Professionals

How to refer a family

Anyone can refer a family to Family and Child Connect for help, you can:

• call 13 FAMILY (13 32 64)
• complete an online referral form
• visit a service location.

Making a report to Child Safety

If we receive information to suggest a child may be in need of protection, a report will be made to Child Safety Services. Our experienced Child Protection Practitioners can assist to identify concerns that should be reported and facilitate the process.

Resources

A range of Family and Child Connect resources are available for professionals and families, including information in other languages.

What happens when you refer a family

When you refer a family to Family and Child Connect, an initial assessment of your concern is undertaken and a range of responses are considered. These responses may include:

Information and advice

We provide you with information and advice on how you could respond. This may include advice on how to keep the family engaged and information on local support services.

Referral to a support service

We can help you refer the family to a support service. The service may help you to gain the family’s consent to the referral, and facilitate engagement between the family and the support service to ensure a smooth process.

Active engagement and referral to Intensive Family Support services

Where families have multiple or complex needs, we will engage them in a more detailed needs assessment and seek their consent to be referred to an Intensive Family Support service.

An experienced Child Protection Practitioner is based at each Family and Child Connect location to help identify and respond to more serious concerns.