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NSW Department of Community Services

NSW Department of Community Services Evaluation of the NSW Interagency Guidelines for Child Protection Intervention 2006 ACWA CONFERENCE 19 August 2008 By Louise Boulter and Sue Leahy. Agencies responsible for protecting children from risk of harm in NSW.

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NSW Department of Community Services

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  1. NSW Department of Community Services • Evaluation of the NSW Interagency Guidelines for Child Protection Intervention 2006 • ACWA CONFERENCE • 19 August 2008 • By • Louise Boulter and Sue Leahy

  2. Agencies responsible for protecting children from risk of harm in NSW • The Department of Community Services (DoCS) • Interagency partners: • 13 other NSW Government agencies • NGOs • Effective communication and collaboration is critical

  3. Interagency Practice • Documented in NSW Interagency Guidelines for Child Protection Intervention • Specify roles and responsibilities of all agencies in the child protection sector • Developed by CPSOG after extensive consultation and issued in September 2006

  4. Revision of Guidelines • CPSOG consulted widely across the child protection sector and found that agencies sought: • more user friendly Guidelines • more feedback from DoCS to reporters • interagency involvement in case meetings • flexibility when providing information about children and families subject to risk of harm reports

  5. Practice Commitments The 2006 Guidelines include new practice commitments regarding: • DoCS feedback to reporters • involving partner agencies and NGOs in case planning meetings • appointment of a DoCS case manager • Communicating intention to close a case • DoCS support to other agencies after case closure

  6. Background to the evaluation of the Guidelines • NSW Ombudsman asked DoCS to evaluate the Guidelines regarding: • take up • overall effectiveness • DoCS: • undertook literature review • developed a framework • This evaluation is the first of its kind undertaken anywhere before • CPSOG oversights evaluation

  7. The Evaluation Process Commenced October 07 • staff survey • desktop review • interviews with senior staff & key peaks • geographic analysis • case studies in 3 localities • Due for completion August 08

  8. The Survey • Two slightly different surveys were developed • For staff required to have a detailed knowledge of child protection • For staff needing a general knowledge of child protection • Detailed and general surveys emailed to 6,235 staff from 12 NSW government agencies • General surveys were mailed to 982 randomly selected DoCS funded NGOs. • Response rates good - enable 95% confidence in results

  9. Key survey results • 85% said the Guidelines help staff understand child protection intervention • 84% indicated Guidelines were equally useful for work with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people • Two thirds wanted more detail and practical information on engaging with Aboriginal people

  10. Key survey results • All agencies could work more collaboratively in relation to: • sharing information • understanding each other’s roles • accepting referrals • The process for best endeavours requests is not well known

  11. Results from desk top review • : • Further work needs to be undertaken by most NSW government agencies with a child protection role in order to update policies and procedures relating to child protection • Child protection policies and procedures should align with the child protection framework set out in the Guidelines

  12. Regional analysis • Regional comparisons of the survey results across 8 participating NSW government agencies made possible through the development of inter-agency concordance tables. • This will enable regional comparisons to be made in future multi-agency planning and research activities within NSW human service and justice agencies.

  13. Results from case studies • Case studies conducted in three locations: Armidale, Auburn and St George • ARTD interviewed staff from government and non-government agencies who worked on 6 cases • ARTD’s focus was on interagency collaboration • Awaiting release of results

  14. Where to now? • Evaluation results will be provided to the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW • CPSOG will consider the evaluation results together with recommendations on interagency practice from the Commission of Inquiry • Overall, both the evaluation findings and decisions of the Commission of Inquiry will inform child protection interagency practice in NSW in the future

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