Best Interests Case Practice Model for Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services

Transcription

1 Best Interests Case Practice Model for Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Introduction The Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (CYFA) provides the authorising environment for practice across child protection, family and placement services. At the heart of the Act are the Best Interests Principles that unequivocally state: For the purposes of this Act the best interests of the child must always be paramount (s.10) and: When determining whether a decision or action is in the best interests of the child, the need to protect the child from harm, to protect his or her rights and to promote his or her development (taking into account his or her age and stage of development) must always be considered Thus the Act requires family services, child protection and placement services to take actions to Protect children from harm Protect children s rights Promote children s development in age appropriate ways From these three foundation best interest principles, eighteen specific considerations are listed and can be grouped into three themes: Supporting and assisting families to keep children safe and meet their needs Promoting children s stability Promoting children s cultural identity and connectedness (See Appendix one)

2 Best Interests Case Practice Model Purpose The best interests of a child are protected and promoted by ensuring the child s right to: Safety Stability Development For each child we must look at their safety, stability and development through the lens of the child s culture, gender, age and stage of life. The protection and promotion of a child s best interests creates and contributes to the child s wellbeing. In assessing, planning and acting to promote children s safety, stability and development, Child protection and family and placement services need to take account of a child s age and stage of life, and their culture and gender. Together these considerations provide a lens through which to view safety, stability and development and understand the unique circumstances and experiences of a child. 1 1 The Best Interests Framework for Vulnerable Children and Youth p. 12 2

3 The purpose of the best interests case practice model is to embed the best interests principles into practice, thus creating and contributing to the wellbeing of children. 2 This requires two processes: firstly, a consistent understanding of what best interests really means across all of family services, child protection and placement services and secondly the best interests principles coming alive in the assessment, planning and actions of practitioners, supervisors and managers. The model aims to assist these two processes and ensure the integration of best interest principles into the day to day practice of family services, child protection and placement services. The model brings together the phases of risk assessment articulated within the Victorian Risk Framework, the Looking After Children Framework and the CYFA Best Interests Principles into an overall case practice model comprising the interlocking and recursive three core work functions involved in working with vulnerable children, youth and their families namely: Assessment which informs Planning which guides Action that benefits the child. The model has at its foundation a dual focus: The basic focus of any assessment and intervention must now be to answer the question How is this child developing? as well as Is this child safe? 3 It is a core document for practice and should be used in conjunction with existing resources such as the Strategic Framework for Family Services, Child Protection Practice Manual, revised specialist practice guides (SPGS) 4, the comprehensive Best Interest Series including the Stability guidance papers, Child Development and Trauma guide and Reunification papers. The model builds on the conceptual work of: Best Interests principles: A conceptual overview The Best Interests Framework for Vulnerable Children and Youth Cumulative harm: A conceptual overview Stability: A conceptual overview These documents present the underpinning theory and research that should inform the practice of all professionals working with vulnerable children and their families. The guidance contained within this document is informed and directed by this theory and it is an imperative for practitioners to develop their confidence and familiarity with the guiding theories of Child Development, Trauma, Attachment and Resilience. 2 Through out this document the term child/children is used and includes young people. 3 Best Interest Principles: A conceptual overview P.30 4 See appendix two for full list of Specialist Practice Guides 3

4 The potential use, connection and linkages between the many resources and tools now available to assist practitioners in delivering quality best interests services to children, young people and families is helpfully illustrated by the professional knowledge model. The five main categories of professional knowledge are outlined below: Model of Professional Knowledge (Julie Drury Hudson, 1997) THEORETICAL (Frames of reference that present an organised phenomena) PERSONAL (intuition, common sense, Cultural knowledge) EMPIRICAL (Gained from Research) PRACTICE WISDON (Gained from Experience) PROCDEURAL (Legislative, Policy, Organisational) A comprehensive range of resources are available to develop practitioners strengths in all five areas for example: Theoretical/Empirical Best Interests Series Conceptual Papers; Child Development and Trauma Guide; Best Interests Case Practice Model; CPTDU Learning and Development Strategies; Beginning Practice Learning Guides, SPGS, Strategic Framework for Family Services, Court Practice Guide Procedural CYFA; Child Wellbeing and Safety Act (CWSA);Child Protection Practice Manual; Practice Instructions; Registration Standards for Community Service Organisations; Protocols; Beginning Practice Learning Guides; LAC framework; CRIS Personal/Practice Wisdom Reflective Practice; Intuition and common sense; Developmental supervision; peer practice clinics and group supervision; Learning and Development Strategies, Co-working and secondary consultations. 4

5 Placing the Experience of Children Centre and Foremost By integrating the best interest principles into daily practice, the model achieves another fundamental purpose: placing the experience of children at the centre of all practice interventions within family services, child protection and placement services. The intention of the model is to guide practitioners to attend more specifically to children s safety, stability and development, through the lens of their age and stage of life and their culture and gender. The model uses the three phases of the Victorian Risk Framework as an organising structure for integrating the best interests principles into practice: Information gathering Analysis and Assessment Decisions/Agreements for Action; Dynamic, Recursive Assessment, Planning and Action Underpinning the use of these phases is the recognition of the dynamic, recursive nature of assessment, planning and action. Information gathering, analysis and assessment should be seen as continuing processes occurring through all the phases of family service, child protection and placement service intervention, not single once off events that then form immovable truths about a child s experience. Practitioners must maintain open and curious minds, be able to consider several hypotheses at the same time and most importantly be able to revise their assessments on the basis of new information. Eileen Munro draws our attention to a particular human trait: for the individual, the overwhelming problem with human reasoning is that people do not like changing their beliefs. They go to great lengths to avoid the discomfort of having to revise their judgements. There is no simple antidote to this weakness. Child protection workers can be aware only of how they are likely to err and consciously try to counteract it. 5 A final point to emphasise before consideration of the case practice model in detail: how best to protect and promote any child s safety, stability and development remains and always will remain a matter of professional judgement. Professional judgement, in turn must be based on the exercise of professional knowledge which is defined as: 5 Munro, E.(2002) Effective Child Protection. London Sage Publications 5

6 the cumulated information or understanding derived from theory, research practice or experience considered to contribute to the profession s understanding of its work and that serves to guide practice. 6 The best interests principles provide guidance on the factors that make a real difference to children s lives and life chances and the best interests case practice model provides a resource to ensure our careful consideration of these principles in all our work with children and their families. Shared Collaborative Practice In recognition of the fact that family services, child protection and placement services are working together, frequently with the same children to achieve the same outcomes, the best interests case practice model emphasises the shared and mutual nature of practice across all three services. The model identifies the common and specific areas of responsibility for family services, child protection and/or placement services (Care Team), thus giving practitioners clarity about individual service responses and areas of shared inter-connection. It is intended that the information provided is reviewed by practitioners within the context of both program and role. For example: Family services practitioners should review the best interests case practice model from a context that is also informed by the family services principles, case work approach and service standards. Similarly child protection and placement service practitioners need to review the model within their respective contexts. In other words the starting point, emphasis and weighting of the different components within the model will be influenced by program setting. Family services practitioners work predominantly with vulnerable children with moderate to significant wellbeing concerns within a family setting. Therefore, their emphasis and starting point will need to reflect this, leading family services practitioners to the essential areas of child development, parenting capacity and social and community engagement. Child protection practitioners work predominantly with vulnerable children in need of protection, deemed so because the concerns are having a serious impact on the child s safety and development. Leading child protection practitioners to the essential areas of child safety and development as their starting point and then moving towards parenting capacity, support etc The Care team will be working with vulnerable children in out of home care, thus their emphasis and starting point will be the child s needs while 6 Hudson, Julie. A model for professional knowledge for social work practice Australian Social Work September 1997 Vol.50, No 3 6

7 in placement leading them to the essential areas of development, stability and building resilience. The model firstly outlines the essential areas for information gathering. It then guides practitioners through the analysis and assessment phase and finally summaries the key areas for action and decision making. (Insert Care Team Model) 7

8 What practitioners need to know about the model: Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services The model evolves and drills down from the broader policy context everychild, everychance reforms The Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 The Child Wellbeing and Safety Act (2005) Legislation clearly directs practice towards safeguarding children and promoting their development Promotes consistent understanding of best interests across family services, child protection and placement services Integrates best interest principles into day to day practice which means: Placing the experience of the child at the centre of all practice interventions Guides practitioners to attend more specifically to the child s right to safety, stability and development, through the lens of their age, stage of life, culture and gender The protection and promotion of a child s best interests creates and contributes to the child s overall wellbeing. Builds on the conceptual work papers and should be used along side the full range of resources now available to practitioners depending on work function to be completed and professional knowledge need of practitioner Informed and directed by essential theories: Promotes the imperative that practitioners develop their confidence and familiarity in Child development, Trauma, Attachment and Resilience theory Brings together the best interests principles, VRF phases of risk assessment and the LAC framework into an overall case practice model comprising the three interlocking and recursive core work functions: o Assessment which informs o Planning which guides o Action that benefits the child Information gathering, analysis and assessment are recursive processes occurring through all phases of family services, child protection and placement service intervention The Best Interest Case Practice Model is a Professional Judgement Model: How best to protect and promote any child s safety, stability and development remains and always will remain a matter of professional judgement The model emphasises the shared and mutual nature of practice across family services, child protection and placement services whilst at the same time acknowledging the different program and role contexts. 8

9 How to use the model The model is a resource for practitioners, supervisors and managers. It outlines the practice aspirations that should be strived for in all our work with children, young people and families. It should be used to guide all interventions in family services, child protection and placement services across the core work functions of assessment, planning and action. In line with the model of professional knowledge it should be used in conjunction with a range of other resources, depending on the task and requirement. The information sheets are designed as a working tool to be used in the moment providing useful prompts for workers prior to direct contact or to assist at key decision making points. The main resource guide is intended for deeper application for example to assist with broader worker professional development or with providing a theoretical dimension to court reports. This resource can be used in a variety of work settings including supervision, briefing prior to visits, preparation for best interests planning meetings, development of child and family action plans and professional development interventions. 9

10 Information Gathering This phase commences at the point of first contact with ChildFIRST, family services, child protection services or initial referral to placement services and continues throughout the child s involvement with the child and family service system. The purpose of this phase is to gather the necessary information to inform subsequent analysis and assessment. These processes are continuous, as new experiences and situations occur for the child and family, so too is new information gathered. This new information builds on what is already known to inform the evolving analysis and assessment, thus enabling best interests assessment, planning and action. To fully understand the child s experience family services, child protection and placement services should continuously gather information in the areas outlined below. Regard should be paid to all areas, however some areas may require more emphasis and consideration depending on the service focus. For example family services practitioners may need to give more emphasis to the areas of parenting capacity. Child s Culture Culture in many ways defines who we are, how we think, how we communicate, what we value and what is important. Culture constantly evolves and adapts and is always a significant and changing influence on us. 7 Practitioners should be aware that all children and families have a culture that plays a part in identity formation and the day to day experiences of children. Practitioners also need to be aware of the diverse, multi-cultural nature of Aboriginal and CALD communities. There are hundreds of different Aboriginal tribal groups in Victoria as well as multiple CALD communities. A singular homogenous culture cannot be assumed, practitioners need to actively ask about cultural norms in order to meaningfully switch on the cultural lens and address this key component of best interests assessment planning and action. Historically there has been a lack of culturally sensitive responses to the needs of Aboriginal children and their communities and Aboriginal children are significantly over-represented in the child protection and placement system. Recent data 8 shows Aboriginal children with a rate of 63 substantiations per 1,000 Aboriginal children, compared to a rate of 5.8 substantiations for non-indigenous children. Aboriginal children are similarly over-represented in rates of children on care and protection 7 Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency Co-op Ltd 2000 Aboriginal Resources and Cultural Guide P.6 8 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data looked 7,014 child abuse substantiations recorded in Victoria in

11 orders and in out-of-home care. Contributing factors include the forcible removal of children in the past and the intergenerational trauma of the stolen generation experience which has affected the majority of Aboriginal families in Victoria; a lack of knowledge regarding Aboriginal child-rearing practices, a lack of Aboriginal support services and the impact of poverty and social disadvantage. The Victorian Government is committed to addressing the underlying issues that impact on the safety, stability and development of Aboriginal children. The CYFA 2005 includes decision making principles and child placement principles, thus creating a mandate for family and community services, child protection services and the courts in planning and delivering coordinated and culturally competent services to Aboriginal children and families. (Section 10 (3) (c); Section 11; Section 12 - See Appendix One) Similarly the needs of children from culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD) must be recognised and supported by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement services. This means understanding that CALD communities are not homogenous, actively enquiring about specific cultural needs and being aware of both established and newly arriving communities. The impact of fleeing war torn countries of origin, possible experiences of torture and other traumas, spending lengthy periods in refugee camps and detention centres must also be considered. Practice across Family Services, Child Protection and Placement services must be culturally competent. The concept of culturally competent practice is currently under development. However, practitioners should be aware that culturally competent practice will mean moving beyond understanding and awareness into actions and behaviours that promote and strengthen the cultural connectedness of children from Aboriginal and CALD communities. Practitioners start this process of cultural competence by expanding their awareness and knowledge of culture through undertaking relevant training, accessing learning resources and research, consultation and co-work with colleagues from cultural services. Cultural competence continues through the information gathering phase as outlined below: Specify Child s Cultural Background: Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander From another culturally and linguistically diverse background Cultural competence starts in the information gathering phase by the act of asking about cultural background. Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services practitioners must ask about the child s culture and establish whether they are Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander or from another culturally and linguistically diverse background. Practitioners should remember that asking an Aboriginal person about their community 11

12 or mob and where they come from is the equivalent of a cultural handshake and favourably communicates a level of cultural awareness. Practitioners should be aware that Aboriginality is determined by: 12

13 1. Parentage and blood line descending from an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander 2. Identifies as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander 3. Is accepted as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island community Family Service Practitioners should refer to their local agreements with Aboriginal Services to determine how best to respond to the needs of the child and their family. Child Protection Practitioners must contact and consult the Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice and Support Service (ACSASS) from the first point of contact, usually at intake, through all phases to case closure, following the procedures outlined in the Responding to Aboriginal Children Practice Advice. This advice provides guidance through all the phases of Child Protection Intervention and ensures that Aboriginal children s cultural needs are addressed. Aboriginal Child Placement Principle Due to the impact of the Stolen Generation and past welfare policies many Aboriginal children were disconnected from their families and communities resulting in the loss of language and culture. This has had a devastating affect on Aboriginal people, families and communities. It is vitally important that Aboriginal children who are placed in out of home care remain connected to their families, communities and culture. Practitioners cannot act in an Aboriginal child s best interests and promote their well being without addressing connection to culture and community. The CYFA 2005 mandates the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle and requires community service organisations and child protection to follow the steps outlined when placing an Aboriginal child in out of home care. (s.13 and s.12 (c) and s.323 (iii) See Appendix two). To connect a child to their culture requires more than placing a child with an Aboriginal family. They should be connected to the Aboriginal community that they belong to, as each community is different. When a child is in out of home care, the Care Team, comprising the child s agency case worker, child protection worker, carers, birth parents and any other adults significant to the child, should work together with the ACSASS program to develop and implement a cultural support plan for all Aboriginal children and young persons placed in out of home care. This is now a legal requirement under section 176 CYFA Child protection is required to work collaboratively with families, the child s Aboriginal community, placement providers and the ACSASS program to develop a Cultural Support Plan. 9 9 Refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Support Plan Guide and Template DHS

14 If the child is from a CALD background information about the child and family s primary language must be obtained. Workers should consider whether interpreters and or translated information resources are needed. A good assessment of a child s linguistic ability is extremely important when the first language is not English...english may become the language of academics and school and the local community playground while the child s first language may serve as the language of feelings Canino and Spurlock This is an important consideration for all practitioners: memories and feelings of a traumatic event/s are encoded in vivid images and sensations and therefore better processed in her first language 11 Placement services coordination staff will ensure that the child s cultural information is included in the placement referral record provided to the placement service provider at point of referral. The Care team are expected to provide placements appropriate for the cultural background of the child. This includes seeking to match children with carers from the same cultural background wherever possible. Carers who do not share the same cultural background as the child should be provided with appropriate support to enable them to provide culturally competent care of the child. Care teams led by the placement service case worker should also ask about cultural background and Child Protection should ensure that the care team is provided with the relevant information to support the child s cultural needs during placement. This information will be included in the Essential Information Record and subsequent best interests planning processes. 10 See Cumulative Harm: A conceptual overview Best Interests Series p Cumulative Harm: A conceptual overview Best Interests Series p

15 Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services The diversity of Aboriginal communities based on each community s tie to the land and locality must be recognised. The impact of the Stolen Generation experience on nearly every Aboriginal family within Victoria must also be recognised. Cultural competence is a concept that is currently under development however practitioners should be aware that it provides the lens for information gathering with Aboriginal communities It is the starting point and filter for all information Cultural competence continues through family services, child protection and placement services endeavours to establish and maintain collaborative working relationships, based on mutual respect and understanding of each others roles with culturally specific agencies and members of the child s cultural community. Cultural sensitivity and respect is essential in any intervention with families. Workers need to explore the particular meaning events hold within the family s cultural traditions. A good assessment of the child and families understanding of language preferences is essential and every effort must be made to enhance their participation English may not be the best language to process the memories and feelings associated with traumatic events Practitioners need to recognise that this is a highly complex area. The key to beginning to work in a culturally competent way is in our openness and willingness to learn about the Aboriginal and CALD experience from our clients, members of their community and our colleagues in Aboriginal and other culturally specific agencies. The next step is using this learning in our practice and endeavouring to build respectful relationships. 15

16 Gender Gender refers to the attributes assigned to males and females by societal norms. Gender affects a child s experiences and life chances because the expectations and assumptions that occur as a result of gender are entrenched within the community and wider social systems (education, judicial, employment, welfare, economic etc). The interface between a child and these systems means that boys and girls experience the world differently and may be differentially affected by apparently similar events and circumstances. For these reasons the child s gender should be recorded at the initial information gathering phase across family services, child protection and placement services and practitioners should apply a gender analysis to all assessment, planning and action. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services A gender analysis is a critical component of good practice when working with children and their families and identifying issues of abuse. The dynamics of power, hierarchy and gender need to be assessed by practitioners. Practitioners should be mindful of the disproportionate nature of gender-based violence such as family violence on females, sexual assault on children, the differential responses to family violence by boys and girls and the need for a gender specific response to the needs of boys and girls. A gendered response means being aware of the likelihood of specific issues impacting differently on men, women, boys and girls. For example children can have a gender differential response to family violence: girls tending to internalise and boys act out. In terms of risk, gender impacts place girls at a greater risk of victimisation as adults and boys at a greater risk of perpetration as adults. (Indermaur 2001 quoted in Best Interests Principles: A conceptual overview 2006 p.12) Child s age and stage of life Specify the child s date of birth and describe their stage of life In the information gathering phase family services, child protection and placement service workers will need to specify the child s date of birth and establish a comprehensive sense of what this means in terms of stages of child development. This must be taken into account when considering how to respond to the child s safety, stability and development needs. 16

17 A child s stage of life is most usefully described in four phases: Infancy Unborn to 2 years Pre-school 2 to 5 years Primary school years 5 to 12 Adolescence 12 to 18 years The child s age and stage alerts practitioners to the key developmental tasks that the child should be undertaking that then provides a base line for assessing and weighting the child s development needs. Practitioners need to be particularly attuned to the vulnerability of infants and the likely impact of trauma and neglect for the child s future safety, stability and development. For family services practitioners consultation with community based child protection and maternal and child health services should be considered for referrals of infants. For child protection practitioners, consultation with regional high risk infant specialists should be initiated. All practitioners can also refer to the high risk infant specialist practice guide (SPG) Adolescents also require particular attention due to the additional vulnerability experienced by children in this stage of development. Practitioners should refer to the High Risk adolescent SPG for additional guidance when working with adolescents. For Children in out of home care, the Care Team needs to ensure that placements and carers are well prepared and resourced to provide age and stage appropriate care and support that is mindful of the particularly vulnerabilities of infants and adolescents. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services The Child Development and trauma guide, Best Interests series provides practitioners with an overview of the typical developmental pathways of children and the typical indicators of trauma at different ages and stages. This is a very useful resource and can be used in the information gathering phase to assist with the overall assessment task. Practitioners can also refer to Mary Sheridan s From Birth to Five Years Children s Developmental Progress 12 which is included in the Beginning Practice Learning Guide for new Child Protection Practitioners and the Raising Children Network (raisingchildren.net.au) which has useful resources for carers. 12 ACER Press

18 Unborn Children The CYFA enables confidential reports to be made to child protection where a person has a significant concern for the wellbeing of the child after it s birth. Child protection intake practitioners must consult with the High Risk Infant program on all unborn child reports received directly and all consultations requested by community based services on unborn children. (See analysis and assessment section for responses to unborn children) Child s Safety Promoting a child s best interests requires all practitioners to have the dual focus of safety and development. It is not sufficient to consider safety alone as the determining factor for responding to children. However, an assessment of safety is an essential component of the best interest case practice model that in combination with the other components will lead to best interests planning and action. Practitioners should at all times keep the experience of the child in the forefront of their minds and ask themselves What does being safe mean for this child, given their age, stage, culture and gender? This requires practitioners, wherever possibly, to be talking to the child and gaining an idea of what it means to the child to be safe. Family services, child protection and placement services will need to continually assess children s safety within their respective roles. 13 Family service practitioners will be undertaking this role within the context of referrals made to Child FIRST or directly to a family service and as part of their ongoing casework with children and families. Child protection practitioners will undertake this role within the context of receiving reports into the child protection system, providing consultation to family services and other community service agencies and as part of their ongoing casework with allocated children and families, including as members of the care team for children in out of home care. The Care Team, comprising the child s placement agency case worker, child protection worker, carers (foster carer or key residential workers), birth parents (unless it is not in the child s best interests to involve the birth parent) and any other adults significant to the child, will be undertaking this role with the context of providing quality nurturing care and protection from harm for children in out of home care. The care team approach is grounded in the principle of considering the things any good parent would naturally consider when caring for their own child. 13 Practitioners should refer to The Child Protection and Child FIRST agreement on Local Procedures and Requirements ; Strategic Framework for Family Services Pages 40 to 50 18

19 Although child protection has the primary responsibility for determining whether a child has been harmed or is likely to be harmed and whether a child is in need of protection, it is extremely important that there is shared understanding across child protection, family and placement services about what is meant by harm to a child. The following section is provided as a resource to all practitioners who should consider the information within the context of their respective roles. We know that a child is safe when parents or carers are: Providing the basic care needed for the child s immediate and future stability and healthy development Protecting the child from harm and it s adverse consequences for the child s immediate and future stability and healthy development Basic care provided The provision of basic care means that the child s parents/carers or the care team for a child placed in out of home care, are meeting the child s individual needs for stability and development. A child s basic needs include their physical, social and emotional needs and the nature of these needs will depend on their age, stage of life, culture and gender. For all practitioners this means establishing whether the child s physical needs for food, liquid, warmth, shelter, rest, clothing, adequate personal hygiene and timely access to appropriate medical and dental care where needed are being met. It then involves establishing whether social and emotional needs are being met including the child s need for emotional warmth, stimulation, consistency, guidance and boundaries. Responsive caregiving is a useful concept to consider: Does the child s care giver respond quickly and appropriately to the child s physical and emotional needs? and perhaps most importantly: Does the child s care giver consistently give priority to the child s needs over their own or their partner s needs? The Care team lead by the placement agency case worker need to ensure that carers are providing children in placement with a quality, nurturing home environment in line with registration standards Registration standards for community service organisations (Feb 2007) 19

20 Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Is it extremely important that child safety information is viewed through the lens of age, stage of development, culture and gender. For example: A lack of provision of basic care can be life threatening for an infant whereas an older child is more physically resilient. For some cultures the provision of basic care may be undertaken by a range of extended family members. This may be an appropriate functional norm within the child s culture and does not necessarily imply that the child s parents/immediate carers are failing in their responsibility to provide basic care. This is also a factor for consideration with CALD and Aboriginal foster care families. For Aboriginal children, connection to culture through family, extended family and the broader Aboriginal community is a critical protective factor. If the Aboriginal child does not have these connections their safety, development and wellbeing is likely to be compromised. Gender may have an impact on the care provided, particularly if the primary carer has displaced hostility towards the opposite sex due to abusive experiences which can result in differences in the care provided based on the gender of the child. Family Services, Child protection and the Care Team can establish and review whether the child s basic needs are being met by asking general questions followed by a series of more specific probes such as the following examples: Question Describe the child how do they present? Probe How does the parent/carer provide for the child s basic needs? Are they responsive to the child s needs What examples of this do you have? What concerns do you have about how the parent/carer is caring for this child? What is this child s basic affect and presentation? Are these consistent with normal developmental milestones? (see Child Development and Trauma Guide) 20

21 Question Describe the relationship between the child and his/her parent/s or carers Probe If you had to chose 2 words to characterise the relationship what would they be? What direct observations do you have to support your choice of words? What routines have you observed in the household? How does the parent/carer set boundaries How do they show warmth and care? Protection from harm Being protected from harm means that the child is protected by parents or carers from immediate, cumulative or likely harm to their safety, stability and development caused by: Abandonment Physical Injury Sexual Abuse Emotional or psychological abuse Neglect 15 Has the child been protected from danger and harm by his or her caregivers? If not, how has the child been harmed? We need to remember that this can be through acts of commission i.e direct harmful actions inflicted on the child by their caregivers and/ or omission failing to act e.g adequately supervising a child. Family services and child protection practitioners should specifically identify and record the information below concerning the harm to the child. Child protection should also ensure for children in out of home care, the care team is provided with the information they need to ensure the appropriate care and support of the child whilst in placement. The Care team has the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety and development of children while they are in out of home care. This means ensuring that carers protect children from harm and instigating the required procedures if concerns about the quality of care or allegations of abuse in care emerge Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 s Guidelines for investigating allegations of abuse against home based carers 2005; Guidelines for investigating allegations of abuse against residential carers 200? 21

22 The actual or alleged harm This means clearly establishing and describing the causes and incident of harm. On the basis of this, family services practitioners will need to decide whether to contact child protection. The Strategic Framework for Family Services (2007) states that a report should be made in any of the following circumstances: serious physical abuse of, or non-accidental or unexplained injury to, a child (mandatory reporters must report) a disclosure of sexual abuse by a child or witness, or a combination of factors suggest the likelihood of sexual abuse-the child exhibiting concerning behaviours, for example, after the child s mother takes on a new partner or where a known or suspected perpetrator has had unsupervised contact with the child (mandatory reporters must notify) serious emotional abuse and ill treatment of a child affecting their healthy development persistent neglect, poor care or lack of appropriate supervision, where there is a likelihood of significant harm to the child or their development serious or persistent family violence or parental substance misuse, psychiatric illness or intellectual disability-where there is a likelihood of significant harm to the child or their development where a child s actions or behaviour may place them at risk of significant harm and the parents are unwilling or unable to protect the child where a child appears to have been abandoned, or where the child s parents are dead or incapacitated, and no other person is caring properly for the child. These points provide useful guidance for family services practitioners. Community Based Child Protection Workers are also available to provide consultation and advice. Child protection practitioners will need to decide whether or not to contact the police. The protocol between child protection and the Victorian police requires child protection to contact the police in all cases of serious physical and sexual abuse. Additionally the protocol with Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Association (VACCA) and Mildura Aboriginal Cooperative (MAC) require contact with the Aboriginal Child Specialist Advice Support Service (ACSASS) if child protection receive a report concerning an Aboriginal child. Family Services practitioners should refer to their local agreements with Aboriginal services if they receive referrals concerning Aboriginal children. Sources of harm This means identifying the relationships, behaviours and situations that are causing harm to the child. Remember this also includes risk taking 22

23 behaviour by a young person. Hence a young person can be a source of harm to themselves. As well as establishing the source of harm, family services and child protection practitioners need to gather information about the severity of the harm. Again this information must be viewed through the lens of age, stage, culture and gender. All practitioners should constantly consider how does this harmful behaviour impact on this particular child s development, given their age, stage, culture and gender. It is also of vital importance that practitioners consider the child s subjective experience of harm and the meaning and significance attributed to the harm by the child. Family Services and Child Protection practitioners can establish severity by asking: How severe does the reporter/referer consider the harm and on what evidence are they basing this opinion? What impacts have they noticed on the child s safety, stability and development? What is the child saying about their experience of the harm? Did the abuse result in physical injury to the child that required medical attention? Was medical attention sought in a timely way? Was has been the carers response to the injury and the child? What is the immediate context surrounding the injury for example: Does the injury suggest a reactive stress based response on the part of the carer or a more premeditative, cruel action (e.g cigarette burns) (Child Protection Practitioners can refer to Child Protection Practice Manual Assessment Section for further examples of questions) Patterns and history for this child and other children This is a crucial area for information gathering as it provides practitioners with a sense of the potential cumulative harm to the child. Cumulative harm refers to the effects of patterns of circumstances and events in a child s life, which diminish a child s sense of safety, stability and wellbeing. Cumulative harm is experienced by a child as a result of a series or pattern of harmful events and experiences that may be historical, or ongoing, with the strong possibility of the risk factors being multiple, inter-related and co-existing over critical developmental periods. 17 Practitioners should gather information about previous contact and concerns in order to assess cumulative harm. Of crucial importance is the child s subjective experience. 17 Cumulative Harm: A conceptual overview January 2007 p.3 23

24 Practitioners should constantly ask: What does this pattern and history mean for this child given their age, stage, culture and gender? How do they experience these incidents of harm? For Family Services and Child protection practitioners this means asking referrers/reporters about previous concerns and incidents, duration and frequency of concerning incidents relating to the child in question and other children in the family. It is not good practice to assess only on the basis of information contained in the current report/referral. Previous file notes and records concerning the child in question, their siblings and family are extremely valuable sources of information that are often over looked. Practitioners should take the time to review this information and include it in their assessment. Practitioners should also ask: Have there been previous incidents of concern for this child or other children in the family? What was the nature of these concerns and how were the issues addressed at the time? How long ago were these concerns? Does the space between reports indicate escalation? Is the child experiencing recurring trauma? What impact is this pattern having on the child s sense of safety, stability and development? When these concerns are viewed together with previous concerns does the emerging picture change? For the Care Team the pattern, history and impact of harm upon the child and other children is likely to affect the child s behaviour in placement. Child Protection should ensure that the care team is provided with this information which needs to be carefully considered when placing the child. All carers need to be adequately prepared prior to placement and then appropriately supported during the placement. Opportunities for harm (access to harming parent/carer, exposure to harm) Family Services and Child Protection Practitioners need to consider the child s current and future exposure to harm. Of vital importance here is further access of the harming parent/carer to the child. For an adolescent engaged in risk taking behaviour, the opportunity for harm is constant, as the young person is responsible for the behaviour. However the context surrounding the behaviour should be explored to determine the impact of peer group and parent/carers. The harming parent/carer access and importantly their intent is explored by asking: Is the harming parent/carer the primary carer for the children? Do they accept responsibility for their role in the abuse? How does the primary carer (if not the harming carer) understand the situation? 24

25 What protection can they offer the child? How does the child understand the situation? How does the harming carer view their role in the abusive episode? How does the harming carer view the child? Is their view of the child s abilities consistent with their developmental stage? Family Services and Child Protection practitioners also need to consider opportunity for harm in terms of the child s exposure to harm within the home environment. This means considering: Are there frequent reports of exposure to environmental neglect/substance abuse/violence or other factors which impact upon parenting capacity? Is the child or young person constantly criticised, scapegoated or verbally abused by the primary carer? How does the child experience this? How do they weight it psychologically? This information together with parental capacity information (see below) will help determine the future risks to the child (see analysis and assessment) The Care Team led by the agency caseworker need to ensure they are fully informed by child protection of the circumstances surrounding harm to the child to ensure that opportunities for harm are not unknowingly created through access arrangements or other informal contacts. Child s Stability Research has unequivocally identified that uncertainty, instability and disruption can have harmful effects on a child s wellbeing and development 18 Stability is the concept used to summarise the cluster of considerations referred to in the CYFA 19 for determining the best interests of the child in addition to the need to protect a child from harm, to protect his or her rights and to promote his or her development. Stability refers to the on going connections that children have within their surrounding environment. It is a vital component of every child s wellbeing and development. All services operating under the CYFA are expected to promote a child s stability in the course of their work by building or strengthening the child s: Connection to their parents or other primary carer 18 DHS Office for Children publication Guidance on promoting Children s Stability Final draft p.1 19 CYPA s10 (a) to (r) 25

26 Connection to family including their siblings, wider family and other significant adults (and including their birth family if a child is in out of home care) Connection to school and friends Connection to community Connection to culture (especially Aboriginal and other culturally and linguistically diverse cultures) Connection to primary caregivers This refers to the establishment and maintenance of a secure nurturing relationship with the child s parents or other primary carers. A secure nurturing relationship with at least one adult during infancy and early childhood is essential for a child s wellbeing. All children need secure attachments if they are to flourish and develop their potential. Attachment is defined as: an affectionate bond between two individuals that endures through space and time and serves to join them emotionally. 20 A child s early experience of this connection provides the best foundation for establishing positive relationships with others. Where parents are unable to care for their child, the establishment of a secure nurturing relationship with an alternative primary carer without delay is extremely important. This is an especially critical time for infants and in early childhood. Connection with primary carer can become increasingly difficult to achieve with multiple changes of primary carers. The strength of the connection to the child s parents or other primary carer may be evidenced by their attachment and bonding behaviour. Care must be taken to distinguish between bonding a term used to describe the relationship a parent makes with a child, and attachment a term used to describe the relationship a child makes with an adult. The parent or carers response to the child should complement attachment behaviour i.e a parent should be available and responsive to the child s needs, in ways that are appropriate to his or her age, stage of development, culture and gender. For Aboriginal children the cultural lens should be applied when gathering information about primary care givers, remembering that more than one person may have fulfilled this role along side the child s immediate parents. Similarly for CALD communities practitioners need to actively explore who has undertaken the primary care giver role and not assume that if it is not the child s immediate parent the role has been absent for the child. Family Services practitioners are expected to promote the stability of all children with whom they are working and focus on building the capacity of parents, carers and families to provide children with this stability. 20 Kennell (1976) quoted in Fahlberg, V (1981) Attachment and Separation 26

27 Child Protection practitioners are expected to both promote the stability of all children with whom they are working and to undertake earlier stability planning for children requiring long term out of home care. All practitioners need to rigorously explore the connection between the child and primary carer by asking: Who have been the most important people in the child s life so far? Who do you think is the most important person in the child life now? Describe the relationship between the child and their carer Has positive interaction been observed? Is the carer responsive to the child s needs What examples can be described? How long has the child been in the care of the primary caregiver? Has the child been cared for by anybody else? If so when and for how long? The Care Team has a direct responsibility for promoting the stability of children in out of home care. As with child protection practice, this has a dual emphasis on more actively seeking family reunification and the earlier identification of an appropriate permanent placement when a child requires long term out of home care. The primary focus for stability is on ensuring that each child experiences a safe, warm, nurturing secure relationship with at least one adult who cares about them. In out of home care this means developing a positive relationship between the child and their current primary carer whilst at the same time supporting a positive relationship, consistent with the Best Interests plan, between the child and their birth parents and any other significant adults who care about the child. It also means striving for as much continuity and consistency of caring as possible. This means doing whatever it takes to minimise the number of placement changes, without compromising the quality of care provided. For many children in out of home care, the goal will be to achieve long term stability through family reunification. This makes it all the more important that birth parents or other potential family carers are supported to be effective members of the care team while the child is in out of home care. Foster carers and residential workers should be proactively supported by the placement agency case worker to develop positive relationships with birth parents and family members, especially in relation to managing contact and access arrangements. It is important for all practitioners to also consider the concept of family reconciliation. For some children reunification to the birth family may not be in their best interests. In these circumstances working with the child and their family to reach a point of reconciliation and understanding can be a valuable way to avoid the sense of failure that can be experienced by both the child and their family following decisions not to proceed with reunification. 27

28 Connection to family/siblings Connection to family refers to the extent and strength of the links between a child and various members of their immediate and wider family. Family members may include parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, other extended family members and family friends. A child s connection with family members in addition to their parents is important for promoting resilience and stability. Maintaining or establishing positive caring relationships with other adults who care about the child can enhance stability and offer a child stability even if their connection to their parent or other primary carer is inconsistent or in a process of change. All practitioners can establish the strength of the connection to family by talking to the child and obtaining their perception of the importance of their family relationships and by gathering information about the extent of contact and communication between and about the child and family members. Contact includes face to face, telephone, and exchange of birthday cards etc. Connection to school/childcare/friends Connection to school and friends refers to the extent to which a child has a sense of fitting in at school or other settings where they have an opportunity to make friends outside the family. For younger children these settings include play groups, crèches, child care, kindergartens and pre-schools. For older children, these settings may include TAFE, various types of youth programs, sporting groups and part-time employment. School connectedness and continuity of schooling is extremely important for a child s stability and sense of belonging as well as for their achievement at school. A child needs opportunities to make friends outside the family. These opportunities most frequently occur through educational settings. Teachers and other adults at school may also have a profound influence during childhood. Interest groups or extra curricular activities attached to schools such as team sports or music groups can be highly significant for a child because they promote positive development and connectedness to a positive peer group. All practitioners should actively promote a Whole Village approach and seek out and maintain positive outside of family relationships for the child. The care team should ensure that they coordinate and participate in the student support group and development of the individual eduction plan for children in out of home care as outlined in the Partnering agreement 21 Practitioners need to be aware that school connectedness becomes increasingly difficult to achieve with multiple changes of schools and the transition from primary to secondary school can be enormously difficult for 21 Partnering Agreement between DHS and DET 28

29 vulnerable children to achieve. This may be a time to consider additional support including referral to specialist educational services such as the School Focused Youth Service. If a child does not have a connection with a school, an alternative positive peer group will need to be found, eg using an interest such as sport or through involvement in a support group for young people in care. Connection to community Connection to community refers to the child s experience within their local neighbourhood but may also refer to a cultural, ethnic or religious community, a school community, or a sporting and recreational association. A child s sense of their place in society reflects their experience of the community in which they live. The degree of social inclusion and integration of the child s family within a particular community and the number of times the child moves house affects a child s connection to community. The availability, accessibility and standard of community resources, including universal services 22 affects connection to community. A child s interactions with their community change as they grow. For an Aboriginal child their connection to Aboriginal culture must be maintained. A child s connection with their particular community of origin, and their land, needs to be actively supported. It is legislatively mandated for Aboriginal children in out of home care to maintain their connection to community through an appropriate cultural support plan. (CYFA s. 176 (1); (2). The act also mandates the monitoring of carer compliance with the cultural support plan (s.176 (4)) The strength of the connection to community will be evidenced by their own sense of belonging and the extent to which they participate in community activities. Connection to culture Connection to culture includes regular contact with others from a child s culture, participation in cultural events and celebrations, learning and speaking the cultural language, and valuing and learning about cultural ways and traditions. The child s right to practice their chosen religious or spiritual faith should be supported and is another means of maintaining the child s cultural connection. Cultural connection is critically important for Aboriginal children and young people. Aboriginal identity is maintained and actively developed through the connection to culture. 22 Universal services include maternal and child health services, community health services, preschools and schools. 29

30 Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including religious and faith based backgrounds, can also derive stability by maintaining contact with those with whom they share a common cultural background. A child s connection to their culture might be evidenced by their own sense of belonging and their perceived acceptance within their cultural community. A child s culture should be valued and celebrated wherever possible in contexts other than their family, such as at school. All practitioners should ensure that culture is on the agenda in all interactions and interventions. This means maintaining active curiosity and engaging in discussions about culture through respectful open ended questions: What do you like doing? What is special about your family? Are there any routines or activities that are important for your child to maintain? Are there people within your community that it is important for you and your child to remain in contact with? The Care Team in collaboration with ACSASS will ensure that a cultural support plan is developed for all Aboriginal children in out of home care as part of the best interests planning process. Child s Development The CYFA clearly directs practice towards safeguarding children and promoting their development. This means that family services, child protection and placement services have a clear mandate to promote a child s development over the seven life areas. These areas of life will be familiar to child protection and placement service practitioners through their participation in Looking After Children (LAC) planning processes as members of care teams for children in out of home care. Family service practitioners may not be as familiar with these areas and in the past child protection practitioners were expected to primarily focus on safety and risk with less attention paid to the areas of child development. For Care Teams there has been considerable variation in how LAC has been implemented across the state. Consequently the familiarity of placement service practitioners with the areas of child development will also vary. For these reasons family services, child protection and placement service practitioners need to take time to carefully consider the following sections of this guide that provide an overview of each area of life and methodically think about how developing each area can be introduced to the best interests assessment, planning and action activities of family services, child protection and placement service interventions. 30

31 They are included in the Best Interests Planning Templates and are essential components of the Best Interests Plan. (For detailed advice and guidance, including templates child protection practitioners should refer to Planning in best interests case practice advice and Best Interests planning for children in out of home care advice within the Child Protection Practice Manual) When a child is placed in out of home care, responsibility for their day to day care needs to be resolved quickly. Care Teams led by the placement service caseworker are responsible for developing an initial care and placement plan which documents the child needs in the seven life areas, planned outcomes and role and responsibilities of care team members including parents and child protection worker. The care and placement plan forms part of the overall best interests plan, addressing how the child s care needs will be met during the placement. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Best Interests Planning refers to all planning that promotes a child s safety, stability and development. A single best interests plan will be developed, implemented and reviewed. The Best Interests Principles will apply and be reflected in all decision making throughout the child and families contact with family services, child protection and placement services Overview The CYFA highlights the importance of promoting the healthy development of vulnerable children. Development covers the areas of life where all children need opportunities, encouragement and support throughout childhood to develop to their full potential. These are the parts of a child s life that are affected by the adverse impacts of any trauma. They are also the aspects of a child s life that most parents pay constant attention to (usually unconsciously) as part of everyday family life. The seven elements of a child s development are 23 : health and growth emotional and behavioural development education family and social relationships identity social presentation self care skills 23 The seven elements of development are the same as the Looking After Children (LAC) life areas and the child developmental domains used in the United Kingdom s Integrated Children s Assessment Framework 31

32 Development is closely related to but distinguished from a child s age and stage of life. At different stages of a child s life, different aspects within each of these elements will have more or less significance. All practitioners should actively and recursively assess how a child is developing in all these areas and then plan and take actions to address identified needs. Children who have suffered harm, particularly cumulative harm over a period of time, will frequently have developmental delays and high needs in many of these areas. Practitioners need to be aware of this, seek consultation and advice where appropriate and facilitate the child and family s engagement with universal and specialist services to address the child s developmental needs. It is particularly important that children and young peoples leaving care needs are adequate addressed by the care team within the best interests planning process. A range of resources are available to practitioners to assist with this including the LAC guides to assessing preparedness for transition from care and self assessment tool. A framework for preparation of young people leaving care is currently under development. 32

33 Health and physical development Health and growth includes physical development, vision, hearing, oral health, and mental health. A healthy child has an adequate and nutritious diet, adequate sleep, lives in an appropriately hygienic environment and generally has a high level of physical activity. Milestones are identified for all aspects of development and achievement of the milestones tracks the healthy development of a child between infancy and adolescence. There is significant variability between children in the achievement of milestones. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. 24 Children need to be informed and educated about all aspects of health including preventative and health promoting behaviour, such as healthy food, teeth cleaning and bedtimes. Positive attitudes to health services are embedded early with dental checks and childhood immunisations so that doctors and other health professionals are seen as people from whom help can be sought when needed. For adolescents, health considerations include access to information and advice in relation to sexual and reproductive health, alcohol and drugs. The maintenance of good health requires access to appropriate preventative and primary health care services and specialist assessments and treatment where necessary. Children with chronic or significant health issues can be taught to manage their health care plans with support and supervision from their carer. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners should ensure that children are linked in to universal health services such as maternal and child health, general practitioners and dentists and specialist health services as required. The assessment of health needs should occur as early as possible and access to services then negotiated, facilitated and supported. Family and social relationships Family and social relationships include a child s relationships with parents or carers, siblings, extended family members, other significant adults and friends of their own age. These relationships are associated with a child s development of a sense of belonging, identity and meaning. A child s capacity for reciprocity and empathy for others (moral development) is developed in the context of nurturing relationships. 24 The Declaration of Alma Ata, International Conference on Primary Health Care, USSR, 6-12 September

34 A child s relationships may be affectionate, warm, or close or they may be conflictual, ambivalent, or distant and these will change over time. The nature of a child s family and social relationships is related to, but distinguished from, the strength of the child s connection to their family and friends. Similarly the child s family context, including family composition, history and dynamics, affects, but is differentiated from, the way that a child experiences and develops their own set of family and social relationships. Emotional and behavioural development Emotional and behavioural development refers to the appropriateness of response demonstrated in feelings and actions by a child, initially to parents and caregivers, and as the child grows older, to the wider social network and community. It includes the nature and quality of early attachments, characteristics of temperament, adaptation to change, response to stress and degree of appropriate self-control and the development of pro-social behaviours, including moral development. It covers a child s emotional displays of happiness or sadness, anger, irritability and frustration and any behavioural signs of anxieties and worries such as sleep disruption, loss of appetite, self-harm, and undiagnosed aches and pains. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners need to assess the quality and impact of family and social relationships and emotional and behavioural development and offer themselves as resources to the child and their family in their attempts to resolve ambivalent feelings and make sense of their family circumstances. This provides new opportunities for practitioners to engage in creative satisfying direct work with children, including life story work and coaching and mentoring positive behaviours. It may also involve practitioners referring to specialist services such as Take Two, Finding Solutions, Family Therapy or Child and Adolescent therapists. Education and Learning Education and learning covers all areas of a child s cognitive development, and begins at birth where parents/carers encourage exploration, applauding approximations of success and providing comfort when a child is not successful. Education and learning includes opportunities for play and interaction with other children, access to books, acquiring a range of skills and interests and experiencing success and achievement. 34

35 For older children, education and learning includes experiencing success and achievement through opportunities provided through school, vocational training, employment, voluntary activities and recreation. A child s educational development needs an adult who is interested in their educational activities, their progress and achievements, who have high expectations of them and who takes account of their starting point and any special educational needs. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners should actively promote the educational opportunities for all children and view themselves as facilitators of school/childcare/tafe, connection on behalf of the child. This may mean attending school events with the child or supporting carers to do this; maintaining regular communication with the school or facilitating and supporting parent/carer communication with the school. Many children enter the child and family service system with undiagnosed learning difficulties or substantial delay due to a range of factors including a lack of school continuity. All practitioners have responsibility for collaboratively implementing early educational assessment by appropriately qualified professionals and access to services to remedy learning delays and difficulties such as tutoring or specialist educational programs. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services It is helpful for practitioners to be aware of the protective factors which may lead to later educational success: Stability and continuity in care arrangements Reading competence A parent/carer who values education and sees it as a means of doing well in life Friends outside care who do well at school Out of school interests and hobbies (build contacts with adults and y/p outside the care system) A significant adult who offers consistent encouragement and support serves as a mentor Attending school regularly (Jackson and Martin 1998) 25 All practitioners should be aware of some of the research findings regarding how parents/carers can specifically help promote good educational outcomes: 25 Surviving the care system: education and resilience Authors: Jackson S.; Martin P.Y. Source: Journal of Adolescence, Volume 21, Number 5, October 1998, pp (15) 35

36 Have an authoritative parenting style(warm firm and with high expectations) Have contact with the school about the child Attend parent-school events and meetings Show strong commitment to the value of education Value effort Expect and encourage the child to succeed academically Monitor and help with home work (Masten and Coatsworth, 1998) 26 Identity including Aboriginal or other cultural identify Identity concerns a child s growing sense of self as a separate and valued person. It includes how a child views themselves, their abilities, feelings of belonging and acceptance by their family, community, culture, and wider society, and the strength of their positive sense of individuality, including their sexual identity. An Aboriginal child s identity, culture and language come from their family and their relationship with the land. 27 Understanding this, the connections to community for an Aboriginal child are obviously critically important. Through recognition of children as individuals we facilitate their development of a strong and positive self-concept. Any child s ways may differ from ours, but that doesn t make our ways right and their ways wrong. 28 The development of identity involves a child knowing about their own family, ethnic, cultural and religious background, understanding the meaning of that family, ethnicity, culture and religion for others with whom they share that background and integrating this within their own life in ways that are relevant for themselves. If a child has a disability it is important to understand how this is viewed by the child and their family and offer support to facilitate positive interpretation and understanding. The Care team has an extremely important role in assisting children in out of home care develop strong identify formation through undertaking life story work. (See Culture section for additional information P.6) 26 AS Masten, JD Coatsworth - Am Psychol, 1998 The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children. 27 Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Department of Human Services Caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in Out of Home Care p7 28 Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency c.2000 Aboriginal Resource and Cultural Guide p11 36

37 Social Presentation Social presentation is about a child s growing understanding of the way in which appearance and behaviour are perceived by the outside world and the impression being created. This includes appropriateness of dress for age, gender, culture and religion, cleanliness and personal hygiene and availability of advice from parents or caregivers about presentation in different settings. Social presentation involves the development of verbal and non-verbal communication skills including body language and the increasing importance of a child s capacity to ensure that the impression they create matches the image they intended. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners will need to consider how best to address this area with children. The importance of developing a strong, empathetic relationship with the child that provides leverage for discussion and guidance in this often sensitive area is of primary importance. Taking on a coaching/mentoring role in direct work with the child and using strength based approaches that recognise and compliment steps towards change are important approaches for workers to consider. Self-care skills Self care skills concern the acquisition by a child of both practical and emotional competencies required for increasing independence. These include learning early practical skills of toileting, dressing and feeding and having opportunities to gain the confidence and skills to undertake activities away from the family. Older children begin acquiring independent living skills. Development of self-care skills involves encouragement to acquire social problem solving skills. Special attention should be given to the impact of disability and other vulnerabilities on the development of self care skills. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners should ensure that adequate information is gathered in this crucial area to determine needs, based on age and stage of development and plan appropriately. Attention to this area is how children become equipped for life and of vital importance to future wellbeing. 37

38 The Child s Relationships A child s experience is integrally connected with and to a large extent determined by their relationships with others. These relationships are considered in three categories: Parent s/carers capability Family composition and dynamics Community participation, social and economic environment Parent/Carer capability Providing basic care Ensuring safety Emotional warmth and responsiveness Guidance and boundaries Consistency and reliability Stimulating learning and development Family composition and dynamics Family composition and relationships Family history and dynamics Involvement of extended family with the child Community participation, social and economic environment Housing Employment Income Family s community participation Community resources 38

39 Placement Services will consider these three relationship categories as: Corporate parent/care team capability and functioning Carer /Residential care household composition and dynamics Community participation, social and economic environment Parenting Capability Assessing parenting capability is a core task for practitioners. It involves assessing parent/carer capacity to protect children from harm and enhance their developmental experiences. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Current literature suggests that parenting is predominantly the task of socialising children within an ecological framework that considers children in relation to their family, neighbourhood, the larger social structure and economic, political and cultural environment. The literature indicates a consensus that for the task of parenting to be performed effectively, parents need to demonstrate a mixture of warmth, control, stimulation of development in their behaviour towards children. For parents to do this most effectively, they need to be adaptable. This involves the ability to be perceptive, responsive and flexible in addressing their child s needs. 29 The elements of parent/carer capability are expressed in terms of ability to undertake six key parenting tasks which are essential for ensuring a child s safety, stability and healthy development 30. These elements are: provide basic care ensure safety emotional warmth and responsiveness guidance and boundaries consistency and reliability stimulating learning and development For Family services and child protection the task is to gain an accurate picture of the parents capabilities and functioning in all these areas through carefully considered assessment processes. 29 White, Angela (2005) Assessment of parenting capacity: Literature review Centre for Parenting and Research, NSW Department of Community Services 30 The elements of parent/carer capability have been developed using the UK Integrated Children s System Framework 39

40 When a child is in out of home care, it is the capability and functioning of the whole care team acting in collaboration as a corporate parent that needs to be analysed and observed. Recent literature reviews highlight that there is no generally accepted model for the assessment of parenting capacity and some debate as to whether it will be possible to develop such a model. There is consensus in the literature that parenting capacity is problematic to both define and assess. Parenting is determined by a range of psychosocial factors and relationships and is not seen as fixed but as undergoing constant change dependent on the circumstances facing parents and their children at any given moment in time. (Woodcock, 2003) Due to the complexity of parenting capacity assessment there is not, and perhaps nor can there be, any effective one-size-fits-all assessment any more than there are one-size-fits-all interventions. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Guidelines that direct practitioners to the key areas that should be investigated in more detail and then inform professional judgement is the most effective current approach to the assessment of parenting capacity(white 2005) Information collected in the key areas should come from a variety of different sources including interviews with child; with parents/carers; review of written records and reports; observations during home visits and access; contact with involved agencies; extended family members and representatives of cultural community and consultation with colleagues and supervisors. Donald and Jureidini 31 propose the central issue should be: The parents ability to empathically understand and give priority to their child s needs (p.5) Practitioners should also refer to the following additional resources: Guidance on Family Reunification, Best Interests Series Specialist Practice Guide for Assessing Reunification of Children with their Families Child Protection Practice Manual for further information 31 Donald, T. and Jureidini, J., (2004), Parenting Capacity, Child Abuse Review, Vol 13, p

41 Engagement Effective practice across family services, child protection and placement services involves engaging the child, parents/carers and significant others throughout all interventions. This means practitioners taking the time to join with the child and family or child and carer for children in out of home care, getting to know them, building rapport and understanding their story and context. It requires practitioners to be actively curious and interested in the child and family s experience. The message from research is very clear: No single strategy is of itself effective in protecting children. However, the most important factor contributing to success was the quality of the relationship between the child s family and the responsible professional. Child Protection Messages from Research Dartington Social Research Unit U.K 1995 A strong engagement and partnership approach with families enables hard issues to be discussed and a purposeful focus on the areas for change. It enhances the accuracy of assessment and effectiveness of subsequent planning and actions as practitioners are able to really know the child and family. The Best Interests Principles: A conceptual overview (Miller, 2007) contains a body of literature on partnership approaches with parents and children. The key messages are that effective family sensitive practice involves: A commitment to collaboration with families Practitioners holding compassionate attitudes and avoid blaming Practitioners valuing the experience of families Practitioners maximising the involvement of families in decision making Practitioners holding a belief that change can happen. 41

42 Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Practitioners need to be very aware as they engage with parents, carers and other family members of keeping the child in mind at all times. The details of the child s experience should be actively sought by all practitioners and then used to inform all assessment, planning and actions. Good decisions are grounded in a strong appreciation of the child s unique view point (Miller 2007) Useful suggestions for engaging children include: Know their age and stage of development and use age appropriate language Use mediums that are easier for children to relate to such as drawings, puppets, games and stories Get down to their physical level, such as kneeling at a table with them Engage in an activity, practical task together and talk as you complete the task Some children will find it easier to talk when there is not direct eye contact e.g in the car as you drive them somewhere Use reflective practice with colleagues and supervision to share successful experiences, explore challenges and develop new ideas for working with children Use secondary consultation with specialist child therapists Refer to Specialist Practice Guides; Child Development and Trauma Guide for further ideas about how best to engage and work with children and young people Strength Based Approach Assessing parenting capacity must also have a strength-based focus. This assists in identifying the strengths and skills already possessed by the parents/carers which can then be supported by interventions. A strength based approach also enables a focus on exploring the nature of relationships and connections within the family. The practice philosophy of a strength based approach that can be applied to parenting capacity assessment is summarised by Tomison (1999) Tomison, A.M. (1999) Ensuring the protection of children: the role if child protection services in the identification, assessment and treatment of maltreated children. Keynote address to NSW Department of Community Services Child Protection Conference March

43 All people and environments possess strengths that can be marshalled to improve the quality of client s lives; these strengths and the ways in which clients chose to apply then should be respected by workers Client-motivation is fostered by a continued emphasis on clientdefined strengths Discovering strengths requires a cooperative exploration between clients and workers A focus on strengths reduces the worker temptation to blame the victim and enables the discovery of the means by which clients have survived in even the most inhospitable of circumstances All environments, even the most bleak, contain resources It is important the practitioners are aware that a focus on the positive aspects of family functioning does not imply that family difficulties and children s safety and development is forgotten. The approach is essentially child centred and family focused. The best interests of the child are paramount, while maintaining a focus on building family members competence and self-esteem in order to tackle problems and family issues effectively. This should not be confused with overly optimistic or naïve practice that colludes with the minimisation or denial of actual harm to a child s safety, stability and development. Behavioural Interviewing Practitioners should be aware that the particular context may impact on the parent child interaction. For example during an access contact, practitioners may observe a parent failing to set an appropriate boundary and manage their child s behaviour. This does not necessarily indicate a lack of capacity in the key area of guidance and boundaries. Due to the short time of the access visit the parent may have chosen not to structure the child s behaviour in order for the visit to remain positive. Similarly during a visit to a child in out of home care, the placement agency caseworker may observe a carer failing to set an appropriate boundary and manage the child s behaviour. This may be due to the presence of the worker and the carer perhaps prioritising continuing the conversation with the agency worker and believing this to be the polite or appropriate response. All practitioners should therefore follow up their observations with behavioural interviewing of the parent/carer, using a questioning format that asks parents/carers what they might do differently if a similar incident occurred or what they have done in the past. For example: Behavioural based questions If you were at home together and Sammy behaved like that how would you manage his behaviour? What have you done in the past to manage behaviour like this? 43

44 Through questioning, vital information is elicited about the parent/carers problem solving capacities and their ability to be self reflective. This interviewing technique can also be useful in assessing a parent/carers acknowledgement of their responsibility for harm to their child. Parents/carers are often unwilling to acknowledge the full extent of their culpability, however they will often describe their feelings of anger or frustration that they believe are provoked by the child or family circumstances. These feelings can be easily identified by asking parents to provide recent past examples of difficult child behaviours: Behavioural based questions Describe a recent situation when you have found Sammy s behaviour really difficult? What set off the situation? How did you feel? What do you think caused this situation? Parent/carer responses to these questions can provide useful assessment information concerning the parents capacity to have realistic expectations for their child given their age and stage of development and their capacity for empathy towards their child. As White (2005) points out this information can also highlight volatile combinations of factors that may particularly endanger a child. As well as the possible combination of risk factors, there are often unpredictable triggering events such as toileting accidents or broken dishes that take on a particular significance for an abusive parent/carer. The key areas for considering parenting capacity are outlined below. As information in the six key parenting tasks is gathered, the lens of age, stage of development, culture and gender is switched on and rigorously applied. Provide basic care Basic care means providing for a child s changing physical, social and emotional needs and includes the provision of food, liquid, warmth, shelter, clean and appropriate clothing, adequate personal hygiene, and appropriate medical and dental care. The adequacy of this care will be reflected in a child s current and future development and stability. (See P for additional guidance) Ensure safety Ensuring safety means protecting a child from significant harm or danger according to their age and stage of life, and from contact with unsafe adults or children and from self harm. It involves recognising environmental hazards and danger, both at home and in the community and taking appropriate action to enable a child to avoid these. 44

45 Emotional warmth and responsiveness Emotional warmth and responsiveness means responding positively, sensitively and age appropriately to a child in a way that meets the child s needs and gives the child a sense of being specially valued. This then provides the means for a child to develop secure, stable and affectionate relationships with other significant adults and others. It includes culturally, gender and age appropriate physical contact, comfort and cuddling, sufficient to demonstrate warm regard, praise and encouragement. Of particular significance is a parent/carers capacity to empathise with their child and set aside their own needs in order to meet those of their children. Guidance and boundaries Guidance and boundaries refer to the way that a parent or carer enables a child to regulate their own emotions and behaviour. Key parent or carer tasks are: demonstrating and modelling appropriate behaviour and control of emotions and interactions with others, and providing guidance which involves setting boundaries so that a child is able to develop an internal model for moral values and conscience, and social behaviour appropriate for the society and culture within which they will grow up. The aim is to enable a child to grow into an autonomous adult. It does not mean over protecting children from exploratory and learning experiences. It involves having high expectations and making demands of children to make sure they reach their full potential. It includes social problem solving, anger management, consideration for others, and effective discipline and shaping of behaviour. Strict discipline in combination with low emotional warmth can be detrimental to a child s development. Consistency and reliability Consistency and reliability means providing a sense of continuity, predictability and security for a child. Consistency is about the way that a parent or carer relates to a child over time, especially in relation to similar situations, and the way that a parent relates to each child in the same family. It includes consideration of the similarities and differences in behaviour and attitudes towards a child between different parents and carers. Reliability means being there for a child whenever a responsible parent or adult is needed. It involves demonstrating trustworthiness and includes showing a child that the parent or carer means and does what they say and will follow up and check back. 45

46 Stimulating learning and development Stimulating learning and development means providing ongoing culturally appropriate and age and stage appropriate opportunities for a range of life experiences that enable a child to meet life challenges and enjoy a good life. Commencing from birth, a child s learning,intellectual and social development requires stimulation. Stimulation includes facilitating a child s cognitive development and potential through interaction, communication, talking and responding to a child s language and questions, encouraging and joining a child s play, and promoting educational opportunities. Examples of key questions and Probes: Question How does the parent/care team provide for the child s basic needs? How does the parent/care team ensure safety? How does the parent/care team show they care and value this child? How does the parent/care team guide the child s behaviour and set appropriate boundaries? Is the parent/care team consistent and predictable in their care of this child? How does the parent/care team stimulate the child s learning and development? Probe Describe what they are currently doing/not doing What impacts have you noticed on the child Describe what they are currently doing/not doing Recent examples of harm what changes have been made What do they say and do? Can they name the child s best friend? What has been observed? What did the parent do, how did the child respond, what did the parent do next? How do they do or not do this? What examples can be described Describe interactions Are age appropriate opportunities provided give examples Can they name child s teacher? Do they have contact with school/kinder? 46

47 Factors and circumstances diminishing parent s capabilities The factors and circumstances that diminish parent or carer capability are likely to be related to attributes or experiences with which a parent or carer may present. These factors do not necessarily lead to poor parenting or poor outcomes for their children if their impact is mitigated by the appropriate supports. 33 They can be grouped together under the following categories: Socio-economic factors including poverty, lack of suitable housing, unemployment Physical or mental illness Disability Experience of abuse or neglect during own childhood / period in care during childhood Ongoing impact of trauma (including victim of domestic violence, war/refugee experience, sexual or physical assault) Known history of violence/ anger management difficulties Known history of criminal offending including previous or current incarceration Misuse of alcohol and other substances Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Placement service practitioners should fully explore the presence of any of these factors in their assessment processes of potential carers. All members of the carers household should be included in the assessment of home based carers. Family services and child protection practitioners should fully explore the presence of any of these factors and determine the impacts on the child, given the child s age, stage of development, culture and gender. The Specialist Practice Guides and Child Development and Trauma guide provide all practitioners with additional resources. All Practitioners should be particularly interested in how parents/carers perceive themselves, whether this matches up with how others see them and what worth, value and self-esteem is displayed. An ability to see oneself and one s strengths and weaknesses realistically would seem to suggest a person who has some control over his or her life and some energy to work on areas of change. 33 A good resource for examining the relationship between these factors and the impact on parents /carers capability on children s development in relation to the different age and stages between 0-18 years is Cleaver,H. et al (1999) Children s Needs- Parenting Capacity The impact of parental mental illness, problem alcohol and drug use and domestic violence on children s development HMSO: London 47

48 Examples of key questions and Probes: Question Probe How would you describe yourself? Appearance? Personality? Feelings about yourself What are you good at? How would you describe your physical and mental health? Have you ever had any major illnesses? What about mental illness? How does your illness affect your ability to look after your children? What effect does your illness have on your children? Can you tell me about your disability? How has it impacted on you over the years? How does it impact now? How does it impact on your child? How would you describe your childhood? Who did you mainly live with mother, father, grandparent, in care? Did you ever feel severely hurt or rejected as a child by your mother or father? If yes: Why do you now think your parents behaved like that? Were you ever abused as a child? How do you feel about this now? Have you experienced violence in your life? How do you react to stressful situations? Have you ever been in trouble with the police? Do you think you have a problem with drink/drugs? What happened? How did it impact on you and your children? Is it still happening? How is it affecting you and the children? Describe a situation at home that might lead to you losing your temper What do you do when you lose your temper? How does your partner/children react to this? Do you have any convictions? Are you currently waiting to go to court on any matter? (Comment on accuracy of information provided if different from information you already have) Does anyone else think you have a problem? What do they think the problem is? Do the children know? How do they know? What effect do you think your drug taking has on the children? 48

49 Family Composition and dynamics Family composition and dynamics refer to the child s family context including who is part of their family, how they relate to each other, how the family operates as a whole and the influence of previous history on what happens within the family. Family composition and dynamics vary according to different family styles, structures and cultures and over time. Family encompasses both immediate and wider family groupings. The ways that individual family members relate to each other and interact as a whole family have a significant impact on a child. Family composition and dynamics has three inter-related component elements: Family composition and dynamics Family history and dynamics Extended family involvement Family composition and relationships Family composition and relationships refer to who is part of the family and how they relate to each other. Family and household composition changes over time such as with the birth of a new sibling, separation of parents, the addition of a parent s new partner to the household or a death in the family. Relationships between family members also change over time. For example, various relationships between one or more family members may become more or less affectionate, close, collaborative, conflicted, or hostile. Change in family composition and relationships impact significantly on children. An understanding of family composition and relationships can help to identify ways to assist parents and carers to carry out their parenting roles. It is generally agreed that to fully understand the circumstances that resulted in a parent or carer abusing a child, it is necessary to understand not only the roles played by the perpetrator and the passive partner, but also the detailed nature of the relationships and interactions between both parties and the children concerned. Understanding of the couple relationship is extremely important. All practitioners should explore the extent to which each partner is genuinely satisfied with the relationship, the degree of openness, interdependency and understanding between the couple and evidence of stability and commitment. Practitioners need to be particularly aware that it is often in situations where one or both partners feel their emotional needs are not being met, that a parent may unrealistically look to a child for this, or may blame the child for the failure of the adult partnership. 49

50 Direct observation of the parents/carers with their children will provide practitioners with good insights into the nature of family roles and how these play out in the home and impact on the child. For example: How do the couple communicate with each other? Do they support or undermine each other? Does there seem to be a pattern of collusion in order to deny problems? Who takes the dominant role? Is the other partner listened to? How does the family show affection to other? Can they have fun together? Which attachments are strong and which are weak? Observations of sibling interaction may give evidence of scapegoating or sibling abuse. It may also suggest particular children are favoured or may show that older children take on an inappropriate responsibility for the parenting of younger children. Practitioners need to ensure that they apply a cultural context to this particular area of older sibling responsibility and obviously consider age and stage of development. All practitioners should pay particular attention to the role of partners who are not the child s birth parents. It is necessary to explore and observe his or her role with the child and the extent to which he or she is willing or allowed to take on the parenting role. Family composition and relationships will be identifiable by tools such as genograms but also by asking who counts as family, how they are connected, and how well they get on with each other. Family history and dynamics Family history and dynamics refer to the impact that family history, the life experiences of individual family members and patterns of behaviour have on the way that families interact as a whole, including their decisionmaking structures, family culture, and ways of operating. Families have shared experiences and their own unique history, which have particular meanings for a family and for individual family members. This influences their approaches to parenting. One way of learning how to parent is through the experience of being parented. Family history therefore must be taken into account when considering a child s experience. However family life is also dynamic and the changing needs and circumstances may also contribute to what happens for a child. It is important to note that a child needs a level of structure and order in their household, and particularly so during periods of significant change or crisis. It is important for practitioners to explore the parents/carers past relationships in order to establish repetitive patterns of behaviour. 50

51 A succession of brief cohabitations, for example, suggests an inability to establish a deep and lasting relationship. It is also a possible indication that the child has experienced a number of different carers which may have negatively impacted on the child s sense of security and stability. There may also be unfinished business from a past relationship that is surfacing and affecting the current one. The significance of family history may be identifiable by asking about significant life events and relating these to current family circumstances and ways of operating. Understanding the nature of family dynamics will require observation of the interactions between family members over time and integrating the views and perspectives provided by various family members. For children in out of home care there is a need to develop a good understanding of the dynamics between the carer family and the birth family in order to provide the required support to the carer and assist the overall care team to mediate any difficulties as they arise. The care team should also explore information from previous carers and seek their involvement if this is in the child s best interests Involvement of extended family Extended family involvement refers to the extent to which various members of the wider family play an active role within the life of the child and their immediate family. Extended family includes relatives outside the immediate family such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and nonrelated persons who are partners of relatives and any others who are considered to be close family friends. Involvement includes participating in family occasions and outings, remembering birthdays, providing hospitality, providing assistance such as babysitting or other tangible support for the family when needed, being someone who is asked for advice or would be contacted in a crisis etc. The involvement of extended family members almost always enhances the capacity of parents and carers caring for their children. It promotes the stability of children and families and provides a broader range of positive role models and life experiences that promote the healthy development of children. Of course the involvement of anyone who acts in a way that harms a child is never beneficial. All practitioners should always assess carefully and be aware of any undermining dynamics that cause stress to the child s primary caregiver. To protect and promote an Aboriginal child s best interests it is essential to have a culturally competent understanding of extended family roles and the ways that family members support a child and their parents. 51

52 Extended family involvement will be identifiable by asking the child and family who in their wider family they can go to for support and for what kind of assistance. It may also be evidenced by an expression of familial obligation in a crisis. Cultural Context Throughout any assessment of the child s family composition and dynamics practitioners need to ensure that their practice is culturally competent. This means asking parents/carers/children about their culture and what it means to them; actively consulting representatives of the child s community and culture to establish cultural norms and assessing all behaviours within the context of culture. Ultimately it means ensuring that the child s culture is a component of all best interests assessment planning and action. Question Do you have contact now with other people from your own culture? Is culture important to you in deciding the role of father, mother and other family members? Is anybody in the family experiencing racial or cultural harassment/discrimination? (or have experienced in the past) in the neighbourhood? At work? At school? Probe Who with? Describe the contact/relationship? If yes: What role is the father/mother expected to play in relation to children; money; work; other matters What role are grandparents/uncles/aunts/older brothers/sisters expected to play If yes, fully explore as this can be a significant family stress What happened? How did you resolve? Do you need support with this? How could we help? 52

53 Community Participation, social and economic environment Community participation, social and economic environment refers to the range of community and social factors impacting on children and families. These factors are categorised as: Housing Employment Income Family s community participation Community resources These factors may have a positive or detrimental impact on vulnerable children and their families. Detrimental impacts include homelessness, unemployment, insufficient income or social isolation. The availability and accessibility of a good standard of community resources, facilities and services, including universal services assists the protection and promotion a child s best interests. Strong communities increase the social capital available for families and promote more effective partnerships between families raising children and others in their community. 34 Housing Housing refers the basic need all families have for a safe environment in and from which to meet other basic needs, and to strengthen and maintain family and social relationships. Insecurity of housing is known to place families under duress, disrupting their relationships and compromising parental capability. Lack of basic services and household items such as cooking facilities and bathrooms can inhibit family functioning and directly impact on the care of a child. Amenity of housing for any family member with a disability or special access needs requires attention. Question Do you like or dislike your present home? Describe the arrangements for sleeping, cooking, heating etc? Who takes responsibility for cleaning the house? How long to you expect to be living in current home? Probe Four words to describe it? How does it compare with others in the neighbourhood, previous homes? Home of your childhood? Are these adequate for your family needs? What would help? How are jobs shared? Does this cause problems? Where would you rather be? How often have you moved in last 5 years? 34 derived from information provided on Department for Victorian Communities website 53

54 Employment Employment refers to the impact that employment, unemployment and underemployment of adult household members has on a children and their families life experiences. Long term unemployment or underemployment can place a family under duress due to inadequate income, it can lead to a parent feeling undervalued or excluded from mainstream society, as well as inhibit the development of a child s positive social and economic participation in the community. Relevant information in relation to a child s wellbeing includes who is working in the household and their patterns of employment. Employment or re-training goals may conflict with parental responsibilities when child care is not accessible or affordable, contributing to parental stress. Volunteer work can enhance a parent s feeling of self-worth, develop their employable skills and also make a positive contribution to the community. Question Probe Are you working at the moment? Do you like the job why? Would you like to change it? How many jobs since leaving school? How would you rate your current employer? How would they describe you as a worker? When did you last work? What was the job? Why did you leave? How long had you been there? Do you think you will find another job? If so when? What are the best and worst aspects of not working? Income Income refers to the adequacy and utilisation of the family income to meet the range of a family s needs and its direct impact on a child as well as on their parent s general wellbeing. Situations that place further financial stress on families may be critically important. For example, the loss of income due to illness, life crises or the birth of a new baby. Families may need to seek and obtain supplementary resources to assist in times of economic difficulty from local services or networks. Assistance with budgeting skills, managing bills and debts and financial planning may be required to address financial stresses that are ongoing. 54

55 Question What are your sources of income as a family? How do you manage your finances? Probe How is money allocated? Who decides what to spend money on? What things are given priority? Do you think you manage your finances well or not so well? What would you like to do better? Do you have any debts? Are you currently under pressure to pay any outstanding bills or debts? What effect do your financial problems have on the family generally? What ways have you used in the past to try and sort out your financial problems? What realistically would help you sort out your financial problems? Who could help with this? Family s community participation A family s participation within their local neighbourhood and wider community relates to social inclusion and the feeling of acceptance in the community of all family members. A family s participation in their community provides children and families with access to resources -both tangible and intangible - that can support families during times of crises or stress, enrich their lives; participation which in turn builds a stronger community. Socially excluded families may experience discrimination or harassment, to the detriment of their children. Socially isolated families are less likely to use community resources and receive the support they may need in raising their children, thus increasing a child s vulnerability. Community participation may be evident in a family s involvement in local organisations and activities, the extent to which a family has local friends and social networks, and by the importance the family places on these. 35 Community resources Community resources refers to the nature of the facilities and services (universal and other) in a neighbourhood and surrounding community including easy and reliable access to primary health care, child care, preschools and schools, libraries, parks, sporting and recreational facilities, shopping centres and entertainment centres. They also include the formal and informal support networks. All of these assist a family to care for a child. 35 ibid. 55

56 Indicators of the strength of a community include how safe people feel walking in their streets and whether a family know someone in their neighbourhood they feel they can turn to in a crisis. 36 Some families may need to access additional specialist services such as mental health services and other specialist medical facilities, family counselling, drug and alcohol treatment services etc. The degree to which community resources engage a family will be influenced by their cultural appropriateness, perceived relevance and interest, inclusiveness of diversity, accessibility, affordability and quality. Question Who in your family do you see/phone/text: Once a month More than once a month Never Who are your neighbours? Who are your friends? What professional agencies are you in contact with? Do you take part in any community or leisure activities? If so how often Probe Describe the nature of these contacts Is there anybody you wish you had more/less contact with? Do any of these people think you ve got a problem? What do they think it is? How do they think it could be solved? If you had a problem who would you go to first? Second? Third? How often do you have contact Describe the nature of this contact Is there a professional person you wish you had more/less contact with? Is there an agency which was important to you that you have lost contact with? Is there an agency that thinks you have a problem? What do they think your problem is? How do they think it could be solved? Are there activities you would like to do more often? Is there something you ve always wanted to try? 36 ibid. 56

57 Analysis and Assessment As information is gathered an integrated picture of the child in all their dimensions and relationship categories starts to emerge. The task is then to critically analyse and synthesise this information in order to make a professional judgement. Practitioners should be aware that once again this is a recursive process as new information is gathered new analysis and assessments are made. Practitioners need to be asking continuously: What does this tell me about the child s safety, stability and development? On what observations and information am I basing this conclusion? On the basis of this, what do we need to do and by when? To ensure that all the information gathered is considered and contributes to effective assessment, planning and action family services and child protection practitioners can organise the information and consider its implications for the child and their family under the following headings: Analysis of harm to the child What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child Future risks to the child What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Sustainability of protective factors What are some of the strengths and supports that may mitigate against future risk to this child and how sustainable are they? Child needs What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? And finally and most importantly: Promoting the child s best interests What is our plan of action from here? For the Care Team, given the focus on the child in out of home care, the following headings are used: Child s developmental needs - What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? Child s stability needs How can positive connections to family and community be promoted and maintained Childs safety needs How will we keep this child safe now and into the future Determining the child s needs incudes considering: 57

58 How to redress the impact of harm Build resilience Support statutory case planning directions and Promoting the child s best interests The following section of the model is of most relevance to Family Services and Child Protection Practitioners as it focuses predominantly on the child prior to placement within the context of their family. However in the interests of building strong collaborative relationships, based on shared understanding of each others roles and responsibilities, it is suggested that placement service practitioners and other members of the care team as appropriate also review this section. Specific content for the care team continues on page 69. The suggested questions are designed as prompts for the analysis and Assessment of the information gathered. They are questions that practitioners can ask themselves as they review what they know about the child and their family/carers both past and present and prepare for best interests planning and action. Additionally supervisors can use these questions as they guide, develop and support the work of their staff. They are by no means exhaustive rather they are a sample designed to kick start the naturally flowing professional judgement processes of practitioners and their supervisors. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services It is important that practitioners are aware of the problems associated with professional judgement. These problems include a lack of recognition of known risk factors, the predominance of verbal evidence over written, a focus on the immediate present or latest episode rather than considering significant historical information, and a failure to revise initial assessments in the light of new information (Munro 1999) What helps? Using multiple sources of information Collaborative practice Recognising the importance of parental acceptance of responsibility and readiness to change Worker awareness of the impact of their own judgement on appropriate parenting standards Access to good developmental case work supervision (not just administrative supervision, ensuring compliance with legal and procedural rules) and training Using research findings in practice Recognising the impact of cultural diversity on parenting practices Recognising the need to tailor parenting capacity assessments to take into account the individual circumstances of the child and parent/carer 58

59 Analysis of harm to a child What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child? Pattern and history identify any cumulative harm to the child The CYFA creates a strong authorising environment to recognise and address cumulative harm as an integral factor, when considering a child s safety and development. Section 10 outlines the Best Interests Principles and includes 10 (3) which states in determining what decision to make or action to take in the best interests of the child, consideration must be given to the following, where they are relevant to the decision or action Subsection (e): the effects of cumulative patterns of harm on a child s safety and development The grounds for statutory intervention when a child is in need of protection now include accumulated harm and focus on the impact of the harm on the child s development. Section 162 (2) determines that: the harm may be constituted by a single act, omission or circumstance or accumulate through a series of continuing acts, omissions or circumstances. In addition to the content and discussion below, practitioners should refer to Cumulative Harm: A conceptual overview, Best Interests Series. Essentially cumulative harm means that practitioners should view any harm incident in the context of what has occurred previously both to the child in question and to other children within the family. A current incident of harm when viewed discretely may suggest a low level of risk. However, if we look again and place the current incident together with the history of previous reports of concern about the particular child and other children within the family what we in fact have is a multitude of low level risk factors that may demonstrate significant cumulative harm. For this reason it is important that when a new report or referral is received by Family Services or Child Protection, the fact that a previous report was not substantiated or did not result in on going family services involvement, should not influence the decision making on the current report. 59

60 The new information contained in the current referral/report needs to be carefully integrated into the history contained in previous intakes and assessments. Practitioners need to be particularly attuned to the patterns and history of abuse for other children of the parent/carer when considering reports on very young infants. There may not be a history for the child in question, given their young age, however the parents/carers may have an extremely significant history in regard to other children that should be taken into account. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services In particular the parent/carers response to protective and family service interventions and capacity to make changes is of crucial importance. An inability to make changes in relation to concerns about a previous child or previous incident does not bode well for the safety, stability and development of the child into the future or of a new infant. All practitioners need to be aware that past behaviour is a strong indicator for future behaviour. This is particularly significant if a family has failed to engage and work effectively with child and family agencies in the past and continues to hold the same beliefs about their responsibility for any harm to their children. Overall, the historical track record of parenting and personal behaviour continues to be the best predictor of future behaviour (Hildyard and Wolfe, 2002) For placement services this consideration needs to be applied to potential or current carers. Previous concerns and carers responses are extremely important considerations when considering placement of a child. The following questions will assist family service and child protection practitioners and supervisors to analyse and form a Assessment about the pattern and history of harm. They are also useful for placement service practitioners in their consideration of quality of care concerns or abuse in care allegations. 60

61 What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child Question Probe/Prompt What other concerning incidents have How many? How long ago? occurred for this child or any other Escalating pattern? children cared for by these parents? Gender issues more incidents for boys/girls? Have the parents/carers shown in the past an ability to understand and give priority to either this child or another child s needs? What services have been involved in the past and how did the parents/carers respond to service involvement? What have they said and most importantly done in the past that demonstrates this? Response to Child Protection? Response to Child and Family Services? D&A? Mental Health? What information is available from previous workers? Were parents/carers able to make and sustain changes - give examples How were the child s needs met by service involvement? Were there improvements in any of 7 life areas? What was parent/carer response to this? Impact of harm on the child s stability and development Family Services and Child protection practitioners need to consider all the information gathered and determine how this is harming the child s stability, in terms of connection to family and community, and how the child s development is being harmed, in terms of the seven life areas. This will mean practitioners not just examining the information about the incident of harm but extending their analysis to take into account the information they have both from their direct observations and from universal and specialist services about the child s development and connectedness to friends, family and culture. The following questions will assist practitioners to analyse and form a assessment about the impact of harm: What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child Question Probe/Prompt How have the actions of parents/carers Able to attend same school/ Child care affected the child s relationships and centre? See friends? Extended family? connectedness? Do the parents/carers accept and How do you know this? understand the importance of connectedness and stability for the child? Describe the child s development across the seven life areas strengths and areas of concern On what are you basing this give specific examples 61

62 Severity of impact A view now needs to be formed of the severity of the harm to the child s stability and development and whether this harm is immediate or associated with a cumulative pattern. The severity of impact will guide practitioners in determining whether Chid First, other family service agency, other support agency or a child protection response is required. Family Services and Child Protection Practitioners should refer to the Child Protection Child FIRST Agreement on Local Procedures and Requirements, Child Protection Practice Manual and other local agreements between family services and other community service agencies for specific procedural guidance regarding referral. In terms of referral to Child First or Child Protection in general: A referral to child FIRST should be considered if, after consideration of the available information you are on balance more inclined to form a view that: The concerns currently have a low to moderate impact on the child and the immediate safety of the child is not compromised. A report to Child protection should be considered if, after consideration of the available information you are, on balance, more inclined toward a view that: The concerns currently have a serious impact on the child s immediate safety or development, or the concerns are persistent, entrenched and likely to have a serious impact on the child s development. The analysis of severity of impact will assist child protection practitioners in determining whether or not substantiated child abuse within the context of s162 CYFA has occurred and assigning the appropriate future risk level. What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child Question Probe/Prompt Given the child s age and stage of On what are you basing this? Observed development How severe is the examples? Information from others? harm? Is the harm immediate or cumulative What is the child saying? How do they see the abuse? What meaning have they attributed to the abuse and how does this impact on the child? 62

63 Vulnerability of Child Vulnerability can be defined as those innate characteristics of the child, or those imposed by their family circle and wider community which might threaten or challenge healthy development. 37 Family Services and Child protection practitioners need to pay particular attention to the vulnerability of infants and seek the advice and guidance of regional specialist infant workers, community based child protection workers and maternal and child health workers. Practitioners must consider the age, stage of development and gender of the particular child or young person and build a picture that considers the factors that increase or decrease the child s vulnerability. The following risk factors are indicators of vulnerability: Infants/children Young People Child under two years No stable day program Evidence of physical abuse/shaking No effective guardian/homeless Born drug dependent Mental health issues Difficulty feeding, sleeping, cries a lot Recent significant, behaviour change Currently underweight Violent behaviour Premature/Difficult birth Offending Chronically ill Sexual offending Developmental or other disability Unsafe or age-inappropriate sexual History of multiple separation/placements activity, including prostitution Extreme behavioural disturbance Substance abuse problems Child invisibility/extreme isolation History of self-harm/suicide (talk or attempt) Running away What has happened in the past and more recently and what have been the impacts on the child Question Probe/Prompt Are any known indicators of Identify them vulnerability present? Include practitioners own feelings about child and comments of other involved professionals hard to like? Difficult to manage? Does the child s gender contribute to their vulnerability? 37 Daniel, B.; Wassell, S. and Gilligan, R. (1999) Child development for Child Care and Protection Workers 63

64 Future Risks to the Child What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Having reviewed the information gathered to determine what has happened and what impact this has had on the child s stability and development, family services and child protection practitioners now need to analyse the information gathered and make an assessment about what risks the future holds for the child. Vulnerability of Child The question for practitioners here is does the child s vulnerability continue into the future? For example, does the child s young age mean that they continue well into the future to be dependent on their primary care giver for all their basic physical and emotional needs? Will the child s disability or on going behavioural difficulties continue to contribute to their vulnerability? Is the child about to move into a new developmental phase that might present more challenges for their parent/carer and thus contribute to their vulnerability? Examples of this might be babies moving into toddler phase requiring more supervision from their carers or older children moving into adolescence. What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Question On going vulnerability? Parent/Carer Responses? Additional supports now available to family that reduce vulnerability? Probe/Prompt Disability? Behaviour Difficulties? Continuing young age? Moving into new more challenging developmental phase? Learnt new strategies to deal with behaviour that have been observed a number of times in a number of contexts? Describe supports and what they are actually doing to diminish child s vulnerability Pattern and History Practitioners need to consider whether the information gathered suggests an entrenched pattern of harmful behaviours on the part of the child s parent/carer that have endured over time, despite the provision of services and supports. 64

65 What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Question How long has the concerning behaviour been occurring and has the provision of supports/services in the past had an impact? Probe/Prompt What examples of changes in behaviour and demonstrated impacts on child? Were changes sustained? Did they continue once support was reduced in intensity? Impact of factors diminishing parenting capacity Family services and child protection practitioners should consider all the factors noted in the information gathering phase that diminish a parent s capacity and analyse how they are likely to impact on the child into the future. Evidence of parent/carer changes in behaviour that have sustained over the assessment period, maybe positive indications. Practitioners should use Prochaska and DiClemente s (1984) Motivation to Change framework 38 to assess parent/carer motivation to change at a current point in time and decide the implications of this for the child. Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Practitioners need to be acutely aware that the developmental stage and needs of children, especially younger children, do not allow them to wait indefinitely for their parents to make the level of change necessary to ensure children s safety, stability and development. What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Question What factors are currently present which diminish parenting capacity? What are parents/carers doing to address these factors? Probe/Prompt Give examples of observed behaviours Have parent/carers prioritised child s needs in the face of these factors? Engaged and responsive to specialist service interventions? What do services say about parenting capacity and complicating factors? Evidence of changes in behaviour, priortising needs of child? 38 Prochaska and Di Clemente, The transtheoretical approach: crossing traditional boundaries of therapy, Homewood Illinois,

66 Impacts of Family Composition and dynamics Here practitioners should consider all that they know about the family composition and dynamics and how this is likely to impact on the child s development into the future. Are family members stuck in habitually, conflictual patterns of interacting and behaving or is there evidence of parent/carer change? What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Question Probe/Prompt How are family dynamics currently Have their been changes, describe in impacting on child/n? terms of impacts on the child/n Have changes been sustained? Any slip backs? Are family members willing and able to On what are you basing this? work on this? Impacts of the social, community and economic environment Practitioners now need to consider what changes, if any have occurred in the broader environment surrounding the child and their family. It is extremely important to be aware that referral alone does not indicate a reduction of the likelihood of risk. Practitioners will need to consider levels of engagement, frequency and duration of parent/carer participation with services and observed positive impacts on the child. What is likely to happen in the future given what we know about this child and their family circumstances? Question Probe/Prompt Is the family more or less isolated and Who is child seeing? reflect on on what are you basing this? number and pattern of contacts regular, sustained? Who are the parents/carers seeing? What do services say about level of engagement and responsiveness to interventions? What are the observed impacts on the child? Are the signs positive? Appointments kept, parents talking about concerns? Accepting responsibility? Believe things must change? Describe the child then and now? Examples of parents handling things differently Likelihood of future harm to a child s stability and development This requires practitioners to pull together all the factors discussed and consider What is the likelihood or probability of future harm to the child s stability and development? Three key factors should be considered: 66

67 Key Issues for Consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services 1. The first and most important dimension of parent/carer characteristic should be consideration of prior pattern with respect to the treatment of children. The number of maltreatment events they have initiated, their severity and recency are the most basic guides to future behaviour. In the absence of effective intervention, these behaviour patterns would be expected to continue into the future. 2. If an individual believes that they are correct in their opinions about children, they will attempt to continue their behaviour so long as they are not prevented from doing so. 3. The third dimension concerns the presence of complicating factors, most significantly substance abuse, mental illness, violent behaviour and social isolation. The relevance of complicating factors is the extent to which they, singularly or in combination, diminish the capacity to provide sufficient care and protection to the child or young person. 39 Additional considerations for practitioners when reaching conclusions about likelihood of future harm are: When looking at pattern and severity, practitioners need to determine whether incidents of concern are escalating, decreasing or constant. When looking at parent/carers beliefs practitioners need to be aware that changing people s beliefs and resulting actions is not a simple or speedy process. In families where there has been an extensive pattern of harm that re-occurs frequently across a range of contexts and possibly inter-generational, practitioners should be very wary of protestations that the caregivers have changed their beliefs and attitudes because family services or child protection has become involved. To reach a conclusion that a child is likely to be safe from future harm practitioners need to see demonstrated actions in a range of contexts, over a significant period of time. Sustainability of Protective factors Acting in children s best interest involves ensuring that our risk assessment is balanced and that we have considered the potential for safety as well as the potential for harm. Even in the worst case scenarios there will be some strengths and a focus on strengths and protection does not equate with minimising harms. 39 Reid et al

68 It is not an either or equation but a balanced weighting of relevant information. In determining the sustainability of protective factors practitioners should consider: Parent(s)/Carer (s) strengths including their attitudes and capabilities In working with families it is important to identify as many strengths as possible. This helps the family understand that risk assessment is a balanced process, assists with engagement and identifies the resources within the family that could meet the child s stability and development needs. Practitioners need to be aware that strength factors do not necessarily equate with safety from harm and ensuring stability and development for the child. However, they can be affirming building blocks that provide a positive basis to the practitioner/client relationship and a starting point for change and protection. Practitioners should refer to the additional resource Likelihood of Harm Specialist Practice Guide which includes a comprehensive list of safety factors that decrease the risks of harm and promote stability and development. Other areas for considering potential protective factors are: Support form family, extended family alternative carers and significant others Is the effectiveness of support demonstrated enduring, well established, able to withstand conflict? Access to and engagement with formal services and informal networks of support As noted above referral alone does not constitute a sustainable protective factor. Practitioners should be able to provide examples that indicate a parent/carers willingness to accept help and engage with services such as: The parent/carer making and attending an appointment at an appropriate service The worker at the service reporting strategies the parent/carer will be employing as an outcome of attending the service Practitioner observation that the parent/carer used a new strategy during a home visit or access contact. Cultural support Practitioners should be aware of the protection cultural integration and connection can offer children and families: 68

69 The power of culture as a protector, integrator, and security system is evident in studies where the degree of cultural assimilation is a key variable In these studies, individuals who were strongly identified with cultural values benefited from increased social support; culture buffered them from the impact and even the occurrence of traumatic events. For socially less integrated individuals, stress has a strong negative impact on health and psychopathology (DeVries, 1996, P.400 quoted in Best Interests Principles: A Conceptual Overview p.18) Information gathered about connection to culture and community will assist practitioners to determine the level of cultural protection offered to the child and family. What are some of the strengths and supports that may mitigate against future risk to this child and how sustainable are they? Question What strengths and capabilities to the parents/carers demonstrate? What support is available from family, neighbours, friends, significant others? What support is available from services formal and informal and how actively is the child/family engaged? What cultural support is available to the child Probe/Prompt Have they consistently demonstrated that they accept responsibility for what has happened? Have they shown an ability to put child/n needs before own? What have they done that shows this? Are they addressing the issues that impact on their ability to parent? To they consistently describe and talk to the child with warmth and empathy? To they consistently demonstrate their care and concern for the child via actions? Do they take up this support and use it appropriately at times of need? Give examples Can the support withstand conflict? How do you know this (past examples) Will it continue to be offered to the child in the face of conflict with parents? Have parents/carers regularly initiated contact? What do involved workers say about the work they are undertaking and the parents/carer/ child s response? What observations do you have of the parents attempting to use new strategies as suggested by services? ACSSAS, CALD agency involvement? Cultural Community Groups, Church, language groups Parent/child involvement? Friends from same culture? Cultural support plan? 69

70 Demonstrated signs of safety Using the suggested questions Practitioners should now be able to summarise the demonstrated signs of safety that offer future protection to the child. Sustainable protective factors are observed by practitioners as demonstrated actions and behaviours in a range of contexts, over a significant period of time. Child s Needs Having carefully analysed the safety elements and what this means in terms of harm to the child, practitioners now complete their analysis and assessment by asking: What does this child need now and in the future in relation to their safety, stability and development taking into account their age, stage of life and gender? Practitioners should methodically work through the seven life areas, review the information gathered, and consider and identify the child s needs in each area. In considering the child s development needs, practitioners should specifically ask: What does this child need now and in the future to protect and promote their cultural identify and connection? Family services and child protection practitioners, review of the child s needs should conclude with a consideration of: What is the extent to which these needs: Are being met now? Are likely to be met in the future? 70

71 What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? Question Probe/Prompt How will the child s stability needs be Existing connections to primary met? caregiver, family/siblings school/childcare/friends; community, culture Does the child have them? If not how will this be addressed now and into the future? Any gender specific stability needs? Stage of development specific? What development needs does the child have? What cultural identity and connection needs does this child have? Need for positive male/female role model? Adolescent need mentor? Child at gender identification stage of development Female child who has experienced sexual abuse? Review 7 life areas identify needs now and into the future Review cultural supports identify needs now and into future Through this process practitioners are identifying the key areas that will move forward into the planning and action phases. The identified needs of the child in terms of safety, stability and development will form the basis of the best interests planning. For family services this will involve the development of a child and family action plan. For child protection the development of a best interests plan. Both plans will contain the actions for implementation, goals and objectives of interventions, roles and responsibilities and timelines for length of intervention, monitoring and review. 71

72 Care Team Analysis and Assessment (Care team includes carer, placement agency workers, protective workers and birth parents/other adults of significance to child) The Care team led by the placement agency caseworker should review all the information gathered in the key areas. This will be a collaborative process involving other care team members such as child protection practitioners, birth parents and direct carers who will be the main source of information on the child across the safety, stability and development domains prior to placement. Key issues for consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services Sharing Information All those involved in providing child protection, placement services and family services have a responsibility to share information about vulnerable children with others who may be able to provide additional help that will contribute to the child s wellbeing. Formal reviews of cases where there are poor outcomes for children and young people involved with the child and family service system frequently identify that a major contributing factor in the poor outcome was the failure of those involved to effectively share information with each other. CYFA now makes it easier for practitioners in family services, placement services and child protection to share relevant information about vulnerable children s safety, stability and development in order to promote the child s best interests. Practitioners and carers can share information with each other, without the consent of the child or their parents providing they are acting in good faith to promote the child s best interests. Practitioners should also refer to Sharing Information Guidance and Child Protection Practice Manual. The Care team led by the placement agency case worker should specifically review the information they have gathered in the relationship category domains: Corporate parent/care team capability and functioning Carer /Residential care household composition and dynamics Community participation, social and economic environment Using the resources provided at pages 35 to 53 Analysis and Assessment will involve the care team specifically turning their focus towards: Child s developmental needs - What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? 72

73 Child s stability needs How can positive connections to family and community be promoted and maintained Childs safety needs How will we keep this child safe now and into the future The care team should also consider: How to redress the impact of harm Build resilience Support statutory case planning directions and Promoting the child s best interests The suggested questions in each section are designed as prompts for the analysis and Assessment of the information gathered. They are questions that practitioners can ask themselves as they review what they know about the child, their carer and family situation both past and present and prepare for best interests planning and action. Additionally supervisors can use these questions as they guide, develop and support the work of their staff. They are by no means exhaustive rather they are a sample designed to kick start the naturally flowing professional judgement processes of practitioners and their supervisors. Practitioners should be aware that once again this is a recursive process as new information is gathered new analysis and assessments are made. Practitioners need to be asking continuously: What does this tell me about the child s safety, stability and development? On what observations and information am I basing this conclusion? On the basis of this, what do we need to do and by when? 73

74 Child s development needs What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? Using the LAC framework and recording resources the care team will apply the lens of age, stage of life gender and culture and review the information they have in relation to the child s Health Emotional and behavioural development, Education/learning Family and social relationships Identity including Aboriginal or other cultural identity Social presentation Self-care skills This will inform the initial care and placement plan, a component of the child s overall best interests plan. What does this child need now and into the future and how will these needs be met? Question Probe/Prompt What development needs does the child Review 7 life areas identify needs have? now and into the future. Contact CP/school to establish IEP and Support Group What cultural identity and connection needs does this child have? Review cultural supports identify needs now and into future, Cultural Support Plan process contact CP/ACSASS What cultural groups are available in the community of the placement? Can we link in? Is carer able to offer appropriate cultural support if not how can we ensure it is provided? Child s stability needs Once again applying the lens of age, stage, gender and culture the care team should consider: How can positive connections to primary caregiver, family/siblings, school/child care/friends, community and culture be maintained or established now and in the future? 74

75 How can positive connections to family and community be promoted and maintained Question How will the child s stability needs be met while they are in this placement? Are their any stage of development or gender specific stability needs? How are we going to facilitate contact with child s parents in a way that promotes the child best interests? Who in the extended family should we be encouraging contact with? Who are the child s friends? Probe/Prompt Existing connections to primary caregiver, family/siblings school/childcare/friends; community, culture Does the child have them? If not how can we develop some; If yes how can they be maintained while in placement Child s need for positive role models Adolescent needing mentor? Child who has experienced sexual abuse? Contact arrangements Who; Where; What will be the focus? How can we assist to make it a positive experience for child and parents? If negative impacts on the child during access what is our plan? How can we do this? Do we know if there is anybody we should not be encouraging access with? If so what is our plan if they make contact? How can we encourage contact and development of friendships? Can the child join a sports/community group? Child safety needs How will this child best be protected form harm associated with ongoing vulnerabilities and risk factors now and into the future How will we keep this child safe now and into the future Question Are we fully aware of the childs harm and safety issues? What are the child s vulnerabilities to harm given her past experiences, age, gender, culture and stage of development? Probe/Prompt If not what can we do about this? How can we manage these within the placement? What support will carer and child need? 75

76 Redressing the impact of harm How will this child be assisted to redress the specific impacts of trauma, neglect and/or attachment difficulties? For example: Therapeutic relationship with primary caregiver (including provision of consultancy/carer support) Other therapeutic intervention What can we do to assist this child to redress the specific impacts of trauma, neglect and/or attachment difficulties? Question Probe/Prompt Does the care team fully understand What resources will help the care team? the child s experience? Reading; Secondary consultation; training? Can we develop a plan for this? What direct work can be undertaken with this child? Building Resilience Referral to specialist service? Does the carer need to attend therapy with the child? What are some specific actions that the carer can take to support the child? What are some specific actions placement service practitioner can take How will we collaborate and share information and make sure we are all working in child s best interests? How will this child s resilience best be enhanced? For example: Development of child s personal characteristics: talents and competencies, hope and meaning, self-efficacy, flexibility Provision of good life conditions and experiences ( ordinary magic of everyday life, good parenting) 76

77 How can we enhance the resilience of this child? Question Probe/Prompt Does the care team a have complete How can this be addressed? picture of the child including their What can workers/carers do to identify strengths, talents, hopes and dreams child s strengths and talents? or just a list of problematic behaviours? What opportunities can we provide for this child to use and develop their talents and strengths? What opportunities can we provide to assist this child to realise some of her hopes and dreams? Are we providing a range of good life conditions and experiences? Does the carer believe in the child abilities and have high expectations for the child s future? What are they? Can we list a range of everyday experiences that the child is being provided with? How can we assist the carer to do more of this? Additional supports? How do they show this? What are they currently doing? What else could they do? Support statutory best interests planning directions How can the care team best support the child during transition: family reunification, placement change and stability planning processes? How can we support best interests planning processes? Question Probe/Prompt Are we fully aware of the best interest If not how can we resolve this? plan for this child and the worker/carer roles within this? What information do we have that will Carer observations? assist best interests planning? Access observations? Voice of the child direct conversations with the child about their needs and wishes Discussion and contact with family members? How is this information best presented? If it differs from known direction of plan how shall we manage this process collaboratively? 77

78 Promoting the child s best interests The final stage of analysis and assessment for family services, child protection and the care team involves asking the crucial question: How can we promote the best interests of this child in all our planning and actions from here? This involves the crucial process of pulling together all the components of the holistic best interests framework, rigorously applying the lens of age, stage, culture and gender and determining the required actions to meet the child s safety, stability and development needs. The evidence base and rationale for actions should be clearly apparent and naturally flow from the discussion of the child s circumstances, risks and needs. For Family Services and Child Protection this will involve considering: What are the risks and need of this child? What is the rationale for weighting these risks and needs, taking account of: The Child s age, stage, culture and gender The impact of past harm on the child Whether the child is currently protected from harm The probability of future harm (based on past patterns and history and cumulative harm to the child What is your goal in working toward the best interests of this child? What has already been tried and what was the result? Is the parent/carer willing to prioritise the child s needs? Can this caregiver provide what this child needs now and into the future? What are the views of the child, parents, family, significant others and other professionals? Consideration of all these areas will then enable Family Services and Child protection practitioners to determine and identify the most effective approach to meeting the child s current and future safety, stability and development needs, taking into account the available resources. 78

79 The Care Team should apply a similar process involving determining: What are the goals (immediate, medium and longer term) for the good care of this child while in placement? What are the views of the child? What are the views of all the care team members about how these goals will best be met and by whom? What has already been tried and what was the result? What advice and input is available from professionals and the support network? Consideration of all these areas will enable the care team to determine and identify: What will be the most effective approach to meeting the child s current and future safety, stability and development needs, taking into account the available resources. 79

80 Decisions/Agreements for action Finally the Best Interests Case Practice Model involves decision making and actions. The best interests of the child is the paramount consideration in determining all decisions and actions. Practitioners should carefully review the information they have gathered, analysed and assessed in order to determine the decisions that need to be made and the actions that need to be taken to promote the child s best interests. For family services and child protection key areas of decision making will include: Determining whether there are concerns for the child s wellbeing Determining whether past harm or risk of harm has been substantiated Determining whether the child is in need of protection What actions will lead to the best interests of this child being most effectively promoted? What forms of assistance do the child and family need? Does the child need alternate care? What is the Best Interests Plan including what needs to be done, by whom and by when? For placement service practitioners decisions and agreements for action will primarily focus on: What is the care and placement plan? o How will needs be responded to by whom? By when? o What is the role of birth parents? with what expected outcomes? When will the care and placement plan be reviewed? 80

81 Key issues for consideration by Family Services, Child Protection and Placement Services All practitioners should review the following to ensure the rigorous application of best interests principles and professional judgement: Have the decisions made addressed the child s safety, stability and development needs? Are the decisions relevant to the child s age, stage, culture and gender? Is the rationale and supporting evidence for decisions clearly documented? Have the decisions and planned actions been discussed with other involved professionals? Are you confident they understand their roles and responsibilities? Has the plan been discussed with the child s family? Are you confident they clearly understand the basis for your decisions and actions? Has new and emerging information been included in the analysis, assessment and decision making? Have patterns, history and the impact of cumulative harm been included in the analysis, assessment and decision making? Do the child and family clearly understand their right to have the decisions reviewed or appealed? Finally it is often useful for practitioners to consider their own peers reviewing their decisions and actions and asking: Would my peers understand the basis for my decisions and actions? Would they consider my decisions and actions reasonable and in the child s best interests, given the circumstances? 81