THEA CARMODY
Morley ,Australia
Summary
Experienced Senior Child Protection Worker with background in child welfare services. Experience includes crisis intervention, family reunification processes, and child protection case management. Strengths encompass ability to advocate for children's rights, assess risk factors, and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams. Previous work has yielded positive outcomes in safeguarding youth at risk, promoting well-being and ensuring compliance with child protection policies.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Child Protection Worker -SRRS
Department of Communities -State Wide Response and Relieving Team
Perth -Co-lated At The MIdland MIST Building , WA
02.2024 - Current
- Conducting home visits with families to assess the safety and wellbeing of children and to determine if child protection has a role
- Conducting Child Assessment Interviews with children where parents have provided parental consent
- Completion of support letters to housing and Day care
- Completion of letters to Sex Offender Mangement Squad (SOMS)
- Liaison with the Midland Child Abuse Detectives, located at the MIST building, including sharing of information under the MOU and seeking information
- Liasing with Department of Housing, Health, Corrections, and Police to share and seek information
- Supporting colleagues (Child Protection Workers) as a Senior Child protection Role in terms of guidance with practice, advice, support and debriefing
- Responding to child protection referrals received which involves contacting parents, schools, agencies to discuss concerns and determine if child protection has a role
Senior Child Protection Worker Child Safety Team 2
Department of Communities
Midland , WA
08.2023 - 02.2024
- Undertaking Child Safety Investigations (CSI)
- Conducting Child assessment Interviewing with parental consent and without parental consent where deemed necessary
- Conducting Safety planning
- Liaising with Police, the FDV-RT Team and Corrections regarding High risk family domestic Violence Perpetrators
- Conducting announced and unannounced home visits
- Consulting and Working with the Aboriginal Practice Leader or Cultural Diversity Consultant in respect to Aboriginal or culturally linguistically diverse families
- Partaking in Response and Duty roster requiring a coordinated response with the second child safety team in relation to new CSI intakes
- Supporting and supervising colleagues as a senior worker on the team
- Providing memorandums to the Family Court where requested
- Completing legal paperwork including Court Reports, Warrants to bring children into care under Section 35 of the Act, or Warrants for Access to ensure the wellbeing of a child
Senior Child Protection Worker IFS Team 2
Department of Communities
Midland , WA
09.2022 - 08.2023
- Working with open child protection cases where the families are at imminent risk of their children coming into the CEO's care.
- Providing time-limited, intensive in-home support to create safety and enable children or young people to remain with their family
- Responding to a complex range of safety and wellbeing issues affecting families through assessment, planning, and assisting families to develop networks that can help them keep their children safe.
- Working with Aboriginal families, earlier and in a culturally responsive way, to divert children from entering the CEO's care.
- Holding family led meetings with Aboriginal clients guided by the Aboriginal Practice Leader in a culturally sensitive manner, ensuring families are involved in all child protection decisions affecting them.
- Working within the Signs of Safety Child Protection framework and using tools and strategies to locate and engage family members, and develop natural support networks
- Organising and holding regular monthly review meetings.
- Working with Intensive Family Support Services Wungening Moort and Stronger Together
- Pre birth Planning meetings and pre birth safety planning
- Development of Family-led Safety Plans
- Sighting of High Risk Infants on a weekly basis, in addition to regular discussions with clients around Safe sleeping practices, Abusive head trauma and sighting sleep areas
- Ongoing monitoring of safety plans
- MACM meetings
- Intervention action
- Provided crisis intervention when needed and maintained ongoing contact with families throughout their involvement with the agency.
- Developed and implemented safety plans to ensure the safety of children in at-risk situations.
- Provided guidance and support to caseworkers regarding best practice approaches to child protection cases.
Senior Child Protection Worker Children in Care
Department of Communities
Midland , WA
03.2022 - 09.2022
- Facilitated family meetings, court hearings and other relevant services for families involved in child protection cases.
- Provided crisis intervention when needed and maintained ongoing contact with families throughout their involvement with the agency.
- Participated in multi-disciplinary team meetings to discuss case progress, provide updates on service delivery, and identify areas for improvement.
- Assisted in developing long-term strategies for reunification, permanency planning, or alternative care arrangements as necessary.
- Monitored adherence to court orders related to child protection cases including visitation schedules and parental rights agreements.
- Collaborated with community partners such as schools, hospitals, social workers, police officers, attorneys and other stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery across multiple agencies.
- Provided emotional support to clients during difficult times by providing resources such as counseling services or legal assistance when appropriate.
- Consulted with mental health professionals regarding complex cases involving behavioral issues or developmental delays.
- Developed individualized service plans based on assessment results which identified needs that could be addressed through various support services.
Senior Child Protection Worker -Child Safety Team
Department of Communities
Bunbury , WA
09.2020 - 03.2022
- Conducted home visits with families to assess the safety and wellbeing of children.
- Developed and implemented safety plans to ensure the safety of children in at-risk situations.
- Facilitated family meetings, court hearings and other relevant services for families involved in child protection cases.
- Provided guidance and support to caseworkers regarding best practice approaches to child protection cases.
- Provided crisis intervention when needed and maintained ongoing contact with families throughout their involvement with the agency.
- Conducted assessments of risk factors that may have an impact on a child's safety or well-being.
- Maintained accurate documentation of all client interactions within case files according to agency policies and procedures.
- Collaborated with community partners such as schools, hospitals, social workers, police officers, attorneys and other stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery across multiple agencies.
- Assessed referrals from community members regarding potential abuse or neglect of children.
- Investigated allegations of abuse or neglect through interviews with clients, witnesses, family members, medical personnel, law enforcement officials.
- Identified appropriate community resources and provided referrals for services.
- Attended trainings related to new regulations concerning child protection laws and procedures.
- Consulted with mental health professionals regarding complex cases involving behavioral issues or developmental delays.
- Advised court personnel on findings from investigations into reports of abuse or neglect.
- Maintained confidentiality through stringent handling of charts and data.
Child Protection Worker - Child Safety Team
Department of Communities
Geraldton, Australia
01.2020 - 09.2020
- Sharing in the Family and Domestic Violence Point Response team (VDVRT)
- I receive and assess a high volume of daily VDV reports dropped on the system by EA police pertaining to the Murchison area
- I assess the current risk involved, determine whether there are children present and child protection concerns present
- As part of the FVD-VRT role, I work with EA police and Mission Australia to determine a response to the received concerns
- I work from the station 3 days a week to complete TRIAGE with Mission and police
- I also attend Joint home visits with Mission and other support services working with the family when there are concerns requiring follow up
- Assessing and investigating concerns received regarding the safety, health and well-being of children
- Engaging and working alongside families to strengthen their capacity to provide care and safety to their children
- Applying relevant legislation, delegations, policies and quality standards in accordance with the Departmental case practice manual and Children and Community Service Act - 2004
- Taking legal action (intervention) to promote the safety and well-being of children where necessary
- Writing affidavits and supporting legal documents as required
- Working collaboratively with foster and family carers, the community, government and non-government service providers
- Working with placement staff to identify emergency placements for children when they are brought into care
- Assisting identified families and their children with relevant agencies and community resources to ensure appropriate supports are in place
- Completing child safety investigation reports when concerns are identified that indicate a child has experienced harm
Child Protection Worker - Children in Care
Department of Communities
Geraldton, Australia
04.2018 - 01.2020
- Company Overview: (Country services)
- Working with clients from a wide range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- Working with a wide range of stakeholders including disability services, health, youth justice, legal, education
- Preparing legal documents such as affidavits, written proposals and reports to the court
- Working with teenagers to prepare them for leaving care
- This includes helping the young person identify educational or vocational pathways, as well as planning for suitable accommodation, finance, and support services to best assist the young person once they leave the care system
- Responding to crisis situations and prioritising my workload
- Facilitating meetings, contact visits and case mappings
- Providing referrals where necessary to support the care of a young person
- Completing safety and well-being assessments, care plans, reports, needs assessment tools, care arrangement referrals for children in care
- Providing support to the carers of children in care
- Working with close and extended family of children in care to ensure young people feel connected to their culture and family of origin
- (Country services)
Support Worker
Anglicare
Perth, Australia
07.2016 - 08.2018
- Assisting and engaging with children with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy, brain injury, down syndrome and their family
- Liaising with the child's family and professionals including occupational therapists to facilitate the reaching of goals set out in the individualised care plan
- Providing ongoing emotional and practical support to the child and their family to enhance well-being
- Assisting with feeding, nasal gastric feeds, prescribed physio exercises and appointments
Child Protection Worker - Children in Care
Department of Communities
Perth, Australia
08.2016 - 03.2018
- Company Overview: (Metropolitan)
- Responding to the need of the child in care and ensuring the placement is providing for the child's well-being, safety and stability
- Working in a collaborative way and liaising with parents, carers, children as well as psychologists, teachers, doctors and other professionals regarding all aspects of the child's care, progress and needs
- Liaising with non-governmental organisations and external agencies (Key Assets, Anglicare)
- Writing referrals for children and parents
- Building rapport with children via school pickups and home or external visits (taking child to playground, café to catch up)
- Conducting and writing care plans, carer reviews, quarterly care reviews, needs assessments, care arrangement referrals, special funding submissions
- Supervising contact visits at various settings
- Keeping up-to-date case management notes
- Reporting and filing all documents, reports, emails, case notes using ASSSIST and JectiPe
- Organising and participating in signs of safety meetings, child interviews and parent interviews and meetings with external agencies
- Taking part in team meetings, team activities and assisting colleagues when required
- Consulting regularly with team leader regarding cases and supervision
- Handling additional finance matters including invoices for child's expenses, carer reimbursements, mileage claims etc
- Supporting the child's relationship with his or her family where appropriate
- Managing duty calls and urgent tasks when on duty roster, whilst attending to my own caseload
- Working cooperatively in a team environment, sharing tasks when required, covering colleagues' duty shifts and communicating openly to ensure we are all on the same page
- (Metropolitan)
Side Walker/Leader Volunteer
Riding for the Disabled
Perth, Australia
01.2015 - 12.2016
- Assisted during therapeutic riding sessions run for children with disabilities (hippotherapy), as a side walker or leader
- Assisted the child to undertake the coach's directions, monitoring for fatigue or discomfort, giving physical and moral support to the rider during the session
- Teamwork with the coach, leader and other side walkers
- Care of the horses including washing, grooming, feeding, general stable care
Private Care Provider (Nanny)
Dial an Angel
Perth, Australia
01.2013 - 01.2016
- Cares and supervises children aged 1-8, maintained daily records of children's individual activities, behaviors, meals and naps
- Constructed daily and long-term schedules of activities
- Implemented tactics that promoted physical development
- Improved language development, social skills, and understanding of basic scientific and mathematical concepts by using age-appropriate games and teaching aids
- Transports and supervises children on field trips to local parks, fire stations, zoos and etc
- Develops professional relationships with parents and helped children reach milestones in the area of self-care
- Communicates with parents about behavior issues such as fighting, destruction of property, etc
Residential Support Worker
Richmond Wellbeing
Perth, Australia
05.2014 - 12.2015
- Providing support to people experiencing serious and persistent mental illness
- Collaborating with team members to support recovery in situations where people may have had coexisting trauma, disabilities and complex unmet needs
- Worked within a family-centered approach whilst encouraging clients to identify and draw upon their existing support networks
- Encouraged individuals to engage in self-care and tasks required for independent living
Emergency Assistance Telephone Operator
St Vincent De Paul
Perth, Australia
01.2014 - 07.2015
- Responded to requests for emergency assistance, disseminated requests to volunteers to facilitate the provision of aid, and connected clients with alternative culturally appropriate services to meet their needs when this was not possible
- Listening in a caring, non-judgmental and patient manner, dealing professionally with challenging clients at the call line, and referring clients to alternative agencies when necessary
- Liaising with my supervisor, colleagues, and stakeholders through discussion about client feedback leading to the improvement of provision of aid and client outcomes, by decreasing wait times, and acquiring more volunteers
- Maintaining and updating the call centre database, and answering client calls
Homework Tutor
St Vincent De Paul
Perth, Australia
03.2014 - 01.2015
- Assisting disadvantaged children who needed extra help with their school work/homework
- Taking part in an enrichment activity after homework was completed
- Supervision of children in care
Day Care Assistant
Salisbury Childcare Centre
Perth, Australia
03.2003 - 12.2006
- Assisted in the care and supervision of children in the toddler and pre-kindergarten age range
- Handled emergency situations efficiently and contacted emergency numbers quickly
- Established positive relationships with the children by designing creative games and activities
- Maintained child's health and well-being by preparing meals, assisting with hygiene and following regular routines of child's eating and sleeping schedule
Education
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) - Psychology
Curtin University
Perth12.2015
Skills
- Case Management
- Interpersonal Communication Skills
- Good time management skills
- Leadership and Teamwork
- Client Relations
- Conflict Resolution
- Initiative and problem-solving abilities
- Counseling
- Logical Thinking
- Behavior Management Skills
- Community Development
- Community Outreach
- Calm under pressure
- Legal Writing
- Child assessment Interviewing
- Child Advocacy
- Safety Planning
- Psychosocial Assessments
- Teamwork and Cooperation
- Multidisciplinary Collaboration
- Conducting interviews
- Crisis Intervention
- Active Listening
- Task Prioritization
- Time management abilities
- Adaptability and Flexibility
Volunteer Experience
- Side Walker/Leader Volunteer, Riding for the Disabled, Perth, WA, 01/01/15, 12/01/16, Assisting during therapeutic riding sessions., Monitoring for fatigue or discomfort.
- Emergency Assistance Telephone Operator, St Vincent De Paul Call Centre, Perth, WA, 01/01/14, 07/01/15, Responding to requests for emergency assistance., Liaising with supervisor and colleagues.
- Homework Tutor, St Vincent De Paul, Perth, WA, 03/01/14, 01/01/15, Assisting disadvantaged children with their school work., Supervising children in care.
Accomplishments
- Honours Thesis published in Personality and Individual Differences journal: Doyes, M., Carmody, T., Clarke, Haskings, P. (2017). Emotional Reactivity and Perseveration: Independent dimensions of trait positive and negative affectivity and differential associations with psychological distress. Personality and individual differences. 105: 70-77. DOI:10.1016/J.paid.2016.09.025
Certification
- Safe and Together Training (completed in October 2022)
- Responding to FDV (Department of Communities 2 day course, Bunbury 2021)
- Child Assessment interview training (last refresher training completed in 2022, in Bunbury)
- Protective Behaviours course at LDC (completed in 2024)
- Deadly ways of Working course (Completed in 2023)
- Positive Psychology , Department of Commuties
- Protective Behaviours , Department of Communities
- FDV: Empowering Child Safety for Communities, Department of Communities
- Domestic Violence and perpetrator accountability training , Department of Communities
- Child Protection orientation programmes 1-4 , Learning and Development Centre; Department of
Communities - Child assessment interviewing , Learning and Development Centre; Department of Communities
- SMART -strateges for managing abuse related trauma, Australian Childhood Foundations
- First Aid Training & CPR, CBD College
- Mental Health First Aid Course (12 hour course), Mental Health First Aid
Affiliations
- Taking part in Operation Keelia shifts over the Christmas period of 2023
- Regular on call rostered shifts (weekdays and weeknights) while in Mid-West Gascoyne and South West. Due to having colleagues who had children or just did not like doing on call, I would pick up additional shifts, in addition to the regular roster). Going out on call required quick responding with often limited information. The TL on call would call and advise to do an action/task such as a home visit, attending the ED for a CIC, attending the police station to be a responsible adult for a CIC and transport them to their placement, respond to a placement breakdown, care for a CIC, and a number of other actions
- 8 week stint in FDV-RT Role in Midwest Gascoyne in January to March 2020, then regular covering of shifts due to the position being vacant. Working with Police, Desert Blue Connect, to respond to domestic violence in the MId West Gasgoyne. This involved triaging DVIRs for a very large region.
- Residential care shifts while in Mid West Gascoyne at the local residential care home, "WestView". Due to staff shortages, I completed regular shifts at the Westview care home. Residential care is very challenging and I would need to frequent de-escelate youth in the home who would become aggressive or violent towrads each other or staff. During each shift, I would take young people out on outtings, partake in routines such as meal times, bed times etc, record case notes, maintain the home by way of cleaning and tidying, monior young people by doing head counts during the evening shift.
- Residential care shifts while in South West at Gelorup group home
- In the MWG and SW, I completed regular overtime shifts caring for children who had been taken into care and had no placement (not on call but over time)
- Coverage of Child Safety and IFS teams for Pilbara district conference while in MWG (4 days)
- Regular travel with infants and young people in the care of the CEO; This included travel to Perth and interstate to faciliate family contact
References
- Laavanya Hattar, Team Leader, laavanya.hattar@communities.wa.gov.au, 0427 934 842
- Denise Higginson, Team leader, denise.higginson@communities.wa.gov.au, 0400 011 454
- Chantelle Sassenfeld, Team leader, chantelle.sassenfeld@communities.wa.gov.au
- Fiona Geary, Retired from WA Police, 0418 936 023
- Stella Burrell, Recruitment manager, stella.burrell1@gmail.com, 0467 175 747
- Cleo Kereone, Senior Placement Officer, cleo.kereone@communities.wa.gov.au, 0438 351 463
- Yvonne Smith, Former supervisor, yvonne.smith@svdpwa.org.au, 0414 554 440
- Mark Boyes, Honours supervisor, mark.boyes@curtin.edu.au
Timeline
Senior Child Protection Worker -SRRS
Department of Communities -State Wide Response and Relieving Team
02.2024 - Current
Senior Child Protection Worker Child Safety Team 2
Department of Communities
08.2023 - 02.2024
Senior Child Protection Worker IFS Team 2
Department of Communities
09.2022 - 08.2023
Senior Child Protection Worker Children in Care
Department of Communities
03.2022 - 09.2022
Senior Child Protection Worker -Child Safety Team
Department of Communities
09.2020 - 03.2022
Child Protection Worker - Child Safety Team
Department of Communities
01.2020 - 09.2020
Child Protection Worker - Children in Care
Department of Communities
04.2018 - 01.2020
Child Protection Worker - Children in Care
Department of Communities
08.2016 - 03.2018
Support Worker
Anglicare
07.2016 - 08.2018
Side Walker/Leader Volunteer
Riding for the Disabled
01.2015 - 12.2016
Residential Support Worker
Richmond Wellbeing
05.2014 - 12.2015
Homework Tutor
St Vincent De Paul
03.2014 - 01.2015
Emergency Assistance Telephone Operator
St Vincent De Paul
01.2014 - 07.2015
Private Care Provider (Nanny)
Dial an Angel
01.2013 - 01.2016
Day Care Assistant
Salisbury Childcare Centre
03.2003 - 12.2006
- Safe and Together Training (completed in October 2022)
- Responding to FDV (Department of Communities 2 day course, Bunbury 2021)
- Child Assessment interview training (last refresher training completed in 2022, in Bunbury)
- Protective Behaviours course at LDC (completed in 2024)
- Deadly ways of Working course (Completed in 2023)
- Positive Psychology , Department of Commuties
- Protective Behaviours , Department of Communities
- FDV: Empowering Child Safety for Communities, Department of Communities
- Domestic Violence and perpetrator accountability training , Department of Communities
- Child Protection orientation programmes 1-4 , Learning and Development Centre; Department of
Communities - Child assessment interviewing , Learning and Development Centre; Department of Communities
- SMART -strateges for managing abuse related trauma, Australian Childhood Foundations
- First Aid Training & CPR, CBD College
- Mental Health First Aid Course (12 hour course), Mental Health First Aid
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) - Psychology
Curtin University
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