7.1 Guiding Principals for Child Protection and Child FIRST/Family Services
The C.Y.F.A 2005 broadened Child Protection’s mandate to receive reports about significant wellbeing concerns for children and for the facilitation of services to promote a child’s development and wellbeing rather than a narrow focus on investigation of abuse, neglect and significant harm.
The C.Y.F.A 2005 also mandates Child FIRST/Family Services to receive Referrals about children and young people where there are significant concerns for their wellbeing.  CYFA 2005 also requires Family Services to focus on the child’s best interests as the priority driver for any intervention by family services agencies.  
Given the overlapping mandates and the need for clarity of role and service delivery with respect to Child Protection and Family Services, the following principles are in place to assist in this regard.
  • The child’s best interest is the priority driver for any intervention by Child Protection and/or Child FIRST/Family Services.
  • Child FIRST/Family Services and Child Protection recognise that risk assessment and a child’s needs guides the intervention and allocation of any given case rather then service capacity.
 
  • Child Protection maintains responsibility for receiving Reports of significant harm to children including abuse, serious neglect and cumulative harm and investigating such Reports as required based on risk assessment and Best Interests principals.  Family Services/Child FIRST are not responsible for responding to Referrals relating to the significant physical and/or sexual harm of children and young people. 
  • Child FIRST/Family Services are committed to providing a comprehensive and community based response to vulnerable children/young people and families where there are issues of high risk and high need and where these circumstances can be appropriately managed in a voluntary manner without Child Protection involvement.
  • The role of Child Protection and Child FIRST/Family Services should compliment each other within an overall integrated change strategy for the family to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable children.
  • Child FIRST/Family Services are committed to actively and assertively engaging with families to address the risk and needs issues in an “early intervention” framework and where appropriate redirect children/young people from the Child Protection system.  Correspondingly, Child FIRST/Family Services will also actively direct children/young people to the Child Protection system as required.    
  • Child FIRST/Family Services and Child Protection should where reasonable seek to be transparent about their involvement with families dependent on the child’s best interests.  This transparency includes providing the family with information about the services they are receiving, the assessment of severity of likely consequences for the child, any consultations with the Community Based Child Protection Worker and the possibility of reporting back to mainstream Child Protection.
  • When making referrals to Child First, Child Protection will consider the need to enhance the likelihood of a successful linkage with Child First/Family Services and support the community based intervention with the family where appropriate.
  • Child Protection will make sufficiently detailed assessments using the Best Interest Assessment and Case Practice Framework to determine: 
  • The matter does not require Child Protection involvement.
  • The matter is appropriate for Child FIRST/Family Services
  • What community service is required and for what purpose.
  • Child FIRST/Family Services will make sufficiently detailed assessments using the Best Interest Assessment and Case Practice Framework to determine: 
  • The matter does not require Child Protection involvement.
  • The matter is appropriate matter for Child FIRST/Family Services
  • What community service is required and for what purpose.
  • The family consents to information sharing and service.
 
  • Child Protection and Child FIRST/Family Services will share the necessary and appropriate information to enable a comprehensive assessment and community based intervention with the family.
  • Across the whole integrated N.C.V.F.S Alliance - Child Protection, Child FIRST and partner Family Services agencies - the service aims to expedite the family as swiftly and smoothly as possible to the agency and worker who will provide the service (ie Child FIRST intake processes kept to the minimum required).
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