Undertake a standard response

Plan a standard response

To plan a standard response for a child or unborn child:

• review the child protection history
• identify relevant actions
• involve key people and organisations
• decide if a co-response is appropriate
• decide how best to engage the child, family or pregnant person
• consider sources of information may be required to inform the assessment
• decide roles and responsibilities.

To identify the relevant actions:

• Consider staff safety and address any safety issues.
• Consider how engagement with the child will occur, taking into account
  • their age, developmental level and ability to communicate
  • the principles for participation of children (Child Protection Act 1999, section 5E)
  • that the child has a right to a support person
• Consider safety issues for the child and any person experiencing domestic and family violence.
• Consider cultural factors and seek further cultural advice. (Refer to Planning for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child.)
• Consider whether to make a referral to the Family Participation Program. (Refer to Work with the Family Participation Program.)
• Decide if a co-response with an ASC co-responder will occur. (Refer to Undertake a co-response.)
• Consult the senior team leader or senior practitioner if required.
• Consider whether the information requires a Police referral to be completed. (Refer to Refer the matter to the Queensland Police Service.)
• Consider if the matter meets the criteria for a SCAN team referral. (Refer to Consider a Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team referral.)

Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the people or services as part of the response, including tasks to be carried about by another CSSC or agency, if relevant. 

Record the plan in the planning tab in Unify.

Planning for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child

Before visiting an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child and family:

• engage the Family Participation Program to jointly plan whether and at what stage of the standard response they will visit the family (Refer to Plan with the Family Participation Program.)
• consult one or more of the following people to discuss ways to engage the child and family
  • the cultural practice advisor 
  • a Child Safety Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practitioner who is able to give cultural advice, such as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child safety support officer, or the regional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practice leader
  • a local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community representative, sharing non-identifying information about the family.

Plan with the Family Participation Program 

As part of the planning process, provide Family Participation Program staff with:

• the notified concerns (but do not disclose the notifier’s details)
• a summary of the family’s child protection history.

The Family Participation Program will:

• advise Child Safety in a timely way, whether and at what stage of the assessment it plans to have contact with the family (either at or after the initial visit by Child Safety)
  or
• advise the reason it does not intend having contact with the family during the assessment.

Record the outcome of the initial discussion with the Family Participation Program in a case note in the assessment case in Unify.

For further information about working with the Family Participation Program during the assessment, refer to Work with the Family Participation Program.

Undertake a co-response

The first preference for undertaking a standard response is for Child Safety to respond with an ASC co-responder.

The ASC co-responder will assist Child Safety to engage with the family or pregnant person and will lead a family needs assessment. The CSO is responsible for assessing the child’s immediate safety, gathering information to inform a family needs assessment and for all other aspects of the standard response.

Child Safety may commence a standard response and then engage the ASC co-responder.

A co-response cannot occur unless the parents or the pregnant person give their consent.

Assessment and Service Connect co-repsonse

Assessment and Service Connect (ASC) is a funded service that may partner with Child Safety to respond to a notification. The role of the ASC provider during a standard response is to:

• support Child Safety to engage with the child and their family or the pregnant person
• enable, support and inform a needs-based response to the child and their family or the pregnant person
• carry out a targeted assessment of the family’s or pregnant person’s support needs, with Child Safety 
• assist the family or pregnant person to access the support and services they need.

Refer to the Assessment and Service Connect (ASC) Operational Policy Guidelines.

Refer to an Assessment and Service Connect provider

Prior to making a referral to the ASC:

• seek approval from the senior team leader for a referral to the ASC
• contact the ASC to determine if they have capacity to respond to the family or pregnant person.

If the service does not have capacity for the referral, then a co-response will not occur.

An ASC co-response can only proceed with the family’s or pregnant person’s consent. To make a referral:

• contact the parents or pregnant person to seek consent for a co-response to occur
• if the parents or pregnant person provides consent, give the ASC provider
  • the notified concerns (but do not disclose the notifier’s details)
  • a summary of the family’s or the pregnant person’s child protection history
  • a copy of the parent’s or pregnant person’s criminal history, if one has been obtained and the content is relevant.
• confirm that the ASC provider received the referral. 

Once the ASC provider receives the referral, they will:

• advise Child Safety in a timely way, whether they accept the referral, taking into account the response priority timeframe
• advise the reason if they do not accept the referral.

The CSO will record the reason for a referral not being accepted in the assessment case in Unify.

Plan with the Assessment and Service Connect provider

Start planning with the ASC provider as soon as possible to decide:

• the time and location of the first visit, and who will attend, noting the first contact with the family or pregnant person must involve Child Safety
• the roles and responsibilities of the CSO and ASC provider, including responsibility for note taking
• the plan for staff safety and wellbeing, if required.

Obtain subsequent consent for an Assessment and Service Connect co-response 

If Child Safety has had contact with the family or pregnant person without the ASC provider present, or if the parents or pregnant person did not initially consent to the involvement of the ASC provider, decide whether to seek consent for the ASC provider to be involved. If the parents or pregnant person, subsequently consent, the ASC provider can then visit without Child Safety. 

If consent is not given, the ASC provider will not be further involved in the assessment.

Requirement for two staff to engage the family

A standard response requires two staff to visit the home. If an ASC co-responder cannot accompany a CSO to engage a child and their family or the pregnant person, the CSO will be accompanied by:

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

This ensures another person is available to observe, engage, and assist with information gathering.

Commence a standard response

Take one of the following actions to commence a standard response within seven business days of the decision to record a notification:

• contact the parent to advise of the concerns and obtain information that will inform the assessment (Refer to Contact the parents or pregnant person.)
• seek and receive new relevant information regarding the child’s presentation and wellbeing from an external agency, including
  • a government or non-government agency
  • a service provider, including National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers 
  • a health professional, such as a general practitioner.

In Unify:

• Record the date the action is taken as the date of commencement.
• Record what action was taken to commence the standard response.

If information is received from an external agency, advise the person how the information will be used and disclosed. If the person who is contacted for information was the notifier, tell them the new information they provide:

• forms part of the assessment
• is not covered under the confidentiality of notifier provisions, under the Child Protection Act 1999, section 186A.

Refer to the practice guide Notifiers and mandatory reporting.

The following actions do not constitute commencement, but are to be recorded in the assessment case in Unify:

• completing and sending a section 159N information request
• referring the matter to a SCAN team
• allocation of the standard response by the senior team leader
• an unsuccessful attempt to visit or contact the child or their family
• any information received before the decision to record a notification.

If the standard response is not commenced within the timeframe, record all attempts made to commence the assessment and why this was not possible—for example, geographical distance, lack of access or serious concerns for staff safety, in a case note in Unify.

Contact the parents or pregnant person

Contact the parents or pregnant person to:

• advise that a notification has been recorded and if possible, obtain information that will inform the assessment
• explain that Child Safety would like to talk to them, assess what help and support the family might need to keep their children safe or their unborn child safe after their birth, and how to access this support 
• ask if they consent to a co-response occurring, that is, having a person from another agency be a part of the visit with Child Safety, if a co-response is being considered
• explain the need to sight and engage the subject child in the assessment process 
• advise that they are able to have a support person 
• respond to any question the about the process
• make a time to visit the family or pregnant person.

The first contact with the family must involve Child Safety.

When the standard response is for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or unborn child, ask the pregnant person, child and family if they would like an independent person to help facilitate their participation. If they agree, arrange for an independent person to help facilitate the pregnant person’s participation, or the child and family’s participation in decision-making. (Refer to Procedure 5 Enable participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in decision making.)  

If the parents state they are not willing to engage in the assessment, explain the requirement for Child Safety to respond to the concerns, and that Child Safety has legal powers under the Child Protection Act 1999 that may need be used to assess harm and risk of harm to a child.

Seek further advice from the cultural practice advisor if there are barriers to engaging an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parent or family. If the cultural practice advisor is not available, or unable to provide cultural advice in relation to the family, consult either: 

• a Child Safety Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practitioner able to give cultural advice, such as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child safety support officer, or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice leader
• a local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community representative, sharing    non-identifying information about the family.

If verbal attempts to engage a parent have not been successful, use the letter template Engagement letter – Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parent or Engagement letter – non-indigenous parent to provide written advice to a parent about:

• Child Safety’s obligation to respond to concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child
• the standard response process
• how the parent can contact Child Safety
• their rights, including an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parent’s cultural rights.

If the parents remain unwilling or unable to engage after meaningful and reasonable attempts have been made to engage them, consult the senior team leader to:

• consider what action is required to ensure the child’s safety
• decide whether to escalate to a priority response. (Refer to Escalate to a priority response.)   

Engage the family

Once the parents have agreed to engage:

• meet with family, and at the first contact
  • give your full name, position and department and show your identity card, as required by the Child Protection Act 1999, section 153
  • explain your role and the purpose of the visit
  • tell an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person about their rights and provide them with a copy of the handout Know Your Rights 
• give details of the alleged harm or risk of harm to at least one of the child’s parents (without disclosing the notifier’s details, or information that could identify the notifier, to another person (Child Protection Act 1999, section 186A.)
• engage them in relation to the concerns received
• seek the consent of the parent or other adult living in the child’s home to access their criminal or domestic and family violence history in the Self Service of Document Retrieval (SSoDR) portal, if relevant. (Refer to Use QPS Self-Service of Document Retrieval portal.) 
• sight and engage the subject child
• undertake a safety assessment (Refer to Complete the safety assessment)
• undertake a family needs assessment (Refer to the practice guide Conducting a family needs assessment).

Take into account privacy issues when sharing information, to ensure compliance with the Child Protection Act 1999 and the Queensland Government’s privacy principles about how personal information is collected, disclosed, used and stored. (Refer to Consider privacy matters.)

Use of powers

Only authorised officers can use powers under the Child Protection Act 1999. If, at any time during a standard response the use of powers is required (Child Protection Act 1999, sections 16, 17, and 18):

• take action or arrange for another CSO or police officer to attend before taking action
  and
• escalate the matter to a priority response (refer to Escalate to a priority response).

Sight and engage with the child

As soon as possible sight and engage:

• each subject child
• any other child in the home identified during the assessment as having been harmed, or as likely to be at unacceptable risk of harm.

The purpose of sighting and engaging a subject child is to:

• gather relevant information about the concerns, the child’s circumstances and the child’s experience of the alleged harm
• assess the child’s safety
• understand and assess the child’s needs
• decide if action is required to ensure the child’s safety. 

Record relevant information in the information informing assessment tab in Unify.

If it becomes known during any response to a notification that a subject child is an unaccompanied humanitarian minor, refer to Respond to an unaccompanied humanitarian minor.

To ensure the child feels safe and supported during the contact, ask if the child wants a support person present.

Contact with a child is crucial in assessing their immediate safety and support needs.  (Refer to Complete the safety assessment.) It also allows the child the opportunity to express their fears or concerns. 

Make sure they are recorded as a subject child in the assessment case in Unify.

When sighting and engaging the child:

• Have direct contact with the child—speak and engage with them, taking into account their age, developmental level and ability to communicate.
• Observe the child’s
  • physical and cognitive developmental stage 
  • behaviour 
  • reactions, presentation and interaction with others, including the parent.

Exceptions to contact and engagement with the child

In exceptional circumstances, it may be inappropriate or not possible to sight and engage with the child. Examples may include if the child:

• has a serious or terminal illness 
• refuses to be sighted or engage after all reasonable attempts have been exhausted.

To seek approval to not engage with or sight the child:

• consider whether another professional can sight and engage the child using the differential pathway (Refer to Consider the differential pathway)
• consult with the senior team leader
• document the reasons in the information informing assessment tab in the assessment case in Unify. 

Engage with the parents and other adults

During the assessment:

• speak and engage with at least one of the child’s parents
• speak and engage with the alleged person responsible
• consider engaging with any other adult who is a member of the child’s home
• any professional that may be able to provide relevant information to inform the safety assessment and the family needs assessment. 

The purpose of engaging with the parents and other adults is to:

• afford the alleged person responsible procedural fairness
• gather relevant information about the concerns and the child’s circumstances
• hold persons responsible for violence accountable for their choice to use violence
• verify and clarify information received from other sources 
• understand and assess the child and the family’s needs
• speak with the family about the supports they require to decrease the likelihood of the child becoming a child in need of protection.

Gather sufficient information to:

• complete the safety assessment, and if required, an immediate safety plan (Refer to Complete the safety assessment.)
• assess the family’s needs. (Refer to Assess the family’s needs and coordinate support.)

The senior team leader is responsible for approving a decision not to engage the alleged person responsible, or any other relevant adult including a second parent. 

Circumstances when a senior team leader may approve the decision not to engage an alleged person response include:

• the alleged person responsible is not a parent or a member of the child’s home
• all reasonable attempts have been made to engage the alleged person responsible, but they are uncontactable or unwilling to participate
• when a lack of engagement by the alleged person responsible will not place the child at ongoing risk of harm
• the child’s parent is able and willing to accept help and support to strengthen their capacity to protect the child. 

Offer the opportunity for a support person

If a parent or other adult asks for a support person to be present when speaking with them, assist them to identify an appropriate person. Do not allow the alleged person responsible for harm to be the support person. 

Respond to a request for a legal representative

Parents and other adults are entitled to have a legal representative present during the engagement. Make all reasonable attempts to accommodate such requests. 

Complete the safety assessment

Undertake a safety assessment for all subject children at the first face-to-face contact with the family. (Refer to Carry out a safety assessment.)

If the outcome of the initial or subsequent safety assessment is ‘unsafe’ or ‘safe with immediate safety plan’ for any child, escalate the matter to a priority response (Refer to Escalate to a priority response.)

Assess the family's needs and coordinate support

The family needs assessment is a collaborative engagement with the child, family, and their support network to gather and assess information about the family’s circumstances, strengths and needs and coordinate support to meet the child and family’s needs. The purpose of the family needs assessment is to reduce the likelihood of the child becoming a child in need of protection by connecting families with supports and services to help them safely care for their child.

To assess the family’s needs:

• review the notified concerns and the child protection history
• gather information about the family support needs in each relevant domain for the family
  • Child wellbeing and behaviour
  • Parenting skills
  • Social and community support network
  • Housing, food, clothing, budgeting, basic household resources
  • Alcohol and drug misuse
  • Domestic and family violence
  • Mental or emotional health including depression, anxiety, or self-harm
  • Physical Health, including health conditions, disability
  • Cultural connection
  • Other, including legal support
• gather information from any service that is currently working with the family
• consider whether to involve other professionals in the needs assessment
• consider whether to involve members of the safety and support network in the needs assessment
• consider whether information from other sources is required to complete the assessment
• determine whether it is possible to address some of the family’s immediate needs during Child Safety’s engagement with the family. 

For a family needs assessment relating to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, seek cultural advice from the cultural practice advisor to inform the assessment, if required. If the cultural practice advisor is not available, or unable to provide cultural advice in relation to the family, consult either: 

• a Child Safety Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander practitioner able to give cultural advice, such as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child safety support officer, or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice leader
• the local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community representative, sharing    non-identifying information about the family.

Use the information gathered from the parents, the child, family and other relevant members of the child’s safety and support network to decide how help and support will be offered and coordinated for the child and family.

Where support needs are identified:

• work in partnership with the child and parents to
  • agree on what support is required to meet the identified needs 
  • strengthen the safety and support network
  • prioritise the needs to be focussed on
• seek advice from a cultural practice advisor about culturally safe and responsive supports for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family
• seek consent to provide timely and effective coordination of support, including
  • making referrals to relevant services
    and
  • sharing information with services already engaged with the family to help them offer and provide additional services to strengthen the family’s ability to provide for the protection and care needs of the child. (Refer to the practice guide Offer support to the family.)

If a parent provides consent, progress relevant referrals for support and record details in the assessment case in Unify. If the referral relates to the child, ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the decision to make a referral for support, where age and developmentally appropriate.

Consider family-led decision making

Consult the child and family and the Family Participation Program about a referral for the Family Participation Program to convene a family-led decision making process, to help determine the supports the family requires or the strategies that can be put in place to address identified needs and ensure the child remains safe within the family.

The family must agree to this process taking place. 

For information on the consultation and referral process, refer to Family-led decision making for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child.

Differential pathway–standard response

Consider using the differential pathway Contact with other professional to finalise a standard response, without completing an action that would ordinarily be carried out. (Refer to Consider the differential pathway.)

Escalate to a priority response

A standard response for a child will be escalated to a priority response when:

• through information gathering and engagement with the child and family, it is reasonably believed that the concerns meet the criteria for a priority response 
• an immediate harm indicator is identified and the safety assessment outcome is ‘unsafe’ or ‘safe with immediate safety plan’
• new concerns are received that meet the criteria for a priority response
• a response to the concerns requires the use of powers (Child Protection Act 1999, sections 16, 17, and 18) 
• a joint response with the QPS is required
• the family refuses support and it is assessed that a priority response is required to assess the risk of harm to the child.

A standard response for an unborn child will be escalated to a priority response with a 72 hour timeframe when:

• through information gathering and engagement with the pregnant person, it is reasonably believed that it is necessary to assess whether the unborn child will be in need of protection following their birth 
• information is received that the birth of the child is imminent, and the timeframe does not allow for the pregnant person to be referred for help and support 
• new concerns are received that meet the criteria for a priority response.

If the matter relates to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or unborn child, advise the cultural practice advisor that the matter will be escalated, if possible.

To escalate a standard response to a priority response:

• seek senior team leader approval for the escalation
• record the approving officer and rationale for the escalation in the summary tab in Unify
• progress the priority response. (Refer to Undertake a priority response.)

Decide the outcome of a standard response

The outcome of a standard response will be either:

• Assessed and closed 
• Assessed, referred and closed
• No assessment completed
• Reviewed and closed.

Assessed and closed

This outcome is appropriate when Child Safety has:

• sighted and engaged with the child and assessed their immediate safety as ‘safe’ and
• completed a family needs assessment or
• sighted and engaged the pregnant person and completed a family needs assessment
  and

The family or pregnant person:

• did not require a referral for help and support because there were no needs identified
  or
• did not require a referral for help and support because they are already connected with appropriate services or supports
  or
• did not consent to referrals for help and support, and the needs identified and potential risk to the child did not require the matter to be escalated.

Assessed, referred and closed

This outcome is appropriate when Child Safety has:

• sighted and engaged with the child and assessed their immediate safety as ‘safe’ or sighted and engaged the pregnant person
  and
• completed a family needs assessment
  and
• referred the family or pregnant person for further assessment, support coordination or intervention.

No assessment completed

This outcome is appropriate when:

• the assessment could not be commenced because the child and parents or pregnant person could not be located, and actions to locate them were unsuccessful
• the assessment was commenced, but could not be completed because
  • there was insufficient information to decide the outcome and
  • the family moved following contact with Child Safety and could not be located
• the child died before the assessment was completed and there is insufficient information to decide an outcome
• a referral to a First Nations’ collective has been accepted
• a pregnant person advises that they are no longer pregnant or has never been pregnant and this has been confirmed with a medical practitioner (or reasonable attempts have been made to do so)
• the pregnant person has not been located and two months have passed since the estimated date of delivery
• the pregnant person declined help and support—no assessment completed
• the pregnant person declined help and support—partial assessment completed.

When using this outcome, select no assessment completed in Unify and then select one of the sub-options listed above. 

Reviewed and closed

A standard response may be reviewed and closed if all the following apply:

• it has been open for more than 60 days
• the subject child and family have not been contacted or engaged
• the assessment does not include an unborn subject child
• the subject child is not a subject child in another open assessment
• reasonable attempts have been made to allocate the matter for assessment, but the matter cannot be allocated due to workforce capacity issues
• the previous notification in relation to any subject child was assessed and finalised, which included the child being sighted by Child Safety
• a subject child was not subject to an ongoing intervention in the last six months. 

The decision to use this outcome must be endorsed by the director of quality practice, the regional practice leader or, for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practice leader, prior to approval by the senior team leader.

Finalise a standard response

To finalise a standard response:

• record key information, including the safety assessment, if relevant, and the family needs assessment in the assessment case in Unify
• advise agencies and services involved in the assessment process of the outcome (Refer to Advise agencies and services of the outcome.)
• advise at least one parent of the outcome of the assessment, and the child, if age and developmentally appropriate (Refer to Inform the parent or pregnant person of the outcome.)
• submit the completed assessment to the senior team leader for approval.

Record the standard response

Recording the standard response is an important step in the assessment process and is critical for any ongoing or future contact with the child and family.

Record key information

Record all key information in the assessment case in Unify. Ensure to include:

• details of who sighted and engaged with the child and family, including the names and positions of the CSO and second officer, a co-responder, or other person present 
• a summary of the significant information gathered from sighting the child and engaging with the child and family
• relevant observations about the child (presentation, demeanour and developmental level), the parents (interaction with child and non-verbal cues) and the home environment
• relevant information that informed the safety assessment and family needs assessment.

Advise agencies and services of the outcome

Advise relevant agencies and services involved in the assessment process of the outcome of the standard response.

When a SCAN team core member agency has made a referral to the SCAN team, the matter remains open to the SCAN team, and Child Safety has subsequently completed the standard response and intends to close the case:

• the senior team leader must first discuss the outcome of the standard response with the referring agency core member representative
• the SCAN team core member representative will determine if they wish to proceed with the referral to the SCAN team prior to Child Safety closing the case.

Family Responsibilities Commission 

A Notice About Child Safety and Welfare Matters must be emailed to the Family Responsibilities Commission within 5 days of an assessment outcome being approved, if the family has lived in one of the welfare reform communities for at least 3 months since 2008.

Before providing the notice, contact the Family Responsibilities Commission to confirm if it has already received a notice about the family. Record details of when the notice was sent or confirmation that a notice has already been sent in a case note in Unify.

Inform the parent or pregnant person of the outcome 

As soon as practicable after completing the assessment:

• tell at least one of the child’s parents or the pregnant person about the outcome of the assessment and the needs identified 
• if asked by the parent or pregnant person, provide the outcome of the assessment in writing using the Letter to parent – Outcome of standard response or Letter to pregnant person – Outcome of standard response.

Ensure the parent is provided with sufficient information about the main child protection concerns in the notification, to ensure they understand the reasons for the Child Safety intervention (without identifying the notifier), the needs identified and where relevant, any Child Safety terminology used.

Submit the standard response for approval

Once all activities have been completed, submit the assessment case to the senior team leader (or another senior team leader or CSSC manager, if the approving senior team leader carries out any important steps in the assessment) in Unify.