Child protection jobs - roles and responsibilities

Child protection practitioners have a specific statutory role that includes:

• providing advice and guidance to people who report concerns about children and young people
• assessing children and families where a child may be at risk of significant harm
• making applications to, and attending, the Children’s Court of Victoria
• engaging and working with children and families to promote safety, stability and development of the child, and to strengthen family capacity.

Practitioners may work in teams assigned specific tasks.

The primary teams and their functions

Intake

You will receive reports from members of the community regarding children that might be at risk. You will assess these reports and decide if further child protection investigation is required. You will also provide advice to the people who make these reports and, where appropriate, help families to access support services.

Intake teams:

• receive reports about children when there is concern that they need protection
• conduct an initial risk assessment based on report details
• attend intake case conferences, where required
• make follow-up phone calls with professionals to verify and gather information about reports
• refer cases, where applicable, to community service organisations
• seek advice and guidance from relevant Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to inform risk assessment.

Investigation and response

You will investigate reports that require a protective investigation. You will do this by developing an investigation plan, speaking with children and families and conducting a risk assessment.

As a member of the investigation and response team you will:

• interview children and their families to find out whether the allegations of abuse can be substantiated
• determine, together with the family, what supports may be needed to change the situation for them and the children
• work closely with professionals and families to:
  • gather relevant information
  • understand the situation
  • enact plans to address concerns based on the level and type of protection required. You will do this using the risk assessment framework.

Investigation and response teams:

• directly investigate reports of alleged child mistreatment
• assess the likelihood of harm to the child
• work closely with the Aboriginal Specialist Consultation and Advice Service (ACSASS) to engage with families in a culturally sensitive way
• establish whether abuse allegations are substantiated
• work with a family for a few months (or for an extended period where required and authorised) after reporting to make a more comprehensive assessment, develop a community plan or effect a referral to a community service organisation, where risk assignment is deferred
• determine if Children's Court action is required. If so, work with the legal team and your team manager to initiate legal intervention and prepare reports for the court.

Case management

You will work with children and young people on a protection order. This includes continual assessment of their safety and wellbeing and working with care teams to manage the day-to-day needs and best interests of children and young people.

Case management teams:

• initiate and supervise Children's Court protection orders
• continually assess the ongoing risk to the child or young person by developing and implementing case plans
• meet court requirements, which may include writing reports, acting as an applicant in the Children's Court and giving evidence
• develop reunification plans and supervise access
• where required, help organise a stable out-of-home care placement for the child
• work with ACCOs to ensure Aboriginal children remain connected to their culture and receive appropriate services
• network with community service organisations (CSO) and provide some community education to the CSO sector
• negotiate the transfer of case management to community agencies.

Contracted case management

You will manage the statutory aspects for children and young people whose case management has been contracted to a Community Service Organisation.

Contracted case management teams:

• monitor and review the implementation of case plans
• provide advice and guidance to agencies, including education on the statutory processes and responsibilities
• maintain statutory responsibilities for all cases, for example, case planning, reviews, court applications and other legislated requirements.

After Hours Child Protection Services

The After Hours Child Protection Service is a state-wide service based in metropolitan Melbourne and in some areas of regional Victoria.

This service responds to and manages all urgent child protection matters outside business hours. This includes on weekends or public holidays.

In this team, you will receive and assess new reports of potential child abuse or neglect and conduct urgent visits to assess the risk and safety of a child. You will operate on a rotating roster that includes day, afternoon and night shifts. As a member of this team, you are eligible for a standby (on-call) allowance for each time period you are on standby, regardless of whether you are called out on an outreach visit. You are also eligible for additional overtime rates for hours worked when called out on outreach visits.

After Hours Child Protection Services teams:

• respond to reports about children where there is concern that they need protection
• gather detailed information and negotiate to manage reports
• coordinate, manage and directly respond with telephone advice
• begin investigations and develop plans to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
• visit children or families in urgent cases where harm or likelihood of harm requires immediate child protection involvement
• manage requests from divisions for out-of-hours tasks for children who are already subject to child protection intervention
• transfer new reports to the relevant division on the next working day
• provide an after-hours placement function for children and young people requiring out of home placement.