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Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability ServicesChild Safety Services

  • Introduction
    • Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
    • Relevant legislation
    • Other key documents
    • Child safety service centres: staff roles and responsibilities
    • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
    • Respecting diversity
    • Delegations
    • Accountability for children in Queensland
    • Resources
  • Framework for practice and maps
    • Practice maps
  • Chapters
    • 1. Intake
    • 2. Investigation and assessment
    • 3. Ongoing intervention
    • 4. Case planning
    • 5. Children in care
    • 6. Intervention with parental agreement
    • 7. Support service cases
    • 8. Regulation of care
    • 9. Standards of care
    • 10. General
  • Practice papers
  • Resources
    • Forms and templates
    • Departmental Resources
    • External
  • Structured Decision Making
    • What is Structured Decision Making?
    • Background to implementation
    • How do SDM assessments fit with professional judgement?
    • SDM assessments
    • Case reading
    • SDM resources
  • Quicklinks
    • Acronyms
    • Glossary of terms
    • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
    • Previous versions
    • Printable version
    • Updates

Child Safety Practice Manual

  • Introduction
    • Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
    • Relevant legislation
    • Other key documents
    • Child safety service centres: staff roles and responsibilities
    • Framework for the participation of children and young people in decision-making
    • Respecting diversity
    • Delegations
    • Accountability for children in Queensland
    • Resources
  • Framework for practice and maps
    • Practice maps
      • Child protection phases
      • Intake phase
      • Investigation and assessment phase
      • Ongoing intervention - Support service case
      • Ongoing intervention - Child in need of protection
      • Standards of care reviews and harm reports
  • Chapters
    • 1. Intake
      • Key steps
        • 1. Gather information about the child and family
        • 2. Assess the information and decide the response
        • 3. Record the outcome and provide to the relevant CSSC or RIS
        • 4. Provide relevant intake information to external agencies
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 2. Investigation and assessment
      • Key steps
        • 1. Plan the investigation and assessment
        • 2. Engage the family and gather information
        • 3. Assess the notified concerns and the child's need for protection
        • 4. Finalise the investigation and assessment
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 3. Ongoing intervention
      • Key steps
        • 1. Decide the type of ongoing intervention
        • 2. Consult with OCFOS and make a referral to DCPL
        • 3. Undertake ongoing intervention activities
        • 4. Close an ongoing intervention case
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 4. Case planning
      • Key steps
        • 1. Assess and prepare to develop a case plan
        • 2. Plan for a family group meeting
        • 3. Develop the case plan
        • 4. Implement the case plan
        • 5. Review and revise the case plan
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 5. Children in care
      • Key steps
        • 1. Place a child in care
        • 2. Support a child in care
        • 3. Decision-making for the child
        • 4. Conclude a care placement
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 6. Intervention with parental agreement
      • Key steps
        • 1. Provide intervention with parental agreement
        • 2. Review an intervention with parental agreement case
        • 3. Place a child using a child protection care agreement
        • 4. Close an intervention with parental agreement case
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 7. Support service cases
      • Key steps
        • 1. Provide intervention through a support service case
        • 2. Review a support service case
        • 3. Close a support service case
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 8. Regulation of care
      • Key steps
        • 1. Pre-application
        • 2. Assessment
        • 3. Approval
        • 4. Renewal
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 9. Standards of care
      • Key steps
        • 1. Provide support to carers
        • 2. Monitor the standards of care
        • 3. Decide the appropriate response when concerns are identified
        • 4. Continue monitoring the standards of care
        • 5. Conduct a standards of care review - carers
        • 6. Conduct a standards of care review - care services
        • 7. Investigate and assess a harm report
        • 8. Action plans
      • What ifs
      • Resources
    • 10. General
      • 10.1 Decision-making about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
        • Key steps
          • 1. Enable meaningful participation in decision-making
          • 2. Arrange for an independent person to facilitate the child's and family's participation
          • 3. Refer the family for family-led decision-making
        • Resources
      • 10.2 Statutory obligation to notify the Queensland Police Service of possible criminal offences
        • Key steps
          • 1. Decide if a matter must be reported to the QPS
          • 2. Report the matter to the QPS
        • Resources
      • 10.3 Information sharing for service delivery coordination
        • Key steps
          • 1. Key principles for information sharing
          • 2. Decide when information may be shared
          • 3. Decide if stated information is needed
        • What ifs - responding to specific information sharing matters
        • Resources
      • 10.4 Providing adoption services
        • Key steps
          • 1. Provide adoption services
          • 2. Determine the primary case worker
          • 3. Supervise services delivered by the primary case worker
          • 4. Provide pre-consent counselling to parents
          • 5. Facilitate an adoption care agreement for a child whose parents are receiving pre-consent counselling
          • 6. Witness consents to an adoption
          • 7. Provide information and counselling to a child and consider the child's views
          • 8. Pursue adoption for a child subject to a child protection order
          • 9. Respect Aboriginal tradition and Island custom
          • 10. Respond to a request to provide one-off post adoption services
          • 11. Record information
        • Resources
      • 10.5 Recording sensitivity
        • Key steps
          • 1. Determine whether a person or event is sensitive
          • 2. Classify a person or event as sensitive
          • 3. Manage a sensitive person or event
          • 4. Review the sensitivity plan
          • 5. Manage sensitive records
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.6 Downgrading or deleting an approved notification
        • Key steps
          • 1. Consider whether to downgrade or delete an approved notification
          • 2. Obtain approval to downgrade or delete an approved notification
          • 3. Downgrade a notification
          • 4. Delete a notification
      • 10.7 Undertake the substance testing of parents
        • Key steps
          • 1. Overview of substance testing
          • 2. The substance test and test results
          • 3. Implement substance testing
          • 4. Implement concurrent assessment, monitoring and intervention strategies
        • Resources
      • 10.8 Responding to self-harming behaviour
        • Key steps
          • 1. Identify that a child is at risk of self-harm
          • 2. Respond to the child with a self-harm alert
          • 3. Review the self-harm risk management plan
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.9 Responding to suicide risk behaviour
        • Key steps
          • 1. Identify that a child is at risk of suicide
          • 2. Respond to the child with a suicide risk alert
          • 3. Review the suicide risk management plan
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.10 Warrant for the apprehension of a child
        • Key Steps
          • 1. Apply for a warrant
          • 2. Enact a warrant
        • Resources
      • 10.11 Staff safety and well-being
        • Key steps
          • 1. Implement strategies to promote staff safety and well-being
          • 2. Implement strategies to avoid client aggression
          • 3. Manage aggressive behaviour by clients
          • 4. Respond to an incident of aggressive behaviour
          • 5. Implement strategies to manage stress, vicarious trauma and critical incident stress
        • Resources
      • 10.12 Professional supervision
        • Key steps
          • 1. Implement supervision requirements
          • 2. Fulfil roles and responsibilities
          • 3. Develop a supervision agreement
          • 4. Implement the supervision agreement
          • 5. Record supervision
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.13 The video taping or recording of departmental staff
        • Key steps
          • 1. Implement actions when staff are video taped or audio recorded while performing work duties
          • 2. Implement actions when the personal details or footage of a staff member are inappropriately published
          • 3. Consider preventative strategies for enhancing personal privacy and safety
        • Resources
      • 10.14 Referring to Family and Child Connect or intensive family support services for early intervention
        • Key steps
          • 1. Roles and functions of Family and Child Connect
          • 2. Roles and functions of intensive family support services
          • 3. Referrals to Family and Child Connect or an intensive family support services
          • 4. Making a referral to Family and Child Connect or an intensive family support service
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.15 The role of the Child Safety After Hours Service Centre
        • Key steps
          • 1. Interface between the CSAHSC and CSSCs or RISs
          • 2. Make an after hours referral
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.16 Referral to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family support service
        • Key steps
          • 1. Determine eligibility for an ATSIFSS referral
          • 2. Make a referral to an ATSIFSS
          • 3. Action following a referral to an ATSIFSS
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.17 Complaints management
        • Key steps
          • 1. Intake
          • 2. Complaint management process
          • 3. Alternative response
          • 4. Investigation
          • 5. Internal review
          • 6. Privacy complaints
          • 7. Public Interest Disclosure
          • 8. Conduct and Performance Excellence
        • Resources
      • 10.18 Interstate and New Zealand matters
        • Key steps
          • 1. Overview of interstate and New Zealand matters
          • 2. Make a request to another jurisdiction
          • 3. Respond to a request from another jurisdiction
          • 4. Enacting a warrant
        • Resources
      • 10.19 Systems and Practice Reviews following the serious physical injury or death of a child
        • Key steps
          • 1. Actions following the serious physical injury or death of a child
          • 2. Participate in the review
          • 3. Actions arising from review processes
      • 10.20 Victims of crime and the role of Victim Assist Queensland
        • Key steps
          • 1. Respond to victims of crime
          • 2. Provide information to a victim of crime
          • 3. Make an application to Victim Assist Queensland
        • Resources
      • 10.21 Family courts
        • Key steps
          • 1. The family courts and child protection interface
          • 2. Exchange of information
          • 3. Assess information received about harm or risk of harm
          • 4. Respond to an order requesting intervention by the department - section 91B orders
          • 5. Undertake an investigation and assessment
          • 6. Respond to a child in need of protection
        • What ifs
        • Resources
      • 10.22 International child protection matters and the Hague Child Abduction Convention
        • Key steps
          • 1. Manage international child protection matters
          • 2. Manage intervention under the Hague Child Abduction Convention
        • Resources
      • What ifs
      • Resources
  • Practice papers
  • Resources
    • Forms and templates
    • Departmental Resources
    • External
  • Structured Decision Making
    • What is Structured Decision Making?
    • Background to implementation
    • How do SDM assessments fit with professional judgement?
    • SDM assessments
    • Case reading
    • SDM resources
  • Quicklinks
    • Acronyms
    • Glossary of terms
    • How to use the Child Safety Practice Manual
    • Previous versions
    • Printable version
    • Updates
      • CSPM July 2013 updates
      • CSPM February 2013 updates
      • CSPM June 2012 updates
      • CSPM August 2011 updates
      • CSPM November 2010 updates
      • CSPM July 2010 updates
      • CSPM February 2010 updates
      • CSPM July 2009 updates
      • CSPM June 2009 updates
      • CSPM May 2009 updates
      • CSPM April 2009 updates
      • CSPM December 2008 updates
      • CSPM November 2008 updates
      • CSPM September 2008 updates
      • Stage 9 updates
      • Stage 8 updates
      • Stage 7 updates
      • Stage 6 updates
      • Stage 5 updates (31 May 2006)
      • Stage 4 updates (20 February 2006)
      • Stage 3 updates (16 September 2005) (Note - SDM operational 30 October 2005)
      • Stage 2 updates (1 May 2005)
      • Stage 1 updates (7 March 2005)

You are here:

  1. Home
  2. Introduction
    • Chapters
    • Framework for practice and maps
    • Practice papers
    • Quicklinks
    • Resources
    • Structured Decision Making
  3. Other key documents

Other key documents

Other key documents that guide the work of the department are:

  • Code of conduct for the Queensland Public Service (PDF)
  • RecFind user guide
  • Recordkeeping: Client file procedure
  • Information Coordination Meetings (ICM) and the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Team System Manual
Last reviewed
17 April 2018
Last modified
30 October 2016
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licenceThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence

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