To ensure children and young people who have been removed from the care of a person under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 (SA) (the Act) are placed in a safe, nurturing, stable and secure environment.

The Service Provider will provide General Family Based Care Services to children and young people aged 0 – 17 years who are under Guardianship or Custody of the Chief Executive or other order or authority.

To constitute a referral for General Family Based Care Services, the child or young person:

• does not require intensive models of care to support complex and extreme needs
• has received a Complexity Assessment Tool (CAT) assessment at any level (i.e. from 0 – 4).

Young people over 18 years may continue to receive Family Based Care Services for assistance with transitioning to independence until 21 years of age.

Children and young people placed with approved carers who have been granted long-term guardianship are not eligible service users, except where the long-term guardian experiences a crisis or emergency which temporarily impacts on their ability to provide direct care and there is no other option available within the long-term guardian’s existing support network.

The Service Provider must:

1. Hold a foster care agency licence
2. Comply with this service specification at all times
3. Comply with DCP’s Service Provision Requirements
4. Have appropriate governance and management structures, appropriate policies, procedures, service models, staffing models, rostering arrangements, and programming required for the delivery of the service in line with this specification and service provision requirements.

The Service Provider must:

1. Ensure Service Provider personnel hold and maintain relevant working with children checks at all times. Refer to DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements
2. Provide ongoing supervision and guidance to Service Provider personnel in respect to their performance and work-related activities
3. Report any suspicion that a child or young person may be at risk in accordance with the Act
4. Provide training to personnel in accordance with DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements
5. Ensure service provider personnel promote the need for children and young people to be safe from harm and report any suspicion that a child or young person may be at risk in accordance with the Act
6. Make relevant courses of training available to Service Provider personnel – to consolidate or improve knowledge, develop or build skills, promote wellbeing and to address identified issues as they arise
7. Provide support to Service Provider personnel during and following critical incidents, care concerns and/or special investigations into allegations of abuse made against them
8. Maintain a policy to provide access to an Employee Assistance Program for Service Provider personnel
9. Implement performance and development plans for all Service Provider personnel
10. Review performance and development plans for Service Provider personnel as part of an annual review process
11. Maintain records of all training undertaken by Service Provider personnel
12. Provide an opportunity for exited personnel to complete an exit interview.

The Service Provider must:

1. Seek to recruit carers from relevant backgrounds with competencies to meet the diverse needs of children and young people
2. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people – to accept immediate placements and work with birth families to support reunification
3. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people – to support short term care order arrangements, until reunification occurs or transition to a permanent placement
4. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people in long term care arrangements – providing placement stability and permanency to age 18 (and beyond; with potential to become long-term guardians)
5. Identify, recruit and support potential respite carers and/or significant others for each child or young person in accordance with Case Plans; recruiting sufficient active carers to provide respite for all carers
6. Engage in general community awareness-raising activities with local targeted recruitment strategy/campaigns (including implementing appropriate recruitment activities in conjunction with DCP). Refer to Family Based Carer Recruitment
7. Maintain a thorough knowledge of local placement demand and knowledge of carers available in these locations to better plan for and target recruitment strategy/campaigns
8. Support approved carers to be active in positive ‘word-of-mouth’ recruitment
9. Support carer mobility across Service Providers where required and where in the best interests of the child or young person.

The Service Provider must:

1. Develop and implement intake and carer assessment processes
2. Undertake thorough assessments of potential carers using an approved culturally appropriate assessment tool that focuses on carer’s competencies
3. Identify, record and address any actual or potential risks in the household that may impact on the potential carers’ ability to provide a safe, nurturing, stable and secure home environment
4. Complete relevant working with children checks for all members of carer household and regular visitors. Refer to DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements
5. Submit completed carer assessments to DCP Carer Assessment Review Unit (CARU) for approval and registration
6. Meet any conditions of approval imposed by DCP
7. Undertake regular assessments of the provision of care by approved carers
8. Advise CARU of any change of circumstances of approved carers
9. Notify CARU of any person who begins an assessment process to become an approved carer who is screened out, or who subsequently withdraws from the assessment.

The Service Provider must:

1. Ensure the provision of General Family Based Care services meet needs for immediate response, short term, and long term care of children and young people
2. Accept and respond to family based placement referrals from DCP Placement Service Unit during business hours, and DCP Crisis Response Unit outside of business hours
3. Only match children and young people with approved carers
4. Support DCP to place a child or young person in regard to placement matching principles
5. Meet DCP referrals timeframes as shown below:
   1. Placement referrals:
      • Respond to initial referrals within 24-hours
      • Accepted or decline referrals within 21 days
      • Commence placements within 14 days of referral acceptance (except where otherwise agreed to meet the arrangements agreed in the child or young person’s Transition Plan)
   2. Immediate Response referrals:
      • Respond to initial referrals within 2 hours
      • Commence placements within 24 hours of acceptance of referral

6. Inform DCP Placement Services Unit of all decisions relating to matching of carers and the carer who will be providing care of children and young people
7. Provide a minimum number of general placements specified in the Service Agreement (excluding respite) at all times during the term of the Service Agreement
8. Support DCP to complete and implement placement agreements for children and young people
9. Identify carers who provide the best match with a child or siblings working to keep sibling groups together (where appropriate)
10. Involve carers in decision-making processes
11. Provide any information to approved carers that may be relevant to:
    • the carers’ decision about their capacity and ability to care for a child/sibling group
    • provide appropriate care to the child or young person in all of their circumstances
    • to ensure the safety of the approved carer and any other member of the approved carer’s household), with regard to any wishes expressed by the child or young person relating to the disclosure of such information

12. Consider the views of children and young people in day to day care and the decision-making processes
13. Provide prescribed information to the children or young person in relation to the approved carer
14. Ensure the approved carer is able to effectively nurture and care for the child or young person and respond to their needs through the actions outlined in the case plan, taking into account the age and developmental level of the child or young person and their cultural needs
15. Work with DCP case manager and DCP Placement Services Unit to seek alternative family based care arrangements where placements break down and/or where a child or young person is unable to be placed with the Service Provider
16. Communicate with Placement Services in regards to alternative care option such as Respite Care before initiating any placement
17. Regularly advise DCP of placement capacity and carer capacity and availability for all types of care
18. Not exceed the approved number of placements for the carer household without seeking express approval from the Chief Executive.

The Service Provider must:

1. Access and provide ongoing training to Approved Carers in accordance with the DCP Carer/Personnel Qualifications, Training & Competencies service provision requirements. Refer to DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements.
2. Ensure approved carers promote the need for children and young people to be safe from harm and report any suspicion that a child or young person may be at risk in accordance with the Act
3. Complete a carer agreement within four (4) months of carer approval as outlined in the carer review and agreement service provision requirement.
4. Make relevant courses of training available to approved carers – to consolidate or improve knowledge, develop or build skills, promote wellbeing and to address identified issues as they arise
5. Complete a carer agreement for approved carers as part of the review process.
6. Ensure all training is addressed within 3 months of training needs being identified
7. Maintain records of all training undertaken by approved carers.

1. Ensure approved carers have the necessary information about the child or young person to meet their caring responsibilities
2. Promote placement preservation to sustain the continued placement of a child or young person within a current carer household
3. Provide ongoing support and guidance to approved carers necessary to meet the needs of the child or young person
4. Ensure approved carers have access to 24-hour telephone support with Service Provider during business hours and DCP Crisis Response Unit outside of business hours
5. Allocate a Placement Support Worker for each approved carer and ensure the Placement Support Worker to Active Carer household ratio is less than 1:18 per annum.
6. Placement Support Worker has regular contact with the approved carer in the form of personal face-to-face home visits (within seven days of any placement commencement and then a minimum of every eight weeks) and visits, phone contact, and emails as required.
7. Support approved carers to ensure children and young people are provided with a safe, nurturing, stable and secure home environment
8. Support approved carers to respond to the needs of children including the health, safety, welfare and wellbeing of the child or young person
9. Assess any requirement of the approved carer for financial or other assistance (the Act 102(b))
10. Provide ongoing support and guidance to approved carers necessary to work with DCP case management and contribute to planning and delivery of services in accordance with case plans. This may include
    • Preparation and maintenance of the child's Life Story collection
    • Reunification
    • Contact arrangements to establish or maintain attachment relationships
    • Formulating or reviewing the child or young person’s case plan (at least once in each 12-month period)
    • Working as part of the care team to develop an Education Support Plan or NDIS Care Plan
    • Meeting requirements to communicate on issues, including reporting all suspensions and exclusions
    • Implementing Transition Plans, including transitioning from care and transitioning to long-term guardianship
11. Support approved carers to participate in any decision-making process relating to the health, safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person
12. Provide respite service in accordance with DCP’s Respite Requirements
13. Support approved carers with contingency care arrangements where needed, including where the child or young person is unable to attend school due to illness, suspension or exclusion
14. Support approved carers to draw on and build upon strengths, available resources and social supports to increase the child or young person’s safety and enhance parenting capacity
15. Encourage approved carers to develop and participate in peer support networks and self-care activities
16. Provide additional support to approved carers during the reunification or transition of a child or young person from their household
17. Provide or arrange support and advice to approved carers in relation to health and wellbeing, parenting, household management (including budgeting), practical support and social integration
18. Provide or arrange specialist support and advice to approved carers to assist them in their role (i.e. speech pathologist, psychologist, medical specialist, cultural advisor, etc.)
19. Provide or arrange support and advice to approved carers in relation to helping young people gain independent living skills, enhance their education and/or seek employment opportunities
20. Provide support to approved carers during and following critical incidents, care concerns and/or special investigations into allegations of abuse
21. Provide support to approved carers to help resolve carer related problems
22. Provide information to approved carers about raising issues, making complaints and accessing carer advocacy services
23. Conduct carer reviews, as outlined in the carer review and agreement service provision requirement, regularly and within the review period identified for the approved carer.
24. In consultation with the DCP case worker, monitor patterns of care concerns and their impact on a child or young person and make a decision if a carer review is required.
25. A carer review of an approved carer must occur every two (2) years. However, a carer review should occur sooner than two (2) years in any of the following circumstances:
    • Following the finalisation of a serious care concern if the child remains in the care of person the care concern was raised against.
    • A pattern of care concern/s that have been assessed to have a significant impact on the quality of care and risk to a child or young person and impact on a child’s their wellbeing.
    • The approved carer requests a review.
    • Where the number of placement breakdowns suggests a carer review and new carer agreement would be of value.  In these instances, DCP or the service provider may identify the need for a review.
    • Change of circumstances and the relevant service provider in partnership with the DCP case worker identify that a review is necessary, which could include, but is not limited to, concerns such as:
      • Change in circumstances in regards to the carer household that place a child or young person at risk
      • New information about criminal convictions of carers or household members
      • The carer disengages with DCP support and does not allow case management interface with them or the children or young people in their care.
26. Meet reporting and record keeping requirements
27. Manage cancellations of carer approvals
28. Provide an opportunity for exited carers to complete an exit interview.

To ensure children and young people with complex or extreme levels of support needs who have been removed from the care of a person under the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 (SA) (the Act) are placed in a safe, nurturing, stable and secure environment.

The service provider will provide Specialist Family Based Care Services to children and young people aged 0 – 17, who are under Guardianship or Custody of the Chief Executive or other order or authority and who have been assessed as having complex or extreme levels of support needs.

To constitute a referral for Specialist Family Based Care Services, the child or young person:

• will require intensive models of care to support complex and extreme needs
• has received Complexity Assessment Tool (CAT) assessment at a Level 3 or 4.

Young people over 18 years may continue to receive Family Based Care Services for assistance with transitioning to independence until 21 years of age.

Children and young people placed with approved carers who have been granted long-term guardianship are not eligible service users, except where the long-term guardian experiences a crisis or emergency which temporarily impacts on their ability to provide direct care and there is no other option available within the long-term guardian’s existing support network.

The service provider must:

1. Hold a foster care agency licence
2. Comply with this service specification at all times
3. Comply with DCP’s Service Provision Requirements
4. Pass on the full DCP carer allowance amount to the approved carer and not retain any portion (if applicable)
5. Have appropriate governance and management structures, appropriate policies, procedures, service models, staffing models, rostering arrangements, and programming required for the delivery of the service in line with this specification and service provision requirements.

The service provider must:

1. Ensure service provider personnel hold and maintain relevant working with children checks at all times. Refer to DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements
2. Provide ongoing supervision and guidance to service provider personnel in respect to their performance and work-related activities
3. Provide clinical expertise in trauma informed therapeutic care and ensure that treatment approaches are evidence-based
4. Encourage reflective practices, mentor and support service provider personnel to ensure consistent quality therapeutic care is delivered to children and young people with complex or extreme needs
5. Provide training to personnel in accordance with DCP’s Carer and Personnel Requirements
6. Ensure service provider personnel promote the need for children and young people to be safe from harm and report any suspicion that a child or young person may be at risk in accordance with the Act
7. Make relevant courses of training available to service provider personnel – to consolidate or improve knowledge, develop or build skills, promote wellbeing and to address identified issues as they arise
8. Make additional courses of training available to service provider personnel – to provide more intensive therapeutic support for approved carers to help respond to the complex or extreme needs of children and young people
9. Provide support to service provider personnel during and following critical incidents, care concerns and/or special investigations into allegations of abuse made against them
10. Maintain a policy to provide access to an Employee Assistance Program for service provider personnel
11. Implement performance and development plans for all service provider personnel
12. Review performance and development plans for service provider personnel as part of an annual review process
13. Maintain records of all training undertaken by service provider personnel
14. Provide an opportunity for exited personnel to complete an exit interview.

The service provider must:

1. Seek to recruit carers from relevant backgrounds with competencies to meet the diverse complex and extreme needs of children and young people
2. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people with complex and extreme needs – to accept immediate placements and work with birth families to support reunification
3. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people with complex and extreme needs – to support short term care order arrangements, until reunification occurs or transition to a permanent placement
4. Recruit carers who are able to care for children and young people with complex and extreme needs in long term care arrangements – providing placement stability and permanency to age 18 (and beyond; with potential to become long-term guardians)
5. Identify, recruit and support potential respite carers and/or significant others for each child or young person with complex and extreme needs in accordance with Case Plans; recruiting sufficient active carers to provide respite for all carers
6. Engage in general community awareness-raising activities with local targeted recruitment strategy/campaigns (including implementing appropriate recruitment activities in conjunction with DCP). Refer Family Based Carer Recruitment
7. Maintain a thorough knowledge of local placement demand and knowledge of carers available in these locations to better plan for and target recruitment strategy/campaigns
8. Support approved carers to be active in positive ‘word-of-mouth’ recruitment
9. Support carer mobility across Service Providers where required and where in the best interests of the child or young person with complex and extreme needs.

The service provider must:

1. Develop and implement intake and carer assessment processes
2. Undertake thorough assessments of potential carers using an approved culturally appropriate assessment tool that focuses on carer’s competencies
3. Identify, record and address any actual or potential risks in the household that may impact on the potential carers’ ability to provide a safe, nurturing, stable and secure home environment
4. Complete relevant working with children checks for all members of carer household and regular visitors. Refer to Carer and Personnel Requirements
5. Submit completed carer assessments to DCP Carer Assessment Review Unit (CARU) for approval and registration
6. Meet any conditions of approval imposed by DCP
7. Undertake regular assessments of the provision of care by approved carers
8. Advise CARU of any change of circumstances of approved carers
9. Seek CARU approval prior to additional placements of children and young people, including siblings and provision of respite
10. Notify CARU of any person who begins an assessment process to become an approved carer who is screened out, or who subsequently withdraws from the assessment.

The service provider must:

1. Ensure the provision of Specialist Family Based Care services to meet needs for immediate response, short term, and long term care of children and young people
2. Accept and respond to placement referrals from DCP Placement Service Unit during business hours, and DCP Crisis Response Unit outside of business hours
3. Only place children and young people with complex and extreme needs with approved carers
4. Support DCP to place a child or young person in regards to placement matching principles
5. Meet DCP referrals timeframes as shown below:
   1. Placement referrals:
      • Respond to initial referrals within 24 hours
      • Accepted or decline referrals within 21 days
      • Commence placements within 14 days of referral acceptance (except where otherwise agreed to meet the arrangements agreed in the child or young person’s Transition Plan)
   2. Immediate Response referrals:
      • Respond to initial referrals within 2 hours
      • Commence placements within 24 hours of acceptance of referral

6. Inform DCP Placement Services Unit of all decisions relating to matching of carers and the carer who will be providing care of children and young people
7. Provide a minimum number of specialist placements specified in the Service Schedule (excluding respite) at all times during the term of the Service Agreement
8. Support DCP to match children and young people with complex and extreme needs with approved carers to enable timely decision-making and permanency planning (where appropriate)
9. Support DCP to complete and implement placement agreements for children and young people
10. Identify carers who provide the best match with a child or siblings working to keep sibling groups together (where appropriate)
11. Involve carers in decision-making processes
12. Provide any information to approved carers that may be relevant to:
    • the carers’ decision about their capacity and ability to care for a child/sibling group
    • provide appropriate care to the child or young person with complex and extreme needs in all of their circumstances
    • to ensure the safety of the approved carer and any other member of the approved carer’s household), with regard to any wishes expressed by the child or young person relating to the disclosure of such information

13. Consider the views of children and young people in day to day care and the decision-making processes
14. Provide prescribed information to the children or young person in relation to the approved carer
15. Ensure the approved carer is able to effectively nurture and care for the child or young person with complex and extreme needs and respond to their needs through the actions outlined in the case plan, taking into account the age and developmental level of the child or young person and their cultural needs
16. Work with DCP case manager and Placement Services Unit to seek alternative family based care arrangements where placements break down and/or where a child or young person is unable to be placed with the Service Provider
17. Communicate with Placement Services in regards to alternative care option such as Respite Care before initiating any placement
18. Regularly advise DCP of placement capacity and carer capacity/carer preferences and availability for all types of care
19. Not exceed the approved number of placements for the carer household without seeking express approval from the Chief Executive.

The service provider must:

1. Access and provide ongoing training to Approved Carers in accordance with the DCP Carer/Personnel Qualifications, Training & Competencies service provision requirements. Refer to Carer and Personnel Requirements
2. Complete a carer agreement within two (2) months of carer approval as outlined in the carer review and agreement service provision requirement.
3. Make relevant courses of training available to approved carers – to consolidate or improve knowledge, develop or build skills, promote wellbeing and to address identified issues as they arise
4. Make additional courses of training available to approved carers – to provide a greater level of support to help respond to the complex or extreme needs of children and young people
5. Ensure all training is addressed within 3 months of training needs being identified
6. Complete a carer agreement for approved carers as part of the annual review process.
7. Maintain records of all training undertaken by approved carers.

The service provider must:

1. Ensure approved carers have the necessary information about the child or young person and their complex and extreme needs to meet their caring responsibilities
2. Promote placement preservation to sustain the continued placement of a child or young person within a current carer household
3. Provide ongoing support and guidance to approved carers necessary to meet the complex and extreme needs of the child or young person
4. Ensure approved carers have access to 24-hour telephone support with service provider during business hours and DCP Crisis Response Unit outside of business hours
5. Allocate a Placement Support Worker for each approved carer
6. Placement Support Worker has regular contact with the approved carer in the form of personal face-to-face home visits (within seven days of any placement commencement and then a minimum of every two weeks) and visits, phone contact, and emails as required.
7. Support approved carers to ensure children and young people are provided with a safe, nurturing, stable and secure home environment
8. Support approved carers to respond to the needs of children including the health, safety, welfare and wellbeing of the child or young person
9. Assess any requirement of the approved carer for financial or other assistance (the Act 102(b))
10. Provide ongoing support and guidance to approved carers necessary to work with DCP case management and contribute to planning and delivery of services in accordance with case plans. This may include:
    • Preparation and maintenance of the Child's life story collection
    • Reunification
    • Contact arrangements to establish or maintain attachment relationships
    • Formulating or reviewing the child or young person’s case plan (at least once in each 12-month period)
    • Working as part of the care team to develop an Education Support Plan or NDIS Care Plan
    • Meeting requirements to communicate on issues, including reporting all suspensions and exclusions
    • Implementing Transition Plans, including transitioning from care and transitioning to long-term guardianship

11. Support approved carers to participate in any decision-making process relating to the health, safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person
12. Provide respite services in accordance with DCPs Respite Requirements
13. Support approved carers with contingency care arrangements where needed, including where the child or young person is unable to attend school due to illness, suspension or exclusion
14. Support approved carers to draw on and build upon strengths, available resources and social supports to increase the child or young person’s safety and enhance parenting capacity
15. Encourage approved carers to develop and participate in peer support networks and self-care activities
16. Provide additional support to approved carers during the reunification or transition of a child or young person from their household
17. Provide or arrange support and advice to approved carers in relation to health and wellbeing, parenting, household management (including budgeting), practical support and social integration
18. Provide or arrange specialist support and advice to approved carers to assist them in their role (i.e. speech pathologist, psychologist, medical specialist, cultural advisor, etc.)
19. Provide individualised care, intensive support and practical assistance to meet higher levels of need in maintaining care arrangements and preventing placement breakdowns for children and young people with complex and extreme needs
20. Provide support to approved carers during and following critical incidents, care concerns and/or special investigations into allegations of abuse
21. Provide support to approved carers to help resolve carer related problems
22. Provide information to approved carers about raising issues, making complaints and accessing carer advocacy services
23. Conduct carer reviews, as outlined in the carer review and agreement service provision requirement, regularly and within the review period identified for the approved carer. A carer review of an approved carer must occur every two (2) years. however, a carer review should occur sooner than two (2) years in any of the following circumstances:
    • Following the finalisation of a serious care concern if the child remains in the care of person the care concern was raised against.
    • A pattern of care concern/s that have been assessed to have a significant impact on the quality of care and risk to a child or young person and impact on a child’s their wellbeing.
    • The approved carer requests a review.
    • Where the number of placement breakdowns suggests a carer review and new carer agreement would be of value.  In these instances, DCP or the service provider may identify the need for a review.
    • Change of circumstances and the relevant service provider in partnership with the DCP case worker identify that a review is necessary, which could include, but is not limited to, concerns such as:
      • Change in circumstances in regards to the carer household that place a child or young person at risk
      • New information about criminal convictions of carers or household members
      • The carer disengages with DCP support and does not allow case management interface with them or the children or young people in their care.
24. In consultation with the DCP case worker, monitor patterns of care concerns and their impact on a child or young person and make a decision if a carer review is required.
25. Meet reporting and record keeping requirements
26. Manage cancellations of carer approvals
27. Provide an opportunity for exited carers to complete an exit interview.

Contracted Arrangement

Service providers must recruit sufficient active carers to provide respite for all carers, to provide immediate and out- of-hours placements, and to allow for some carers being unavailable to accept placements at times.

Authority / decision making

Respite may be provided by an approved carer as per the child and young person’s approved DCP Case Plan.

Continuity of care

In the first instance priority should be given to respite being provided by someone in the carer's / child's network wherever possible.

The second priority for respite will be through the service providers other approved carers.

As a last resort, consideration of a respite placement through another service provider will be considered as arranged and agreed by DCP.

Support for carers is outlined in the DCP document Who can say OK? (PDF, 4.0 MB)

Aboriginal specific care requirements: be responsive to the immediate needs of Aboriginal Children and Young People in need of care through the recruitment of immediate and short-term Aboriginal carers that will contribute to an Aboriginal respite carer network.

CALD specific care requirements: be responsive to the immediate needs of CALD Children and Young People in need of care through the recruitment of immediate and short-term CALD carers that will contribute to a CALD respite carer network.

Respite for each child is to be provided by the same carer household wherever possible.

How respite can be used

• Up to 24 occasions of respite can be accessed per calendar year per placement, which can be taken at any time, either overnight or during the day.
• A respite placement may be one or more occasions, but must not exceed 21 consecutive occasions.
• An occasion of day respite is defined by starting and ending on the same date.
• An occasion of overnight respite is defined by starting on one date and ending on the consecutive date.
• Occasions of overnight respite can be taken separately or combined in a block of time (up to 21 consecutive occasions).
• If respite exceeds 21 consecutive occasions, this becomes a short-term placement.
• Respite can occur in the respite carer’s home or at the primary carer’s home and the primary carer may be present.
• Respite payments are administered via DCP carer payment processes
• DCP authorisation will be required to provide respite beyond 24 occasions.