NOTIFICATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE

When you phone the Department of Human Services - Child Protection office to speak to the duty worker.  The following outlines some of the information the duty worker may require.  It is important to remember that even if you do not have ALL the information requested, you can still make a report with whatever information you have, so that an assessment of the situation can be made.

• The basic information you will be asked:

  • Child's name, age, date of birth, gender, and address.

  • Parent or caregiver's name, age, address, phone number.

  • Alleged maltreater's name, age, address, phone number, and relationship to the child.

  • Other members of the child's household and their relationship to the child.

• You will be asked to give a details description of the abuse:

  • Any injury/abuse/neglect, current or previous.  For example, details of disclosure or incident observed, size and location of physical injuries, specific description of abusive acts or omissions of care.

  • Any behavioural indicators, current or previous, including frequency and circumstances.

  • When you first became aware of the abuse.

  • How you knew this and what led you to suspect it is the result of abuse.

  • Who else is aware of this.

• You will need to provide information about the current situation:

  • Whereabouts of the child, parents, caregiver, and alleged maltreater.

  • Who is aware of this report being made.

• Other background information:

  • Other agencies known to be involved with the child and/or family (including schools, doctors, maternal and child health services).

  • Relevant family information - history of violence, patterns of interaction, extended family relationships, significant others and interaction with the community.

  • Any other relevant information.

• Your details:

  • Name, address, and phone number.

  • Relationship with child/parent/caregiver/alleged maltreater.

  IN THE SUNRAYSIA - MALLEE AREA
  NOTIFICATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE CAN BE MADE TO
  DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
  REGIONAL OFFICE - BENDIGO 

  (03) 54302333 or 131 278 (Toll free for all Victoria) 24 Hours 7 Days

  

What Does D.H.S. Do With The Report?

On receipt of your notification, the duty protective worker who took your call will consult with a senior protective worker to decide whether the situation required further action.

Notifications which require no further action occur when:

• Further action is not appropriate because the reported concerns do not fit within the definition of child maltreatment as a child at significant risk of harm.

• There is a lack of identifying information

• The harm, or likely harm to the child, is not significant and with advice from the protective worker and involvement of a community agency it is unlikely to become significant.

When a decision is made to take no further action the case is closed.  Protective service workers may attend a case conference as part of making a decision about taking further action.

When a decision is made that the notification requires further action, the initial investigation commences.   From this point the protective worker has twenty-eight days to conduct an initial investigation.  This will decide whether the notification can be substantiated and whether the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm and whether the child's parent(s) have not protected, or are unlikely to protect, the child from any such harm.

Initial Investigation

All investigations are initiated as soon as possible.  Senior protective workers or managers are sometimes forced to prioritise investigations depending upon the apparent urgency of the notification.

On the first visit to the family, protective workers investigate the validity of the allegations and assess the level of immediate risk to the child.  First visits are generally unannounced.  They usually involve two protective workers for reasons of:

• Safety

• Practical support

• The advantage of two workers assessing a complex situation

• Enabling the workers to interview different family members at the same time.

• Allowing a more experienced worker to assist and train a newer or more junior worker.

In cases involving allegations of physical or sexual abuse, protective workers are likely to interview the child out of home, for example, at school.  The purpose of this is to obtain information from the child in a neutral environment away from the alleged perpetrator.

When a notification concerns allegations of physical or sexual abuse, protective workers are obliged to discuss the notification with Victoria Police before interviewing the children or family members (see below).

When protective workers make the first visit to a family they are legally obliged to inform the family that any information volunteered may be used for the purpose of a Protection Application to the Children's Court.  The workers must also explain their role and responsibilities and the confidential status of the notifier.  They must also clearly describe the protective concerns, and listen to the families views and responses to the allegation.

Child Protection Victoria Protocol with Victoria Police

Child Protection Victoria has developed a protocol with Victoria Police which says that, where criminal proceedings appear to be a possible outcome of investigation (cases where physical or sexual abuse is alleged), protective workers should conduct the initial interview with members of the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Units.  The objective of joint interviews is to reduce the number of interviews to which a child is subjected.

Medical Examinations

When there are allegations of physical abuse, protective workers may ask the child's parents to remove the child's clothing.

When it is suspected that a child has been physically or sexually abused, the protective worker must decide whether to obtain a medical examination of the child.  This is done by either a forensic physician or specialist paediatrician.

Assessing the Level of Risk

In order to establish the level of risk to the child, the protective workers must interview the child and the child's parents.  The protective worker will ask the family to respond to the allegations of abuse.  The worker also assesses the family's functioning: current family problems; the parent's ability and willingness to accept responsibility for alleged abuse and to work with Child Protection Victoria or other agencies.  The worker also establishes contact with extended family members and other relevant professionals/agencies involved with the child during the initial investigation period.

Removing Children From Their Families

If a child is assessed as being in a situation of unacceptable risk at the time of the first visit, or afterwards, the protective worker can consider:

• Using an Intervention Order to enforce the removal of the alleged perpetrator in order to prevent the need to remove the child.

• Immediate removal of the child by voluntary placement.  This is appropriate when the protective worker thinks that the risk to the child is such that a short term placement will enable the parents and the child to participate in the use of services which would assist them in overcoming the crisis.  The family must be willing to work with such services on a voluntary basis.