Rules and Practice Guidance

Aboriginal children and families drive key decisions and establish action plans to address risks, providing a culturally enriched developmental context for children to grow and thrive.

Provide oversight and a key point of interaction between the statutory child protection system and Aboriginal families and communities, including endorsement of case plans, oversight of Aboriginal Family-led Decision Making processes and other key processes. They are established by Aboriginal communities through their own governance processes.

Facilitate Aboriginal Family-led Decision Making processes, supporting families to feel safe, equipping them with key information and advice and empowering them to determine their own goals, priorities and action plans to address risks and provide safe and culturally enriched care for Aboriginal children and young people.

Advocate on behalf of Aboriginal children and families promoting full enjoyment of their rights and active participation in all processes and decisions that affect them across the continuum of support.

An Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation that is accredited by the Office of the Children’s Guardian to provide out-of-home care services to children and young people in NSW, including cultural planning and implementation.

A relevant Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation that has been identified by AbSec as a suitable organisation to support and oversee cultural planning and implementation for Aboriginal children and young people in statutory care.

Improve service system capacity and capability to provide children, their parents and families/kin with quality services. They collect data in relation to performance of the Packaged Care Service Model.

Work closely with funded service providers and other service providers to implement contractual arrangements and develop their capacity to deliver permanency support services to children, their parents and families/kin.

Have extensive knowledge about services provided locally in the service system. They act as a link between DCJ and funded service providers and other service providers, providing advice about service packages to achieve the permanency case plan goal. Aboriginal Permanency Coordinators are not assessors or decision makers and do not provide specialist practice advice. They are Permanency Support Program experts and provide advice and support to all stakeholders under the program. They oversight the minimum review periods under the Permanency Support Program between DCJ and funded service providers.

In each DCJ district, acts as the key interface between funded service providers and other service providers and DCJ in relation to children by:

• coordinating   referrals to these service providers to provide services for children,   their parents, family/kin and carers
• supporting these service providers to administer case management
• exercising the powers and functions of PR (if the child is in OOHC).

CFDUs provide advice to funded service providers and other service providers regarding:

• operation of the Aboriginal Case Management Policy, Rules and Practice Guidance
• local district structure and operating models

CFDUs are also the point of contact for funded service providers and other service providers where there has been a significant change in relevant circumstances for the child, their parents and family/kin that requires review. They liaise with district C&P teams (including Contract Managers), Permanency Coordinators and local CSC casework teams when contacted by services providers about:

• providing information and data in relation to the achievement of case plan goals
• proposals to change a case plan goal
• notifying intention to cease case management and
• case management transfer.

CFDUs liaise directly with the Aboriginal Community Controlled Mechanism to notify:

• intention to transfer case management of an Aboriginal child to a non-Aboriginal funded service provider
• intention to transfer case management of an Aboriginal child to a location that is not their community of belonging
• a proposal to change case plan goal to long term care.

Work collaboratively with service providers, Aboriginal Community Controlled Mechanisms when:

• conducting ongoing safety and risk assessment and re-assessment
• responding to new ROSH reports or
• there are ongoing court proceedings (until   proceedings are finalised).