eCARL

In reply to Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (29 July 2016). (Estimates Committee A)

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills): I have been advised of the following:

The tier response rating is determined using the internationally recognised Children's Research Centre (CRC), Structured Decision-Making® (SDM®) Response Priority Assessment tool (SDM®–RPA).

When the department receives a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, a Social Worker will firstly apply the SDM® Screening Criteria and Definitions tool to establish a ground for child protection intervention and determine that the reported concerns meet the statutory threshold.

Once this has been concluded the social worker will apply the SDM® Response Priority Assessment tool (SDM®–RPA).

SDM®–RPA guides the social worker through a series of decision making trees dependent on the established grounds for intervention. The process guides the social worker in determining the tier rating and the expected response time:

Tier 1 (24 hour response)

Tier 2 (3 days for infants at risk; otherwise 5 days or 10 days depending on the outcomes of assessments)

Tier 3 (non-investigative response—no specific time frames).