Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to use, support and evaluate child-focused approaches in service delivery in the context of family law. A key tenet of the family law system and associated service provision is acting and promoting the best interests of the child.
This unit applies to individuals working with families in complex situations. They would be working in accordance with established policies and procedures.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand Standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Make child needs central to service provision | 1.1 Review client information to establish the context for the family and the child 1.2 Seek clarification and understanding of court orders to determine legal parameters of any service provision or interventions 1.3 Plan and document activities 1.4 Provide an environment, equipment and resources that supports safe interactions 1.5 Recognise and respond to the needs of reluctant or non-participative children 1.6 Identify and report information according to legislative requirements |
2. Support parents to maintain child focused approaches | 2.1 Focus on children’s issues as a matter of priority in interactions with parents 2.2 Ensure the child is at the centre of support and intervention plans 2.3 Select and use interpersonal skills that engage parents/carers and facilitate understanding of required behaviour 2.4 Recognise and manage parents’ inappropriate attempts to exchange information 2.5 Recognise and manage inter parental disputes |
3. Respond to situations requiring child inclusive process | 3.1 Recognise situations when child inclusive process is required 3.2 Discuss with parents/carers the appropriateness and usefulness of engaging children 3.3 Communicate the role of child consultant to parents/carers and children, and the differences from own role 3.4 Obtain consent from children and adults to engage a child consultant 3.5 Engage the services of a child consultant to represent the needs, perceptions and attachments of children according to organisation procedures 3.6 Communicate with the child consultant about the child’s best interests and methods of integrating child’s need and views into own work processes |
4. Monitor and evaluate child-focused practice | 4.1 Obtain and use feedback from parents/carers and children about the experiences of the service to inform improvements 4.2 Review practices and policies for their effectiveness in relation to child-focused practice 4.3 Identify and respond to the need for guidance and direction for colleagues |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
• consistently applied the concepts and intention of working in the child’s best interests as stated in the Family Law Act 1975 in the planning, provision and monitoring of services to at least 3 families with children experiencing conflict
• responded appropriately to situations where:
• the child is vulnerable or at risk
• there is a requirement for child inclusive practice.
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
legal and ethical considerations for child-focused practice, and how these are applied in organisations and individual practice:
codes of conduct
discrimination
duty of care
human rights, including:
- child rights to protection
- active right to participate
- right to choose course of action and make decision at their level of ability in any planning processes
mandatory reporting
privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
records management
rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
specific legislative frameworks that apply to child-focused practice, including:
- principles and practice standards for working within the child’s best interests as stated in Family Law Act
- the key components of, and differences between, child-focused practice and child inclusive practice, and when they are used
- types of court orders that may influence the delivery of services
work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations, including the separate role of child consultants and when this may be appropriate
work health and safety
case management principles of assessment, planning, monitoring and review
stages of child development and relevance to work with vulnerable children
attachment and family systems theories and how these are applied to working with vulnerable and traumatised children
importance of peer relationships for vulnerable and isolated children
principles of empowerment and application of these to work practice
types of issues that are important to children in situations involving family conflict
equipment, activities and resources that support engagement with children
indicators of abuse, types of abuse, children who are particularly vulnerable and reporting systems
indicators, effects and dynamics on family relationships, and implications for children of:
conflict
family violence and abuse
substance use
mental illness
disability
separation and divorce
trauma
parenting and family dynamics in different cultures
service options for referral to relationship support and interventions services
concepts of parent alienation in separation and divorce and their application to work
effects of loss, grief and depression on children experiencing family conflict
indicators of, and responses to, child anxiety including childhood resilience
ways that parents may make inappropriate attempts to exchange information
strategies to manage inter parental disputes including:
ensuring safety of vulnerable clients
using assertiveness and negation skills
modelling
reinforcing the organisations policy on rights and responsibilities of both clients and workers
undertaking risk assessments for vulnerability
re-focusing attention on child’s expressed wants and needs.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment that reflects workplace conditions. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
• use of suitable facilities, equipment and resources, including:
- current family law information
- client information
- resources to support interactions with children
• modelling of industry operating conditions, including:
- scenarios that involve complex interactions with other people.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.