CHCCHILD401A: Identify and respond tochildren and young people at risk

Report indications of possible risk of harm

Contents

Accurately record relevant circumstances surrounding risk of harm in accordance with organisation procedures, ethics and legal requirements 3

Risk of harm 3

Gathering, monitoring and recording information 5

Promptly report risk of harm indicators accordance with statutory and organisation procedures 7

Identify indicators of risk of harm 7

Indicators in children’s behaviour 11

When is there reason to be suspicious? 12

Guidelines on what to tell a child 13

Making 'risk of harm' judgments 14

Legislation and the reporting of risk of harm 16

Work collaboratively with relevant agencies to ensure maximum effectiveness of report 18

Making a mandatory report 18

Reports made by mandatory reporters 19

Report feedback 19

Support agencies 20

The role of government agencies 20

The role of non-government agencies 21

Accurately record relevant circumstances surrounding risk of harm in accordance with organisation procedures, ethics and legal requirements

Being a worker means that you may have, or could have in the future, children in your care who may be at risk of abuse, or are being abused or who have been abused at some time in their life. A key element of our role as workers in the community services sector is recognising indicators of possible abuse and risk of harm and making appropriate decisions that support the rights and safety of children and young people.

Risk of harm

‘Risk of harm’ refers to the likelihood that a child or young person may suffer physical, psychological or emotional harm as a result of what is done (physical, sexual or psychological abuse) or not done (neglect) by another person, often an adult responsible for their care.

Factors which (singly or in combination) can increase the possibility of risk of harm to children and young people occurring include:

•  social or geographic isolation of the child, young person or family, including lack of access to extended family

•  inadequate community support, eg affordable child care, housing, transport, employment, health and welfare services

•  previous abuse or neglect of a brother or sister

•  limited parenting skills and poor parenting models possibly leading to unrealistic expectations of children in the family

•  family history of violence including domestic violence

•  physical or mental health issues for the parent or caregiver affecting their ability to care for the child or young person

•  the parent or caregivers’ abuse of alcohol or other drugs affecting their ability to care for the child or young person.

It needs to be remembered that the presence of a risk factor in a child or young person’s life does not necessarily mean the child/young person is at risk of harm. Exposure to multiple risk factors, or multiple occurrences of the same risk factor creates the greatest vulnerability in children and young people.

It is also important to note that, as we treat each child as an individual, so too we should understand that all families are different. Raising children can place pressure and stress on any family and learning to be an effective parent takes time. Families need advice, assistance and support and this is more urgent when families suffer economic hardship.

Activity 1

Activity 2

Gathering, monitoring and recording information

As a caregiver you have been trained to constantly observe children and record your observations accurately and objectively. One of the ways you can protect children from abuse is to be observant.

If you notice injuries or behaviours that alert you to the possibility of abuse, you need to record these accurately, following the procedures in your workplace. It is important to record what has actually happened without including interpretations. The observations that you collect should involve a variety of methods as this can give a holistic picture and give you clues as to whether the child is at risk of harm.

Children sometimes behave in uncharacteristic ways. If you know the child and have been completing regular observations, you are in a position to identify uncharacteristic behaviours. If the child is at risk of harm or being abused, the child will react in some way. This can be a dramatic change or it could be slowly over a period of time.

Reflect on the situation below.

Bella, aged six, becomes aggressive towards other children, especially those who are younger or smaller. She is exhibiting some bullying characteristics and from previous observations, appears to be behaving in an uncharacteristic manner.

It is also important to accurately record the visible signs, behaviour or behavioural changes. It is equally important to make notes of explanations by the child or parent. Children will often try to protect the perpetrators because they are either scared or frightened or because they love them. Children may try to hide any injuries or they may try to make up stories about what has happened. Similarly adults may try and do the same thing.

By recording any explanations that you are given you are monitoring information that may in fact be true or that may form part of a cluster of indicators.

If you have accurate records of these explanations, you can use them to provide evidence should you subsequently need to make a report of suspected abuse to the relevant authority or child protection agency.

Activity 3

Activity 4

Recording information

Remember, as a worker in NSW, you are legally obliged to report if you have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is at risk of harm, and if you have current concerns about the safety, welfare and well-being of a child or young person. Your service will also have in place policies and procedures which guide you in making a report. This may include discussing your concerns with a supervisor or co-ordinator before making a report, and only using service or agency agreed forms for making the report. In some services, it may be policy that only the co-ordinator actually makes the report to the DoCS Helpline.

Promptly report risk of harm indicators accordance with statutory and organisation procedures

A child’s and young person’s right to safety is one that every member of the community should support. One way workers in community services can support this right is to develop awareness of the indicators that a child is at risk within their home or family. Under the NSW Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, it is a legislative as well as an ethical responsibility for workers to be aware of indicators of risk.

Identify indicators of risk of harm

When is a child at risk of harm?

There are a number of circumstances that might lead you to believe that a child or young person is ‘at risk of harm’.

According to the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998:

A child or young person is at risk of harm if current concerns exist for the safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person because of the presence of any one or more of the following circumstances:

(a) the child or young person’s basic physical or psychological needs are not being met

(b) the parents or other caregivers have not arranged and are unable or unwilling to arrange for the child or young person to receive necessary medical care

(c) the child or young person has been, or is at risk of being, physically or sexually abused or ill-treated

(d) the child or young person is living in a household where there have been incidents of domestic violence and, as a consequence, the child or young person is at risk of serious physical or psychological harm

(e) a parent or other caregiver has behaved in such a way towards the child or young person that the child or young person has suffered or is at risk of suffering serious psychological harm.

(f) the child was the subject of a pre-natal report as being at risk of harm at birth, but the birth mother of the child did not engage successfully with support services to eliminate, or minimise to the lowest level reasonably practical, the risk factors that gave rise to the report. .

As a worker, you have a responsibility to:

•  be aware of children who are at risk of harm

•  recognise and identify situations in which it is occurring

•  report suspicions in order to help protect children.

Situations in which you may find yourself could include:

•  a parent might tell you that she has lost her temper and hit her child on the side of the head

•  you may observe a cigarette burn on the buttocks of a toddler when you are changing their nappy

•  a child might tell you that a family member is touching them in a private place on their body.

These situations are clearly reportable cases of children at risk of harm. For you to consider reporting, you need to be sure there are reasonable grounds and that there are current concerns that the children are at risk of harm.

You are being trained to develop skills which can help you to recognise indicators so you can make appropriate decisions that support the rights and safety of children within your care. The following activities in this topic will help you develop these skills further.

Indicators

An indicator is a sign which points to the fact that abuse might be occurring. It is something that you observe (such as injuries or changes in a child’s behaviour) or hear or are told that indicates the child might be at risk of harm. In order to monitor vulnerable children you need to be able to recognise signs of risk of harm.

There are basically three categories of indicators:

•  physical indicators of the child

•  behavioural indicators of the child

•  behavioural indicators of the caregiver.

Possible signs of neglect

Signs in children

low weight for age and/or failure to thrive and develop / untreated physical problems e.g. sores, serious nappy rash and urine scalds
extreme anxiety about being abandoned, which is not age-appropriate / child not adequately supervised for their age
scavenging or stealing food and focus on basic survival / poor standards of hygiene i.e. child consistently unwashed
extended stays at school, public places, other homes / extreme longing for adult affection
rocking, sucking, head-banging / poor or pale complexion and poor hair texture

Signs in parents or caregivers

unable or unwilling to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, safe home conditions / leaving the child without appropriate supervision
abandonment of child / withholding physical contact or stimulation for prolonged periods
unable or unwilling to provide psychological nurturing

Possible signs of sexual abuse

Signs in children

child or child’s friend telling you about it, directly or indirectly / describing sexual acts
going to bed fully clothed / sexual knowledge or behaviour inappropriate for the child’s age
regressive behaviour e.g. sudden return to bed-wetting or soiling / bruising or bleeding in the genital area
sexually transmitted diseases / bruising to breasts, buttocks, lower abdomen or thighs
self-destructive behaviour e.g. drug dependency, suicide attempts, self-mutilation / child being in contact with a known or suspected perpetrator of a sexual assault
anorexia or over-eating / adolescent pregnancy
unexplained accumulation of money and gifts / persistent running away from home

Signs in parents or caregivers

exposing a child to prostitution or pornography or using a child for pornographic purposes / intentional exposure of a child to sexual behaviour of others
previous conviction or suspicion of child sexual abuse / coercing a child to engage in sexual behaviour with other children
verbal threats of sexual abuse / denial of adolescent’s pregnancy by family

Possible signs of physical abuse

Signs in children

bruising to face, head or neck, other bruising and marks which may show the shape of the object that caused it e.g. belt buckle, hand print / lacerations and welts
explanation of injury offered by the child is not consistent with the injury / adult bite marks and scratches
abdominal pain caused by ruptured internal organs, without a history of major trauma / fractures of bones, especially in children under three years old
burns and scalds (including cigarette burns) / drowsiness, vomiting, fits or retinal haemorrhages, which may suggest head injury
multiple injuries or bruises / swallowing of poisonous substances, alcohol or other harmful drugs
dislocations, sprains, twisting / general indicators of female genital mutilation which could include: having a special operation, difficulties in toileting and reluctance to be involved in sport or other physical activities where the child was previously interested.

Signs in parents and caregivers

explanation of injury offered by the parent is not consistent with the injury / a parent or caregiver says that they fear injuring their child
family history of violence / history of their own maltreatment as a child
frequent visits with their child to health or other services with unexplained or suspicious injuries, swallowing of non-food substances or with inner complaints

Possible signs of emotional abuse

All types of abuse and neglect harm children psychologically, but the term ‘emotional abuse’ applies to behaviour which destroys a child’s confidence.