Department of Health and Human Services
Children and youth services /

After Hours Emergency Services for

Child Protection Policy

Effective From / June 2013
Functional Sub Group / Office of the Director, Children and Youth Services Operations
Summary / This Policy applies to Child Protection staff and is used to provide clear direction for the provision of after-hoursemergency services in compliance with broader agency policies,and legislation requirements.
Replaces Doc. No. / Protocol 9: After Hours Service – Where a child is a client of both CPS and CYJS
Author Area / Children and Youth Services
Contact / CYS Director – Operations
Applies to / All staff engaged in Child Protection services
Policy Type / Child Protection Services state-wide policy
Review Date / To be reviewed 6 months post implementation
Prepared by / Tracey Newman / Senior Project Officer / 62307931 / 03September 2012
Through / Angela McCrossen / Senior Practice Consultant / 6230 7946 / 21 April 2013
Through / Elizabeth O’Malley / Director of Operations / 63365258 / 23 May 2013
Cleared by / Scott Tilyard / Deputy Secretary, Children and Youth Services / 6233 3637 / 6 June 2013

Introduction/Purpose

The after-hours emergency service is operated on a regional basis (South, North and Northwest) between 5:06pm and 8:30am weekdays and 24 hours Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

The service is managed by Child Protection staff,who workout of officeand who nominate to be on the After-Hours Roster. Whilst participation is voluntary, staff members are encouraged tosupport the program.

All after-hours incoming enquiries or contacts are made by telephone or email,and are managed by the rosteredOn-call Team Leader in each region. The On-call Team Leader is responsible for contacting staff from the call-out roster to provide a face-to-face emergency response when required. Staff members are not required to be team leaders to be considered for thisrole; however they must demonstrate skills to fulfil this function,as they will have team leader delegation for the on-call rostered period.

The role of the after-hours emergency service is to respond to:

  • Reports concerning children and young people at significant or immediate risk of harm under the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1997,
  • Crisis support for carers and clients, including the negotiation of placements for children in need of alternative care,and
  • Monitoring of interstate child protection and unborn baby alerts.

The purpose of this policy is to:

  • Ensure that appropriate measures are in place to support a consistent high quality, safe, accessible and sustainable service to our clients, carers and customers,
  • As far as is reasonably practicable, deliver a service that minimises risks to staff by providing safe work systems including; instruction, training, supervision and critical incident support and
  • Require a system for recording and collecting information about after-hours activity for the purposes of service review and continuous quality improvement.

Policy Statement

Principle statement of service provision

  • The After-Hours Emergency Service provides services for emergencies;it is not an extension of day-time operations.
  • When a contact is made about an emergency, it must be treated in a timely and professional manner in accordance with agency policy, Child Protection legal and practice requirements.
  • Workers health and safety is paramount. All managers and staff must meet their responsibilities in the management of after-hours work to prevent fatigue in the workplace, and to ensure a safe work environment.

Scope of service

  • All contacts and further actions must be recorded on CPIS (Child Protection Information System).
  • Enquiries can be recorded on CPIS;however this is discretionary depending upon the nature of the call.
  • Requests for a Youth Justice worker to attend an after-hours Magistrates Court must be referred to the Youth Justice On-Call Officer; however staff should provide support to the YJ Officer regarding worker safety issues where required.
  • Contacts made after-hours must include a preliminary assessment and prioritisation by the On-callTeam Leader to determine whether an urgent after-hours call-out response is required;or whether the matter can be dealt with the next business day.
  • The On-call Team Leader should only call-out staff when absolutely necessary, such as:
  • a decision that a child may need to be removed immediately from their caregivers for their own protection resulting from an After-Hours notification;
  • to respond to a child being born subsequent to an unborn alert when immediate child protection intervention is required to secure the newborn’s safety;
  • to remove a clientfrom their placement due to placement breakdown, or provide emergency assistance to the carer/sto prevent an imminent risk of placement breakdown;
  • following a request to assist Police in matters such as execution of a warrant, requirement to place a child,or requirement to be present at a police interview relating to a CYS client;
  • to respond toan emergency hospital admission regarding a CYS client.
  • The following circumstances should not necessitate a call-out:
  • if a young person who is a client of Child Protection requires transport due to placing themselves in a situation where they are stranded, every effort must be made to make arrangements for the young person to get home, without the requirement of calling a Child Protection worker out (with due consideration to the young person’s safety).
  • any planned face to face assessments or case management activities(such as supporting carers, or family spot-checks, or contact visits or other changes to arrangements) that need a response outside of business hours are subject to normal over-time staffing rates as per agency guidelines.
  • Any outstanding follow-up work resulting from after-hours activities must be referred to the relevant Child Protection worker or team.

Staffing and remuneration

  • Any staff member may nominate themselves to be on the on-call and/or call-out rosters; however they must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in child protection, and have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in the field(Child Protection Managers discretion). Approval to work after-hours is Child Protection ManagerDelegation.
  • New staff approved to commence on the roster must be ‘buddied’ with a more experienced staff member for their first roster period, or until assessed as fully competent.
  • Rosters must be published three months in advance andmust be actively managed to allow for changes due to workload and/orsafety management requirements.
  • Staff members approved to be on-call can only be rostered for one consecutiveweek. There must be a minimum of a one week’s break before that staff member can be rostered for a further week. In exceptional circumstances where this standard cannot be met due to unavailability of other staff to work after hours, the Child Protection Manager can authorise additional hours.
  • Each region must provide an After-Hours Roster with a minimum of one, and a maximum of two approved staffavailable per day. Exception: South willhave a minimum of two approved call-out staff available per day. Staff members cannot be on the call-out roster for more than one week at a time,and there also must be a minimum of one week’s break before that staff member can be rostered for a further week.
  • A staff member cannot be on the After-Hours Roster if on pre-arranged leave (such as annual leave) or has taken sick leavefor those days.
  • A staff member on a return to work plan following an injury must not be rostered to work after-hours until their return to work plan has concluded and a return to the After-Hours Roster is supported by their supervisor.
  • Remuneration and working conditions for staff working on the on call roster is to be in accordance with Clause 15 On-Call Allowance and Clause 16 Availability allowance of the Allied Health Professionals (Tasmanian State Service) Agreement 2012 (the Agreement) and Part VII Clause 6 Availability and Recall of the Health and Human Services (Tasmanian State Service) Award (the Award).
  • The On-call Team Leader is paid 6hours per evening/night based on Allied Health Professional level two, year three.
  • All staff members working After Hours are responsible for completing timesheets for after-hours activities, and these must be signed off by your manager prior to being forwarded to Admin for processing.

Quality and Safety

  • The On-call Team Leader must have access to contact details of staff on the roster, Child Protection Managers, Area Directors and Director Operations, so they can seek advice and assistance when required.
  • All staff are required to take reasonable steps to ensure their own health and safety is not placed at risk, and consider the health and safety of others,including the management of fatigue. Staff working after-hours must be aware of, and comply with current DHHS safety and quality policies.
  • The management of fatigue associated with the After Hours Emergency Service work is to be managed and remunerated in accordance with Clause 20 Safe working and fatigue management of the Agreement and Part VII Clause 3(b) Rest Period after overtime of the Award.
  • Line-managers must monitor staff workloads and fatigue issues, and provide the opportunity for on-call workers to be debriefed following an on-call shift. If there are concerns that after-hours duties are having a negative effect on a staff members day-to-day responsibilities, or on their health; the line-manager must work with the staff member to put a plan in place to manage the impact.
  • It is the responsibility of the After-hours worker returning to day work to manage any changes to their day-time case commitments. For example; if a call-out worker has been called out for a number of hours late into the night; day-time work may need to be re-arranged to ensure that the worker is not driving long distances doing a home visit fatigued.
  • Matters arising from after-hours duties should be included as part of regular day-time supervision; and must be considered as part of a staff member’s yearly performance development agreement (PDA).

Incident Reporting and Management

  • After a critical incident, staff involved in the incident must be offered the opportunity to engage in a defusing process or receive debriefing support. More formal debriefing should also be offered at a later stage. Staff must be supported to seek further counselling (EAP) if needed to help reduce the long-term effects of working in, or experiencing traumatic situations. Whilst some staff may be less comfortable with a formal debriefing process, it is the responsibility of line managers to ensure that staff members attend debriefing opportunities in place.
  • Critical incidents include:
  • death or serious injury of a staff member, Out-of-Home carer or client;
  • situations that threatened the life or physical safety of a staff member, Out-of-Home carer or client;
  • any incident that involves weapons.
  • The Child Protection Manager must be notified of any critical incidents immediately of the incident. If the Child Protection Manager is not contactable, the Area Director or if not available the Director of Operations must be called.
  • The Child Protection Manager will arrange for initial defusing if requested, and will follow-up with the staff member/s the following day to provide support for further debriefing or counselling asrequired.
  • The On-call Team Leadermust advise the worker’s day-time supervisor of the incident. This process is designed to help stabilise those staff involved, and consideration must be given as to whether a more formal debriefing process is required the following day.
  • All critical incidents must be reported via the DHHS Electronic Incident Monitoring System (EIMS) as early as possible after the occurrence of the event and at least within 24 hours.

Monitoring and review of after-hours service provision

  • Routine monitoring of after-hours activities and processes will be undertaken; and actions to improve processes and practice will be implemented on a needs basis. See Audit and Compliance

3Key Definitions

  • For the purposes of this policy a ‘contact’ is either a:
  • notification under the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997;
  • care concern as defined under the Responding to Abuse, Neglect and Care Concerns impacting on a child in Out of Home Care policy 2012;
  • requestto manage or respond to an emergency incident concerning a client;
  • response to an interstate alert.
  • For the purposes of this policy an ‘enquiry’ is a call to after-hours for the purposes of seeking information or advice.
  • For the purpose of this policy an ‘urgentmatter’ is one in which there is evidence that the health and safety of a child is at such risk; that the child or young person requires immediate face-to-face response to ensure safety; or where a failure to respond will result in a client’s health and safety being in jeopardy or result in imminent placement breakdown.

Principles

This policy supports the following principles:

  • Best interests of the child must be the paramount consideration;
  • The child’s views must heard and be given serious consideration;
  • Child Protection services are available for children, clients and carers when they need them;
  • Services are based on the best knowledge and evidence;
  • Quality and safety data is collected, analysed and informs improvement;
  • Safety is central to how after-hoursservices operate.

Implementation/Policy in Operation

  • This is a state-wide policy and must not be re-interpreted so that subordinate policies exist.
  • The After-Hours Guide provides operational procedures for the implementation of this policy. Should any regional variations exist, they must be incorporated into this guide. Variations to operations can be submitted by email to the Child Protection Practice Manual.

Rationale/Evidence Base

The development of this policy is based on the following legislative and DHHS policy requirements:

  • Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997
  • DHHS Injury Management Policy 2010
  • DHHS Incident Reporting and Management Policy 2010
  • Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995

This policy has been developed with reference to the following documents:

  • Child Protection Model of Care (Children and Youth Services 2011)
  • Charter of Rights for Tasmanian Children and Young People in Out of Home Care
  • Children and Youth Service Quality and Safety Framework – version 1
  • DHHS Strategic Directions 2009-2012

Outcomes

  • After Hours service that is transparent and effectively connected to business hours operations.
  • Staff will be operating under an After Hours model which supports their health and safety.
  • Clients, carers and service partners will know they can access Child Protection services if an emergency situation occurs after-hours.

Responsibilities/Delegations

The following Child Protection staff members must adhere to this policy.

  • On-call Team Leader:
  • must have completed Beginning Practice and be an Authorised Officer under the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997;
  • must have sound professional judgement, and the ability to identify key issues and seek appropriate direction as required;
  • mustalso have excellent telephone based communication skills including conflict resolution and mediation skills, and a demonstrated ability to provide the team leadership function;
  • must have a current drivers licence and access to a departmental vehicle(not for home garaging purposes);
  • for the purposes of after-hours, On-call Team Leaders will have the equivalent delegation as a day serviceteam leader (if employed as a Child Protection worker).

On-call team leader will be responsible for:

  • receiving and appropriately responding to calls made to the after-hours service; and directing activities when a decision has been made to call-out a worker to respond to an emergency;
  • monitoring emails to After-Hours and Interstate Alert in-boxes;
  • ensuring that all contacts and actions are recorded on CPIS;and that day-time staff members receive the information they need to follow-up on actions the next working day;
  • completing the initial assessment record on CPIS if a call-out is made resulting from an after-hours notification;
  • being directly responsible to their Child Protection Manager, and for reporting any incidents or client related issues that have arisen over the course of the after-hours duty;
  • providing supportfor any staff members involved in a critical incident; and contacting the Child Protection manager when required;
  • ensuring they are proficient in using and managing the after-hours phone, and iPad (to remote access CPIS, the online Child Protection Practice Manual and After-Hours/Interstate Alertgeneric email account; and
  • reportingany other after-hours issues to day-time supervisor.
  • Call-out staff:
  • Must have completed Beginning Practice and be an Authorised Officer under the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997;
  • must have sound professional judgement, and the ability to identify key issues and seek appropriate direction as required;
  • must have a current drivers licence and access to a departmental vehicle.

Call-out staff will be responsible for:

  • ensuring that they are contactable, maintaining themselves available for work; and be able to initiate action when directed by the after-hours On-call Team Leader;
  • recording actions taken on CPIS;
  • raisingmatters relating to after-hours duties in normal supervision with their supervisor.
  • Child Protection Managers will be responsible for:
  • approving Child Protection staff to work after-hours (both on-call and call-out staff);
  • coordination and management of the After-Hours Roster in their region (delegated to an Administration Officer);
  • being contactable for the purposes of managing critical incidents when required;
  • managing any ongoing performance issues arising from after-hours duties.
  • Child Protection Team Leaders will be responsible for:
  • allocating after-hours follow-up work to a day-time worker;
  • ensuring their team members work within the quality and safety requirements outlined in this policy;
  • advisingtheChild Protection Manager of staff nominating to work after-hours including a recommendation as to whether their nomination is supported.
  • Child Protection Workerswill be responsible for:
  • ensuringclient/carer information is up-to-date on CPIS, particularly child placements including absences from placements. If a client is missing from their placement, consider creating a case note alert;
  • providing information to after-hours staff via the After-Hours email of any matters that may come to after-hours attention prior to the commencement of after-hours that day;
  • ensuring that any after-hours work associated with their caseload is followed-up and actioned the following day.
  • Quality Improvement Team will be responsible for:
  • ensuring that after-hours training will be included in Beginning Practice for new and existing Child Protection workers.
  • Director Operations and Area Managers will be responsible for:
  • the change management process to implement this policy;
  • ensuring the after-hours workforce is fully supported with the tools they need to do their work;
  • monitoring the implementation of the After-Hours Policyand procedures; and service quality (responsiveness, accessibility, linkages with day service and achieving positive client outcomes)through audits; and
  • has ultimate responsibility for the After-Hours services.

Audit and Compliance

  • Failure to comply with this policy, without providing a good reason for doing so, may lead to disciplinary action.
  • The following measures will be used to monitor service compliance:

This Policy may be varied, withdrawn or replaced at any time. Compliance with this directive is mandatory for the Department of Health and Human Services. Please Destroy Printed Copies. The electronic version of this Policy is the approved and current version and is located on the Agency’s intranet. Any printed version is uncontrolled and therefore not current.