Joint Protocol to Reduce the Contact of Young People in Residential Care with the Criminal Justice System

What is the Joint Protocol?

• The Joint Protocol to Reduce the Contact of Young People in Residential Care with the Criminal Justice System (PDF, 5.7 MB) was developed in 2016 and updated in 2019.
• It aims to reduce criminalisation for children and young people who live in Residential Care and Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC). These are forms of out-of-home care (OOHC) which are different to foster care and relative/kinship care and involve rostered staff from service providers providing care to children and young people.
• Signatories to the Joint Protocol include the Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Police Force, the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies, and AbSec.
• The Joint Protocol is supported by a statewide and multiagency governance structure (PDF, 108.5 KB).

Resources

• How to Respond to Incidents under the Joint Protocol (PDF, 29.6 KB) A Cheat Sheet has been developed for service providers.
• A Factsheet and Escalation Pathway have been developed to support local implementation of the Joint Protocol and issues resolution for cases involving individual children and young people.

o   Factsheet: Post-Incident Consultation under the Joint Protocol (PDF, 265.4 KB).

o   Joint Protocol Escalation Pathway (PDF, 296.9 KB).

• A factsheet about bail and how it affects young people in residential care and Intensive Therapeutic Care has been developed by Legal Aid. Bail and Young People.
• A Missing Persons Pack has been developed by NSW Police Force for use by service providers and the Department of Communities and Justice if a child is suspected to have been abducted or there are serious concerns for their immediate safety.

Training

• https://www.acwa.asn.au/joint-protocol-training-for-itc-and-residential-care-workers/ Introductory training for Service Providers has been jointly developed by the Department of Communities and Justice, Legal Aid and the Lighthouse institute.  
• https://www.cetc.org.au/joint-protocol-training-series/  Comprehensive free online training for the Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Police Force and Service Providers has been jointly developed by Department of Communities and Justice, NSW Police Force, Mackillop Family Services, Legal Aid and the Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies.
  
• https://www.cetc.org.au/training/responding-to-child-sexual-exploitation/  Training has been developed to support residential and Intensive Therapeutic Care staff respond to child sexual exploitation.
  
• https://www.cetc.org.au/safe-connections-a-resource-kit-to-support-young-people-in-care-at-risk-of-child-sexual-exploitation-practice-guide/ A pdf resource kit has been developed to support OOHC staff support children and young people in care who are at risk of child sexual exploitation.