The following
principles will apply to key referrer groups:
-
Child Protection
Services - referrals to Integrated Family Services will be
directed to Child FIRST for assessment and allocation.
-
Other/ professional
referrers (including schools, hospitals, community and
health sectors, police etc) - will be encouraged to contact Child
FIRST through providing information and advice, acknowledging
transitional arrangements may require continuing some pre-existing
referral pathways to local Family Services providers.
-
Self/family referrers -
Family Services providers will retain a capacity to accept and
assess local referrals and to present cases to weekly allocations
meetings.
All third party
referrals, including all Child Protection referrals should be
directed to Child FIRST.
Exemptions may
include:
-
Internal referrals
-
Re-referrals within three months of
closure
-
Advocate assisted referrals (where a
third party requests the local agency to help a family then and
there, because the family is at their service, or they are with a
family member at that time, and engagement is a critical issue). In
these situations the family is support seeking.
-
Relationship dependent referrals
(where an existing relationship with a particular agency or
professional is such that the agency/professional is using their
relationship as a basis for the referral). This includes
relationships fostered through local network outreach projects
consistent with Family Support Innovation Project objectives; and
reciprocal inter- agency agreements.
Other 'exceptions' that arise are to be brought
Operations Group, who will make a recommendation to the Alliance
about endorsement of those exceptions.
All referrals must be subject to catchment
prioritisation and demand/capacity analysis regardless of point of
contact.
