High-risk youth

High-risk young people, generally aged 12–17 years but occasionally as young as 10 years, with multiple, complex difficulties need intensive, sustained support.

Risk may be episodic, or chronic, and in some cases life threatening.

Detailed assessment and thoughtful, trauma-informed case planning and intervention are essential to effective risk management and stabilisation of a young person.

Good practice is founded on a sound understanding of the young person’s history and current situation; multiservice collaboration and coordination; clinical consultation and relationship-based engagement with the young person.

Risk assessment and case planning is sensitive to the possible effects of adverse early childhood experience, including exposure to trauma, on the young person’s cognitive development and behavioural responses.

For additional information see High-risk youth - advice.

Case practitioner tasks

Intake phase

• Register and process the report according to usual procedure.
• If the report involves a homeless young person without an effective guardian, classify the report as a protective intervention report and transfer to appropriate team, unless otherwise approved by the team manager.

Investigation, protective intervention and protection order phases

• Undertake the investigation and assessment according to usual procedure. 
• Review the case history and develop a detailed chronology and genogram. Consider steps to engage the young person and family.
• If the report is substantiated, commence the case plan process to formulate and enact a plan: 
  • Liaise with Youth Justice, see Children and young people involved with Child Protection and Youth Justice
  • Liaise with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funded disability services if relevant.
  • Consider consultation with a Practice Leader or Principal Practitioner about assessment and possible interventions
  • Consider crisis support and assistance (including accommodation, health and family counselling support).
  • Identify and document the young person’s family and social networks and be clear about the strengths and risks. 
  • Ensure a care team is established and meets regularly regardless of the young person’s care environment
  • Develop a safety plan with input from the child or young person to promote their safety during the intervention. 
  • Refer to relevant specialist treatment services – alcohol and other drugs, mental health/neuropsychological or educational assessment.
  • Think about the young person’s general health, diet and development and seek advice.
• Discuss the assessment with your supervisor and ensure the case plan and action to implement it are aligned with the child or young person’s needs, vulnerability and risk factors. 
• Update the essential information categories and the evidence-based risk factors as you work with the young person and their family.
• If there are family violence risk factors, seek any MARAM assessments that have been undertaken by partner agencies. 
• Develop a response  plan with the care team, specific to the child or young person’s behaviour, risk triggers and capacity. 
• The response  plan may be recorded in the actions table in CRIS under crisis management:
• Review client incident reports as a source of information about the child or young person’s behaviour patterns, triggers and risks.
• Consider prevention of future incidents, and the strengths and risks of the child or young person’s social and family contacts and networks.
• Identify the child or young person’s primary professional and social relationships and engage them in safety planning.
• Review and update the response and  safety plans regularly to  ensure they remain relevant and reflective of current risk. . For children and young people in care, ensure roles and responsibilities of the care team are clearly defined in the child’s LAC records and Care and Placement Plan. If there are significant decisions, review the case plan. 
• Where the young person is in care, consult with the care team and consider if the young person would benefit from a behaviour support plan if one is not already in place. See Practice guide: Behaviour planning to best support children and young people in out-of-home care
• Consider NDIS behaviour supports for children with a disability see Case management: NDIS and children with a disability and/or complex medical needs.
• Consult your supervisor to determine whether the young person should be placed on the high risk schedule. See High-risk panels and schedules.

Supervisor tasks

• Provide ongoing supervision and consultation.
• Consider recommending to the chair of the high-risk panel that the child or young person be included on the high-risk schedule.

Team manager tasks

• Endorse decision to classify a report about a child or young person who is homeless as a protective intervention report, unless investigation is not in the child or young person’s best interests. If a report about a homeless child or young person is not classified as a protective intervention report, record the rationale on CRIS.
• Endorse the risk assessment on CRIS.
• Endorse the case plan.

• Receiving, registering and classifying a report
• High-risk panels and schedules
• Practice guide - Behaviour planning to best support children and young people in out-of-home care
• Behaviour support plan template Out of Home Care Services
• Children and young people involved with Child Protection and Youth Justice - advice
• Children and young people involved with Child Protection and Youth Justice - procedure