Conducting a Child Support non-parent carer assessment 003-12040010

Before starting a non-parent carer assessment, the social worker will check for any recent Unreasonable to Live at Home (UTLAH) decisions or current assessments.

A new assessment is not needed if :

• the child is currently receiving an independent rate of payment under UTLAH provisions, or
• a UTLAH assessment is already occurring, or
• a UTLAH assessment has been completed in the last 13 weeks. This includes situations where UTLAH was rejected because of continuous support from a parent/guardian, and extreme family breakdown or serious risk were present

In any of these circumstances go to Step 7.

For all other situations:

• if the child's record requires conversion to a person record, seek technical support with this from a suitably skilled officer via Local Peer Support (LPS)
• create a UTLAH Assessment in progress Fast Note on the child's converted record:
• ensure Document Completion is set to No
• in the "Extra Details" field, change the title of the fast note to "NPC Assessment in progress"
• in Work Optimiser, hold the progress fast note activity to user and add a hold date 21 days from the date of the referral.
• go to Step 2

A new assessment of extreme family breakdown or serious risk will generally start by interviewing the non-parent carer. It is best practice to contact the non-parent carer first, however, the assessment will proceed if they are unable to be contacted.

If the non-parent carer is unable to be contacted by phone:

• Send a Q999 letter inviting social work contact. For approved text, see Resources
• Document on the child’s record that the letter has been sent to the non-parent carer
• If the non-parent carer does not make contact within 7 days of the letter being sent, issue another Q999

Note: the 7 days should start from the date the parent can be considered to have received the letter, taking into consideration the delivery standards for Centrelink and Australia Post. See the Resources page of Letters and customer advices for the delivery standards for Centrelink letters and forms.

If the non-parent carer has not made contact within 7 days of the most recent letter go to Step 3.

If the non-parent carer is contacted, discuss the following issues:

• the assessment process, privacy provisions and Freedom of Information (FOI) procedures
• the reasons why the child/ren are not living with a parent or legal guardian. This includes options for mediation/reconciliation between the child and the parent(s)/guardian(s)
• the requirement for parental and third party contact
• request contact details for an independent third party
• any risk issues related to contact with the parent(s)/guardian(s)

Tell the non-parent carer (the claimant) that the social work assessment is a recommendation to the Child Support decision maker about whether it is reasonable for a parent or legal guardian to provide care for the relevant child(ren). Tell them this recommendation informs a broader assessment by the Child Support decision maker, who will determine if the claimant is eligible for child support. The Child Support decision maker will advise the claimant of the assessment outcome. Advise the claimant to contact Child Support for an explanation of decision or to lodge a formal Child Support objection to the decision.

Note: if the non-parent carer decides that they do not wish to proceed with the Child Support application, tell them to contact Child Support and withdraw their claim. The assessing social worker must:

• record information already obtained in SWIS case notes, and
• advise Child Support of the withdrawn application via email. See the Resources page and refer to the Non-Parent Carer Assessment Notification to Child Support template, which includes the correct mailboxes.

To continue with the assessment, go to Step 3.

If the child/ren are aged 14 years or older, make initial contact directly by phone, or through arrangement with the non-parent carer.

Is it appropriate and possible to interview the child/ren?

• No, go to Step 4
• Yes, discuss the following issues with the child during the interview:
• the process for assessing, whether it is unreasonable for them to reside with a parent or guardian, including privacy requirements and FOI procedures
• the reasons why they do not reside with a parent or guardian, what contact they have had and any support received
• the information they provide may need to be discussed with the parent(s)/guardian(s) and non-parent carer before a recommendation is made
• any previous attempts to resolve family conflict through use of professional or community support services
• the scope for referral to mediation/counselling services
• the requirement for third party verification from independent persons
• if the child is aged 16 years or above, the social worker should explain eligibility for independent status under Unreasonable to Live at Home provisions for YAL/DSP/ABSTUDY

Go to Step 4.

In all cases, contact the parent/guardian unless:

• there are verified circumstances of family and domestic violence, neglect or abuse, including homophobia or transphobia
• contact with the parent presents a severe risk to the young person or others, such as siblings, or
• it has been verified that there has been no parental concern for 2 years or more

Consider if it is appropriate to contact the parent/guardian.

• If not appropriate:
• in all cases where a parent/guardian is not contacted due to risk, consultation with an EL2 Social Work Manager is needed
• document the serious risk consultation in the SWIS report
• If appropriate:
• where possible, initial contact with the parent should be made by phone
• however, the option of providing written information should also be given

Are the parent(s)/guardian(s) able to be interviewed?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• the social worker has been unable to reach the parents by phone, go to Step 6
• approval has been granted by a Social Work Manager not to contact the parents, due to risk to the child or others, go to Step 7

Discuss the following issues with the parent/guardian during the interview:

• the process for assessing whether it is unreasonable for the child/ren to reside with them, including privacy requirements and FOI procedures
• the information they provide may need to be discussed with the non-parent carer before a recommendation made
• the reasons why the child/ren do not reside with them
• their ability to provide reasonable care for the child/ren
• any previous attempts to resolve family breakdown through use of professional or community support services
• the scope for referral to mediation/counselling services
• the requirement for third party verification from independent persons

Tell the parent/guardian that the social work assessment is a recommendation to the Child Support decision maker about whether it is reasonable for the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) to provide care for the relevant child(ren). Tell them this recommendation informs a broader assessment by the Child Support decision maker, who will determine if the claimant (the non-parent carer) is eligible for child support. The Child Support decision maker will advise the parent/guardian of the assessment outcome. Advise the parent/guardian to contact Child Support for an explanation of decision or to lodge a formal Child Support objection to the decision.

Go to Step 7.

Send a Q999 letter inviting the parent(s)/guardian(s) to contact the social worker, an SY016 can be included. See the Resources page for approved text.

Note: if the parent(s)/guardian(s) reside together, address the Q999 to both parties. This gives both parent(s)/guardian(s) the opportunity to provide information about the family situation.

• Document on the child’s record that the Q999 has been sent to the parent(s)/guardian(s)
• If the parent(s)/guardian(s) do not make contact within 7 days of the letter being sent, issue another Q999

Note: the 7 days should start from the date the parent can be considered to have received the letter, taking into consideration the delivery standards for Centrelink and Australia Post. See the Resources page of Letters and customer advices for the delivery standards for Centrelink letters and forms.

Have the parent(s)/guardian(s) made contact within 7 days of the most recent letter being sent?

• Yes, complete interview (as per Step 4) then go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 6

Make contact with the independent third party by phone to discuss the following issues:

• the non-parent carer, or the parent(s)/guardian(s) have given permission for the contact, and
• the process for assessing whether it is reasonable for the child/ren to reside with a parent or guardian, including privacy requirements and FOI procedures

Clearly document all information provided by the third party including:

• their name and phone number
• the basis and length of their relationship with the family
• information about whether they have had contact with parents, siblings or other family members of the child/ren
• their opinion on whether it is reasonable for the child/ren to reside with a parent or guardian
• their opinion on whether the parent or guardian is able to provide care to the child

Note: a Social Work Manager consultation is needed where:

• there is evidence to support the existence of extreme family breakdown or serious risk to the child/ren, and
• no independent third party is able to be contacted

Was an independent third party able to be interviewed?

• Yes, and:
• Enough information was gathered to complete the assessment, go to Step 7
• More information is needed. Recontact the non-parent carer and/or parent(s)/guardian(s) to seek an additional third party. Interview the additional third party as above
• No, go to Step 7

• Using the information gathered from the current or previous assessment: determine whether circumstances of extreme family breakdown or serious risk are evident in the relationship between the child/ren and the parent(s)/guardian(s)
• determine whether it is unreasonable for the child/ren to live with their parent(s)/guardian(s)

Note: continuous support from a parent/guardian is not a factor in this assessment and criteria for a child support non-parent carer claim can be met if:

• a UTLAH eligibility assessment was rejected due to guardian or continuous support, and
• extreme family breakdown or serious risk were present

To record the outcome of the assessment, go to Step 8

Complete the following:

• check that all procedures are correct and there is sufficient verification to support the recommendation
• create a General report in the Social Work Information System (SWIS) on the child's Centrelink record:
• for Referral Source select DHS - Child Support
• for Referral Issue select Child Support issues - Non parent carer assessment, and two other issues, as relevant
• for Entitlement Decision/Recommendation select Payment Recommended or Payment Not Recommended
• outline the reasons for the recommendation, see the Resources page for a report template. Social workers must include all information prompted in the non-parent carer assessment template
• Note: in the case of more than one child in a family being the subject of a non-parent carer assessment, a separate report is required for each child's record
• record a DOC on the child's Centrelink record with the assessment outcome, ensuring no sensitive information is recorded in the DOC
• make sure all confidential material is stored appropriately
• complete and send the Non-Parent Carer Assessment Notification to Child Support, see the Resources page
• scan the Assessment Notification to the child’s Centrelink record