Have your say on after-hours child protection protocol

The Department of Human Services has invited the Centre to gather sector feedback on the protocol for out-of-home care providers contacting the After Hours Child Protection Emergency Service (AHCPES).

Development of the interim protocol began in 2007, and the current consultation will help to consolidate the protocol based on sector experience since then.

The consultation will be open from Monday 1 August until close of business on Friday 26 August.

The Centre will then provide feedback to the Department by Friday 2 September for consideration in the final version.

This consultation offers an important opportunity not just to have your say, but to do so informed by the views of others. The Centre is hoping that open discussion here will lead to a better outcome and a clearer understanding of how practice can work better for everyone.

How to have your say

The consultation documents are attached here, and we invite you to make comment using the form below (anonymously, if you wish). The documents on which we invite your comment include:

• The current interim protocol
• The redrafted protocol incorporating CSOs
• The draft poster detailing the protocol

Should you wish to seek clarification on any aspect of these documents before making your comments here, please contact rosemary.ebel@dhs.vic.gov.au or gwendolyn.ellemor@dhs.vic.gov.au

To discuss your feedback with the Centre in confidence before making comment, please contact darren.lewin-hill@cfecfw.asn.au

As well as providing feedback to the Department, the Centre will be posting here about what we have concluded from the views you have shared.

Resources

• ahcpes_regions_protocol_april_2008.pdf
• AHCPES_Regions_CSOs_redraft_Jan2011.pdf
• AHCPES_poster_A3.pdf