Things to know about being in care

If you are child or young person who has come into care for the first time, there are things you need to know (PDF, 1.5 MB) so you can be safe and cared for.

Family group meeting

A family group meeting (PDF, 131 KB) family group meeting (DOCX, 110 KB) is where important people in a child or young person’s life meet to discuss what is working well for them and their family and what is not working well. A plan is made to keep them safe and to make sure the child and their family receive the help and support they need. Decisions made and agreed upon will be included in a case plan.

Case plan

A case plan is a written agreement made between the child, their family and Child Safety. It sets out the best way to help the child stay happy and safe while they are in care and how they can achieve their future goals and dreams.

A plan may include:

  • their goals and care needs, and how they can be met
  • the needs of their family, and how they can be met
  • contact arrangements between the child and their family members
  • support available to the child
  • how their parents will keep them safe
  • who will be helping them and your family.

Education support plan

An education support plan helps children and young people get the most out of school and overcome problems they might be having with their education. The plan may include:

  • what their education needs and goals are
  • what help and support they need to reach their education goals.

Kicbox

For children and young people who live in care, it can be difficult to keep track of things like personal mementos, photos, records and documents that make up their life story.

kicbox is a private, digital memory box that keeps everything safe and in one place. It also provides a more convenient way for them to communicate and share information with their Child Safety team.

Child Health Passport

A Child Health Passport is a folder that contains information about a child or young person’s health. It is used to:

  • give their carer information about their health so they can help meet their health needs
  • help Child Safety and their parents (if this is okay with the child or young person) to understand their health and help them to be healthy.

Navigate Your Health is a program to help young people to look after their health. As part of the program, they will have their own Nurse Navigator who will talk with them, their carers, their parents or another family member they trust, and their Child Safety Officer about the things they need to be healthy and well.

National Disability Insurance Scheme

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides support for people who have a disability. The NDIS is managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and is available across the whole of Queensland.

Standards of care

Sometimes, Child Safety may get serious information that your carer (foster carer, kinship carer or residential care worker) is not caring for children and young people properly.

If Child Safety gets concerning information about the standard of care being provided to a child or young person, the information is recorded. Child Safety will need to talk to the child or young person and their carer about the standard of care being provided.

Child Safety will ask for information about the care being provided by their carer so they can see if it meets the ‘statement of standards’ outlined in the Child Protection Act 1999.

It is important that carers meet the ‘statement of standards’.

Children and young people can ask their Child Safety Officer for a copy of these standards.

Leaving care

Transitioning into adulthood (PDF, 270 KB) Transitioning into adulthood (DOCX, 110 KB) is about planning for the time when young people will reach adulthood and are no longer in care.

When a young person is 15 years of age, their Child Safety Officer will start talking to them about planning for their future, and for when their Child Protection Order ends.