Geraldine Ricketts

• Work collaboratively with Out Of Home Care (OOHC) Non-Government Organisations (NGO), based in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, and Southern districts, who wish to file a s90 application to the children's court seeking a change of court order, such as restoration or guardianship, for children and/or young people with whom they hold case management.
• Arrange a meeting with the NGO manager and caseworker to assess whether there is enough information to support a case plan goal change from Parental Responsibility to the Minister (PRM) to restoration/ guardianship.
• Provide NGO manager and caseworker recommendations and next steps of what is required in supporting the readiness and strength of application to the children's court. Sometimes recommendations are made in pursing casework tasks such as obtaining supervised urinalysis results, parenting capacity/ guardianship assessments, obtain information under chapter 16 of the child and Young Person act, from e.g. police, housing, Corrections.
• Discuss with the NGO the types of children's court orders to apply for, which would support a successful restoration/ guardianship order.
• Organise re-view meetings, taking minutes, and chairing meetings
• Arrange a legal consultation with DCJ ChildLaw, to ensure all legal avenues have been considered and obtain any recommendations.
• Training is then provided to the NGO on how to structure an affidavit ensuring it is formatted correctly, supported by evidence, is succinct and in chronological order, and that all necessary information is accessible and supported by annexures.
• Assess readiness of the application to be considered for the magistrate to grant leave.
• Ensure that all legal requirements are tended to, such as Practice Notes are filed to the court.
• Write Guardianship financial plans, forecasting the needs and requirements for prospective guardians until the child attains 18 years old.
• Write undertakings to be filed at the children's court, which the parent/s would need to agree to if restoration is to be considered.
• Work with the NGO throughout the duration of the court process, assist the NGO in writing updated affidavits and provide next steps of what is required in casework and supporting evidence
• Arrange and chair care plan meeting with all parties including parents, children, NGO
• Write a care plan and file it at court, along with a Minute of Care Order (MOCO).
• In some instances, I will be required to provide evidence during a hearing, at the Children's Court.
• In some incidences, I am required to coordinate with the NGO their participation in a children's court Dispute Resolution Conference (DRC), where my attendance is also required.
• Ensure all meeting records, phone calls, letters, referral and results are uploaded to ChildStory (system) in a timely manner.
• My role ceases once final orders are granted.

• Obtain Victims Of Crime (VOC) referrals from OOHC, NGO where they hold case management for a child/ young person who is aging out of care or where their is a change in children's court order.
• Ensure that the client meets the criteria to lodge a referral
• Send off the referral, along with the child's ID, to audit and claims.
• Track the progress of the claim
• Ensure the allocated legal practitioner has access to all NGO and DCJ files
• Make contact with the child when a potential claim has been identified, arrange a Trust account, if required. Discuss with the child the particular incidents of abuse that has led to the claim. Assist the client in signing consent for DCJ to lodge the claims on their behalf.
• Talk with the client about what further evidence is required in supporting 'potential claims' such as medical records, psychological records, or linking the child up with a Victims of crime counsellor.
• Taking statements from the child on incidents where abuse has occurred but is not documented in NGO/DCJ files, support the child to obtain supporting evidence or obtaining a Certificate of Injury from a psychologist/ G.P.
• Linking the child up with an external solicitor if there are any Claims Against The Sate identified, or through the National redress scheme.
• Ensuring the child accesses all entitlement through Victims of Crime

• Review Risk of Significant Harm reports (ROSH)
• Conduct a history search, prior intervention, current support.
• Ensure I am familiarised with up tp date research and theories to guide my practice
• Participate in a Pre-Assessment Consultation with my manager, prior to response, along with a risk assessment of safety.
• Consider cultural aspects which may require additional consultation with specialised worker and build on my cultural competency.
• Liaise with the local police if there are safety concerns, ask for police back up- if deemed necessary.
• In response to the report, this may including visiting a school, hospital, child care, or the family's home.
• Interview children on the safety and risk issues identified in the report, using specific tools and engagement techniques such as opening questioning, likes/ dislikes, body parts, secrets, and using techniques such as three houses, emotion cards etc.
• Interview the parents using motivational interviewing techniques, build rapport, reason for visiting, assessing domestic violence and dynamics within relationships, assess alcohol and drug use and it's impact on parenting, mental health concerns and/ or neglect issues.
• Identify an immediate safety issues in the home.
• If identified, create a safety plan in consultation with the family on how to best mitigate immediate risk. This may involve the contribution of community or social supports.
• Review the safety plan within 72 hours- add additional safety supports/intervention if required. Sometimes removal of a child/ren is necessary if safety can not be mitigated- least intrusive is always considered
• Obtain information on the children/ parents such as schools, GP's mental health, hospitals, housing to assist in conducting a Risk Assessment. If the risk assessment is high, a case meeting is arranged to create a Family Action Plan.
• Families are referred to a range a government and non-government support services, which have been identified to assist reducing harm. This is incorporated into the case plan.
• Frequent home visiting, liaising with support services, frequent cultural check in's, and referrals to culturally appropriate services, consultation with the Aboriginal Team to be guided regarding culturally sensitive, considered and dignity driven case work.
• Conducted risk re-assessments every three months with the aim of closing the case.
• In some cases, a child/ children will need to be removed/ assumed into care. When this occurs, I will explore family options or liaise with the Child Family District Unit (CFDU) to arrange NGO foster care placements.
• Work with families regarding restoration.
• Work sensitively with children around why they can no longer go home.
• Write and file children's court documents such as affidavits and care applications, care plans
• Work as a Out Of Home Care caseworker.

Other skills utilised

• Promote self-advocacy skills
• Arranged medical and psychiatric tests to identify difficulties and indicate potential remedial approaches.
• Developed plans to strengthen family units.
• Assisted families in navigating the social services system,
• Developed individualised service plans and behaviour management plans, to address the unique needs of each child and family in the caseload.
• Achieving timely permanency outcomes for children.
• Worked with educational team to develop Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students.
• Maintained case records and legal documentation.
• Adhere to the privacy and confidentiality polices and procedures.
• Conducted outreach to families and other community partners to identify ways to address social, emotional and behavioral needs.
• Provided referrals to numerous support services in a timely manner
• Conducted family finding, located extended family or family interstate to provide support
• Established strong working relationships with community partners to enhance service delivery for children and families in need.
• Promoted a positive work environment within the agency through active participation in staff meetings, professional development opportunities, and peer support initiatives.
• Developed and implemented strategies to reduce and prevent family conflict.
• Maintained accurate case documentation, ensuring compliance with state regulations and agency policies.
• Built solid and trusting rapport with children and families, fostering trust and communication to meet case needs.
• Facilitated family meetings to ensure communication and collaboration between family members.
• Conducted home visits regularly, assessing living conditions and monitoring progress towards case plan goals.
• Demonstrated cultural competence by effectively engaging clients from diverse backgrounds, fostering trust, rapport, and open communication.
• Responded to claims of abuse, neglect or safety concerns
• Used critical thinking to break down problems, evaluate solutions and make decisions.

* Received phone calls and/or fax in relation to a child/ren suspected of being at risk of harm or in immediate danger.

* Build rapport with the caller in order to create a sense of safety, confidence, re-assurance, and undivided attention. Callers may be a mandatory reporter or a family or community member.

* Take calls from children, interview the children over the phone

Ascertain immediate safety and if there is potential criminal chargers.

* obtain as much information about location of family, including ages, cultural background, all family members, current safety circumstances, history of safety/ risk issues, protective factors

* Consult with a team leader

* Create a Risk of Significant harm report, allocate a priority and send to the owning office..

If working an overnight sift, immediate response may be required to assess immediate safety, and safety planning overnight, for the child.

*Sometimes refer the matters to the Joint Child Protection response Team