What happens while the court decides

Your child’s care plan

The caseworker will talk with you about the care plan and ask for your ideas. Sometimes a Family Group Conference can be a good way for you and your family to have a say about the care plan.

When care planning with the caseworker tell them about:

• your child’s health, medical history and any medication
• if your child has disability and is receiving, or needs support or adjustments arranged for them
• all the people who are important in your child’s and family’s life so your child has a network of family support and can stay in contact. This could be siblings, grandparents, aunts or uncles, or other important people in your child’s life
• your child’s culture and religion
• where your child goes to school and any activities they do like tutoring, sport or music
• any support services working with your child.

Planning your next steps:

• Be open about what has got you to this point.
• Tell the caseworker your hopes for the future.
• Follow the tasks set out in the plan. These are specific to you and can range from getting help with your parenting skills or taking steps to reduce your alcohol or other drug use.
• If you feel like you are meeting the goals but the caseworker doesn’t agree, talk to your lawyer or advocate.

Sometimes, the magistrate asks everyone to attend a dispute resolution conference (DRC) to discuss the care plan.

A DRC is organised by the Children’s Court and is run by an independent person. All parties to the Court proceedings attend. If you have a lawyer, they will attend with you. The DRC helps families and DCJ talk about any areas of the plan you can’t agree on before the magistrate makes a final decision. 

Learn more about DRC’s by watching the clip created by Justice NSW.

The role of a carer

The person caring for your child must give your child love and care. This means doing all the everyday things a child needs to be safe. While your child is in care, you should expect their personal, education, health and cultural needs to be met.

All carers must uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, also called the Charter of Rights All children have these rights. Carers and caseworkers have a responsibility to support children in their care to understand their rights. All children in care aged seven and older are given a child-friendly language version (PDF, 12.1 MB) of the Charter of Rights. Using a booklet that is specially written for children aged seven to twelve years, as well as videos and posters, caseworkers will help children understand their rights and talk about their feelings and beliefs. These include the right to know their family and to be safe. 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, a special community guide to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is shared with carers. You have the right to ask if the caseworker has consulted with an Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander staff or community member to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and carers understand what the Declaration means to them.

If your child has a disability, the carer will be responsible, along with DCJ, for meeting their care needs and making sure your child’s disability support needs are met. 

Foster carers from other services

Sometimes foster carers are supported by services other than DCJ. Anglicare, Barnardos and CatholicCare are some examples of these services. If your child is placed with a carer being supported by another service, a caseworker from that service will work with you and your family. Your child will still have a caseworker from DCJ who will keep in contact with you and the other service. The DCJ caseworker will also be involved in any court processes for your child.

When you will see your child

It is important that your child stays connected to you. The caseworker will make a time for your child to see and hear from you. 

The caseworker must also give you updates about your child. The caseworker will let you know how your child is going when they are in care. If your child’s carer is a family member, you may already know a lot about their living situation. If you do not know the carer, the caseworker can tell you general information about them, their living situation and how you can be involved.

You can also play an important role by sharing information about your child with the caseworker, such as their favourite toys and clothes, what they like to eat and drink, and how you like to settle them when they are upset or going to sleep. The caseworker will share this information with the carer.

Learn more about staying connected with your child while they are in care.

Supervised visits

A supervised visit means someone has to be there when you spend time with your child. This might be the caseworker, your child’s carer or someone from an organisation that helps with family visits. 

Learn more about supervised visits.

Meeting the foster carer

You may be able to meet, call, text or email your child’s foster carer. This will depend on the best plan for your child’s safety and care. Get to know the carer and give them the chance to get to know you. Keeping in touch with your child’s foster carer means you can tell them important information about your child while also learning more about each other. This can help you feel confident about who your child is with. A good relationship between parents and carers leads to better outcomes for children.

However, this relationship can sometimes be hard for you and the carer. You may feel angry because your child is living with them and not you. You may have differences in parenting choices and values. It is important to work through these, as the relationship with your child’s carer is important. If restoration is a possibility, they can support your child to be returned to your care.

Information about your child while they are in care

You have a right to know about important decisions and events in your child’s life regardless of how long they have been in care.

The caseworker must tell you:

• when your child’s carer changes
• when your child moves house or school
• any health, disability and medical information about your child
• about school reports and awards.

The caseworker cannot give you information if:

• your child says they do not want you to know something
• sharing the information may make the child or carer unsafe
• the court decides you cannot be told.