Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate placement plans for out of home care. It includes the ability to contribute to broader strategic evaluations of out of home care services.
This unit applies to workers who use advanced critical analysis, communication and evaluation skills as part of their responsibility in the case management of children and young people living in out of home care. Plans may be referred to as placement, care or case plans.
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. Develop plans | 1.1 Base planning on a critical analysis of the documented outcomes of assessment 1.2 Integrate current best practice principles and evidence based research about out of home care into planning processes 1.3 Take into account the immediate, medium and long term needs of the child or young person and their family and carer in planning and selecting placement 1.4 Include requirements of court orders in plans 1.5 Clearly communicate plan to child or young person, carers, family members, and relevant bodies 1.6 Document plans and store in accordance with legislative and organisation standards and procedures 1.7 Incorporate regular review mechanisms according to legislative and organisation requirements |
2. Implement plans | 2.1 Brief child or young person’s family and the new carers and prepare for the placement 2.2 Ensure the child or young person is aware of why they are in care and their rights 2.3 Maintain record-keeping systems for placement according to organisation and legislative requirements 2.4 Organise resource allocation to support the placement according to organisation procedures 2.5 Monitor, address and support immediate and longer term developmental needs of the child or young person throughout the placement 2.6 Support carers in their provision of day-to-day care to meet the changing and developing needs of the child or young person 2.7 Implement contact with family and significant others, including siblings and community, according to the plan 2.8 Identify situations of alleged abuse or other critical situations and take immediate action according to legislative and organisation requirements and interagency protocols |
3. Monitor and review plans | 3.1 Regularly assess and review developmental needs of child or young person, including health, education, social and emotional needs 3.2 Assess and review the needs of carers and work collaboratively to provide required supports 3.3 Provide formal and informal opportunities for child/young person, to meet in private with case worker and talk about their placement 3.4 Make judgements about the success or otherwise of the placement based on analysis of information and respond to the need for adjustment or change according to organisation protocols 3.5 Provide information to parents, family or significant others about progress of child or young person |
4. Contribute to strategic evaluations of out of home care | 4.1 Reflect on and use learning from individual cases to inform contributions to strategic evaluations 4.2 Collaborate with colleagues to share ideas and perspectives 4.3 Review and challenge own and organisation’s practice for better ways of doing things 4.4 Use current and emerging research to inform evaluation |
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:
performed the activities outlined in the performance criteria of this unit in the workplace
developed, implemented and monitored at least 3 plans according to current best practice principles, and in consultation with children or young people, family, carers and other service providers
participated in a structured process of strategic evaluation of the organisation’s out of home care services.
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 out of home care, and how these are applied in organisations and individual practice:
challenges associated with potential tensions between own and organisational values
children in the workplace and child-focused practice
codes of conduct
discrimination
duty of care
mandatory reporting
privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
policy frameworks, including National Standards for Out-of-Home Care
records management
rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients, including legal services available to the client and notification protocols
specific legislative frameworks that apply to out of home care
work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations
work health and safety
current and emerging research on out of home care
different pathways and types of plans for children, and their application in different situations, including:
restoration/reunification
open adoption
guardianship
kinship care
short/long term
age specific approaches
principles and practices underpinning out of home care, including:
safety, welfare and well-being of child/young person as paramount
current national standards
permanency planning
restoration and reunification
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principles
consideration of culture, cultural identity, disability, language, religion and sexuality of the child or young person
involvement of the child/young person
role of birth parents, family and significant others
family and social dynamics which may impact on care placements
child and adolescent development, including:
stages of child development, including physical, emotional, cognitive, psychological and social development
life story work
attachment theory
grief and loss
identity issues and the importance of birth family
strategies for communicating with children, young people and their families
risk assessment, comprehensive psychosocial assessment and family assessment, including the indicators, types and dynamics of harm
types of supports provided to carers and in what circumstances.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace with the addition of simulations and scenarios where the full range of contexts and situations have not been provided in the workplace. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
use of suitable facilities, equipment and resources, including:
case information
organisation policies and procedures
modelling of industry operating conditions, including scenarios that involve complex interactions with others.
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.