, using the Letter to other—outcome of harm report.

Provide a copy of the letter (and action plan, where applicable) to the manager or coordinator of the family based care service.

Attach a copy of the letter to the documents tab in the harm report – assessment case in Unify.

If a person is not happy with the assessment process:

• tell them they may raise a complaint or seek a review of the process
• refer them to the Compliments and complaints website for information about Child Safety’s complaint management process.

If a child is not happy with the assessment process:

• listen to their concerns and take them seriously
• ask them what would help to make things better
• work with the child to try and resolve their concerns
• assist the child to make a complaint or arrange for an adult they trust to help them make a complaint.  Refer them to Making a complaint on the Child Safety website for child-friendly information about making a complaint.

Provide information to the child’s parents

Provide at least one of the child’s parents with information about the outcome of the assessment of the harm report assessment unless there is a reasonable belief that: 

• someone may be charged with a criminal offence for harming the child, and providing advice of the outcome of the assessment may jeopardise an investigation into the offence
  or
• providing advice about the outcome of the assessment may expose the child to harm.

Refer to the Child Protection Act 1999, section 15.