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The Family Action Plan for Change is made with you after the caseworker has done the first risk assessment. It is a longer-term plan than the safety plan. The Family Action Plan for Change includes the worries about your child that came out of the safety assessment and the risk assessments. It records what you and the caseworker think needs to happen, so your child stays safe and the risk to them being hurt in the future is lower.
The Family Action Plan for Change includes:
Once the Family Action Plan for Change is written, it is put in place for three months to give you time to work on the changes needed. During the three months, you and the caseworker will talk about the plan often and update actions as needed. If you cannot read English ask for an interpreter service to attend the meeting and explain it to you in your language.
See how much has changed for your child. To see how much change has happened for your child. You, your support people and the caseworker may then update the actions in the plan so you can keep working towards the goals for another three months if more time is needed.
A Family Group Conference (also known as an FGC) can be a good way to help you, your family and other support people come up with actions that can go in the Family Action Plan for Change.
Think about what a happy, healthy and safe life looks like for your child. Families sometimes face issues that are very difficult or painful to overcome. It is important to have people around you to help you make the changes your child needs.
The goals in a Family Action Plan for Change shouldn’t seem too big or unrealistic. You should be clear about:
If you can’t meet a goal, or the plan is too hard or not helping, talk to the caseworker.
The goals can feel big and you have a right to break down actions into smaller steps. The caseworker can help you to do this. If they don’t, you can ask for the goals to be made smaller. Once you have achieved each smaller step, update the Family Action Plan for Change to add the next steps. The idea is that you will keep updating the actions and steps until you get to the goal. When the risk re-assessment shows that the worries have gone down enough, DCJ will close the case.
Making big changes is hard. You may feel stressed, upset or overwhelmed. Think about who you can talk to, or what you can do to help you manage your feelings. Ask the caseworker if you need their help to do this.
Learn more about where you can call for help in the support services section.
If you feel like the caseworker isn’t listening to your concerns about your Family Action Plan for Change, you can:
The caseworker’s job is to support families and communities to keep children safe. Often that means making sure the child’s family is also safe, so they are able to give the child the support and care they need. The caseworker needs to meet certain standards in the way they work with you and your child. You can find the standards as well as an easy read and translated versions on the DCJ website.
The caseworker can advocate on your behalf (that is, help you) to get support for housing, food, managing alcohol and other drugs, health issues like medicines, mental health, parenting, disability and refuge from domestic and family violence. A caseworker does this by linking you to nearby services that can help.
You should expect the caseworker to:
Caseworkers can support you to access services to help you make the changes needed to keep your child safe. Different areas will have different services available, like:
There are many online, telephone and face-to-face services that can help you.
If you don’t have access to a phone, a computer or the internet, speak to the caseworker about whether your Community Services Centre has a phone you can use or if they can suggest local areas with free Wi-Fi.
05 Jul 2024