Changes to assessing risk in child protection and Program Referrals

Changes to Assessing Risk in Child Protection

The interim approach to assessing risk in child protection will commence on Thursday 12 September 2024. 

This will mean that DCJ will retire the SDM Risk Assessment and SDM Risk Reassessment and introduce a new and more culturally responsive way of assessing risk.

 The interim approach to assessing risk includes the introduction of:

• the Family Based Assessment tool
•  a new assessment to determine if a child is in need of care and protection that identifies:
  • a child has been assessed as being at Risk of Significant Harm (ROSH)
  •  DCJ’s continued involvement with the family is necessary to promote the safety, welfare and wellbeing of the child (Section 34 of the Act).
• the Measuring Change Assessment to review a family’s progress and decide if DCJ needs to continue working with a family.

For more information about the change and new assessment tools please see resources below.

• Presentation slides from the information sessions held 27 and 28 August 2024 (PDF, 806.9 KB)
• Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 173.0 KB)
• Family Preservation Programs - Summary of SARA to INOCAP criterion (PDF, 110.3 KB)

If you have any questions about the interim approach to assessing risk in child protection, please email familypreservation@dcj.nsw.gov.au

Universal Referral Form (URF)

DCJ uses the Universal Referral Form (URF) to send referrals to Family Preservation programs (FP) service providers. 

The URF combines the eligibility and referral requirements for FP services into a single use, referral form. The URF replaces all other pre-existing referral mechanisms for family preservation programs. 

The URF: 

• Enables uniformity in recording and receiving of referrals 
• Provides a streamlined, consistent approach for caseworkers regardless of the type of referral
• Ensures information is recorded and stored in ChildStory

The following programs use the URF:

• Family Preservation – Brighter Futures and Youth Hope
• Functional Family Therapy – Child Welfare (FFT-CW ®)
• Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST- CAN®)
• Permanency Support Program – Family Preservation (PSP-FP)
• Intensive Family Preservation (IFP)
• Resilient Families
• Nabu 

The remaining program to transition to the URF is Intensive Family Based Services (IFBS).  

For more information on the URF, download the URF Fact Sheet (PDF, 211.1 KB).

If you have a question about Family Preservation referrals, please email familypreservation@dcj.nsw.gov.au