4.2.1 Case alerts
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Last Modified:
11-Nov-2019
Review Date:
02-Jan-2019
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| Purpose |
To provide guidance to child protection workers on the use of alerts in case practice to help safeguard the wellbeing of children, families, staff or members of the public. |
| Practice Requirements |
You must obtain approval from your team leader before recording an alert in Assist. Decisions to extend or terminate an alert must be discussed in supervision and the client's case planning or case review process, and be approved by your team leader. If the case is transferred, responsibility for the alert transfers to the new child protection worker (CPW) in the receiving district. You must discuss the alert at handover. You must attempt to identify the location of the family: In all cases where a concern for a child is identified and the family is known or believed to have left WA, you must follow the processes for requesting interstate alerts using Form 661 Request for Interstate/New Zealand Alert or Form 903 – Request for Interstate Notification.
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Procedures- Overview
- Types of alerts
- 1. Local Alerts
- 2. Interstate Notifications and Alerts
- 3. Case Alerts
- 4. Medical Alerts
- 5. Risk Alerts
- Centrelink and Medicare - requests for information
- Information relating to convicted child sex offenders
- Requests for an Interstate Notification or Alert
Overview Alerts are used to inform staff about critical information and/or special considerations about the Department's clients. They can be used to convey information about medical conditions that impact the wellbeing of a child, interstate alerts or worker safety issues. Consultation with the team leader You must consult with your team leader to discuss the rationale for the alert and the information to be recorded.
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Information recorded in an alert can be subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act 1992. Therefore, information recorded must be brief, specific and factual. You must be mindful of the language you use, and not use statements that could be considered libellous. |
Team leader approval Team leaders
must approve alerts before they are placed in Assist. When an alert is approved by your team leader, save the alert document into the case file (except where an Interstate Alert is required - refer to the section 'Requests for an Interstate Notification or Alert' below). Types of alertsThere are five types of alerts which may be recorded on Assist and in client files. 1. Local AlertsThese are used when you have serious concerns for a child or family who have left their last known address and their current location is unknown. The alert requests that you are informed immediately if contact is made with the child or family. Before, or at the time of placing the Alert in Assist, you must use Form 900 – Request for Information from Centrelink to formally request information on the client's address and contact details from Centrelink to identify the current location of the family. Complete Form 900 and email it to our nominated contact officer at Centrelink.InformationRequests@communities.wa.gov.au. The request is forwarded to Centrelink. If the Centrelink search is unsuccessful you may consider making a request for information from Medicare (Form 899), along with making a another Centrelink
Request on a later occasion. 2. Interstate Notifications and AlertsThese alerts are used when you have serious concerns for a child or family and there is reason to believe that the family has left or is planning to leave the State.
Locating the child Before requesting an interstate notification or alert, you
must attempt to locate the child or family; complete:
Notifications – use when a child or family's location or interstate address is known If Centrelink or Medicare can provide a new current address complete
Form 903 Request for an Interstate Notification with the new address and email to:
WAInterstateLiaison@communities.wa.gov.au. The WA ILO will liaise with the relevant state's child protection department to record the Notification on their system.
Alerts – use when a child or family's location or interstate address is unknown To request that an alert be placed on another state's child protection system complete Form 661 – Request for Interstate/New Zealand Alert and email it to the WA ILO:
WAInterstateLiaison@communities.wa.gov.au. | Recording an Interstate Alert on Assist does not mean that an Alert has been created and forwarded to other jurisdictions. All child protection departments have their own client information systems and requests for Interstate Alerts are actioned through each jurisdiction's Interstate Liaison Officer (ILO). |
For more information, refer to the Interstate Child Protection Protocol in related resources and the section 'Requests for an Interstate Alert' below 3. Case AlertsThese are used to warn
staff that there is more critical information available about a case and that
contact should be made with the designated child protection worker. 4. Medical AlertsThese are only used for
children. Medical Alerts provide
information about children’s medical conditions to staff. These alerts enable staff to take reasonable
precautions to reduce the possibility of harm or injury to the child and/or to
staff or carers. A Medical Alert may be used,
for example, if a child has a condition such as diabetes, epilepsy or asthma,
or an allergic reaction to bees or peanuts. 5. Risk AlertsThere are five categories of Risk Alerts: -
Conviction for Violence Alert
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Observed Violence Alert
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Hearsay Violence Alert
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Misconduct Restraining Order, and
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Violence Restraining Order.
These alerts do not contain a dialogue box for more details. You must contact the officer responsible for the alert for more information. Centrelink and Medicare - requests for informationTopInformation relating to convicted child sex offendersWhen recording information about a convicted child sex offender staff must not include information that the offender: - is managed by the Sex Offender Management Squad (SOMS); or
- on the Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR).
Department staff must: request information from WA Police via a s.23 request for information regarding the offender's criminal record refer to the offender as having been convicted of 'xxx offence' (e.g. Joe Blogs was convicted of indecent dealings with a child under 13) record all contacts with SOMS as 'the relevant section in the Western Australia Police' when placing an alert on Assist, write as 'Person referred by WA Police who has been convicted of (name the offence) - e.g. 'indecent dealings with a child under 13'.
Requests for an Interstate Notification or AlertYou should request an Interstate Notification or Alert to be placed on the relevant interstate and New Zealand agency systems when: you become aware that a child with an open case or the subject of a child protection concern has moved interstate to a known address, or you have serious concerns about the welfare of a child or young person who is suspected to be interstate, but who's exact location is unknown.
If the interstate address is known, or becomes known to you, complete Form 903 Request for an Interstate Notification with the current address of the child and family, and email it to: WAInterstateLiaison@communities.wa.gov.au. The WA ILO will liaise with the relevant jurisdiction. For more information refer to Chapter 3.4 Interstate and New Zealand liaison. Process for requesting an Interstate Alert You must: Consult with and receive approval from your team leader to request an Interstate Alert. Attempt to locate the child by completing Form 900 Request for Information from Centrelink and forward it to Centrelink.InformationRequests@communities.wa.gov.au WA ILO checks Form 661 to verify that all the necessary details have been provided and the request is approved. WA ILO forwards Form 661 request to the ILO in the relevant jurisdiction to have the alert placed on their agency's system.
Where an urgent Interstate Alert is required after-hours contact the Crisis Care Unit.
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