Information and Instructions

• Overview
• The child's care team
• Consultation with the senior child protection worker - placement services
• Arranging for payment to the short break carer
• Extended short break care
• OOHC Providers seeking short break care
• Short Break Care provided by OOHC Providers - overview
• Preparing for short break care arrangements
• Short break carer registration and review requirements
• Short break scenarios
• Recording requirements
• Extended short break care arrangements

Overview

Short break care (formerly known as respite care and still recorded as 'respite' on Assist) refers to the provision of temporary, short term care for a child in the CEO's care with an approved carer. This can be a useful tool for supporting care arrangements.

Department carers are entitled to five days of short break care per month, per child in their care. The short break carer is paid at the 'short break care' subsidy rate and the carer's subsidy continues to be paid.

Short break care may be regular and planned for the child, or may be in response to crisis situations that arise within the care arrangement. Where possible, the child should have continuity of short break carers.

The child's age, views (where age and capacity permits), abilities, vulnerabilities and best interests must be taken into account when determining short break care arrangements.

Case workers should support the carer to prepare the child for short break care; involving them in planning for the transition in care arrangements and provide the child's carer with the Short break care – Information Sheet Carers in related resources. The information sheet provides some tips on preparing children for short break care, planning the transition, and what they can do to support the child during and after their stay.


 

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The child's care team

​The care team approach highlights the importance of all members in a child's care team working together with the child at the centre of their thinking and interactions with each other. Each care team member provides invaluable support and participates in meeting the needs of the child including maintaining his or her care arrangement. Refer to the Care Team Approach Practice Framework in related resources for further information.

Case workers should consider who might be available within the child's care team to offer short break care. The aim of the care team is to provide natural supports that would exist outside of the Department's involvement and can provide critical support to the child during times of transition or change.  The primary consideration for case workers is how care team members might be able to support the child before, during and after their short break care.

If a member of the child's care team is identified as suitable to provide non-regular or one-off overnight care for the child they should refer to chapter 3.2 Overnight stays and other activities and the resource Determining when a Record Check is Required in related resources.

Where a care team member is identified as possibly suitable for providing ongoing or regular overnight care options, a family or significant other carer assessment must be completed so they can be appropriately recorded as a short break carer.

When the planned arrangement involves an overnight stay, it must be recorded in the 'living arrangement' component in Assist under 'temporary living arrangement'.

The child's carer may make occasional overnight care arrangements, for example, sleepovers at a friend's house, without notifying the Department. Where the Department arranges or becomes aware of overnight care arrangements, regardless of whether they are provided by an approved carer or not, we must record these arrangements.

In circumstances where the arrangement is not with an approved carer, the person must be recorded in the 'living arrangement' component in Assist as a 'Self-Selected Person' with the reason for entering as 'planned respite' and the care arrangement type 'respite'. 

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Consultation with the senior child protection worker - placement services

When a carer requests short break care for a child in their care, the caseworker should consult with the senior child protection worker – placement services (SCPWPS) to identify an appropriate care arrangement.

In some instances, short break care may not be in the immediate best interests of the child. For example, infants need stability for attachment and bonding, and a child who has experienced significant changes in their care arrangements may need stability as a priority. When contemplating a short break care arrangement under such circumstances, the child's need for security and the carer's expectations regarding short break care should be taken into consideration. Where there is conflict between the interests of the child and the carer, the child's needs should be prioritised in negotiation with the carer. This may result in the short break care not going ahead or being delayed, to enable the child's security and attachment needs to stabilise.

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Arranging for payment to the short break carer

Short term care arrangements for the child can include placement with another Department carer. 


Case workers must update Assist to record the short break care as a 'temporary living arrangement' and record the date that the child enters the care arrangement and the end date. Insertion of the end date is critical to ensure the correct payment to the short break carer, and to continue payment to the child's primary carer.  

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Extended short break care

Extended short break care is a planned event that is designed to support the child and their carer to meet their care arrangement needs. The extended short break care needs must be recorded in the case plan. 

Consultation must occur with a team leader, assistant district director or district director before extending any period of short break care outside of the five day entitlement each month. Record the consultation in Assist in the 'Living Arrangement' screen (Description Field) for the period of the short break care.

All periods of extended short break care are paid through Assist.  For example, if a Department carer has eight days short break care approved (i.e. five days normal entitlement and three days extended), the carer is paid eight days at the general carer subsidy rate. The short break carer is paid five days at the short break care rate and three days at the general subsidy rate.

👉  Where short break care is extended beyond five days in a month, payment to the child's carer is considered an overpayment unless consultation with the district director, assistant district director or team leader has occurred. 

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OOHC Providers seeking short break care

Short break care is generally not provided to carers of children in care arrangements with OOHC Providers. The need for short break care should be assessed and managed by the OOHC Provider within their existing funding arrangements.


The Department may consider providing short break care for a specific time limited purpose in exceptional circumstances. 


A short break care arrangement may occur while where:


• overnight contact with an approved family or significant other carer is a provision of the child's care plan, or

• a significant relationship has been established between the child and a non-related Department carer, and ongoing contact is a provision of the care plan.

The aim of these arrangements is to support the child's identity and connection to people significant in their life. In these circumstances the arrangement is considered as its purpose is contact for the child, not short break care for the child's carer.  The rationale and forward planned dates should be recorded in the child's care plan.

The Hub must record the change in care arrangement in Assist on the temporary living arrangement screen.   

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Short Break Care provided by OOHC Providers - overview

Short break care can be a useful strategy to support and sustain care arrangements, especially when carers provide care for children and young people who display moderate to complex needs.  Short break care can also support the child or young person's connection to family, community, culture, country and to people significant in their life.


Where possible, the child or young person should have continuity of short break carers. This provides opportunities for the child or young person to form meaningful connections with other families and for the short break carers to be included in the child or young person's care team. 


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Preparing for short break care arrangements

It is expected that short break care arrangements are funded and sourced from within the OOHC Provider's existing and approved carer group.  However, before arranging short break care, the OOHC Provider must discuss the request with the managing district.  The request should be informed by the child or young person's current needs assessment. 


A rationale with planned dates for short break care should be outlined in the child or young person's care plan. The rationale must meet the requirements of s.81 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle Children and Community Services Act 2004 (the Act), the CaLD Child Placement Principle (s.12) and include the Care Team Approach.


OOHC Providers should support their carers to prepare the child or young person for short break care. Involve them in the planning and provide the 'Short Break Care - Information Sheet for OOHC Providers' in related resources to the carer. The information sheet provides tips on preparing children for short break care, planning the transition, and what carers can do to support the child or young person during and after their stay.


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Short break carer registration and review requirements

​All short break carers, including family carers, must be assessed and reviewed against the Carer Competencies as set out in Regulation 4 of the Children and Community Services Regulations 2006 (the Regulations), and meet the requirments set out in the 'Protocols' in the Foster Carer Directory of Western Australia, June 2011. Carers who provide short break care must participate in 12 month reviews of their registration status at a minimum.  


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Short break scenarios

​There may be times when OOHC Providers are unable to provide short break care from their existing carer group, or Communities may seek a short break care arrangement for a child or young person in a Communities provided care arrangement.


All referrals to an OOHC Provider to provide short break care for a child whose primary placement is with a Communities carer must be made through a care arrangement referral (CAR) to the Hub.

In exceptional circumstances, Communities may support OOHC Providers in arranging short break care for a specific time limited purpose.

Before proceeding short break care with an OOHC Provider who is at capacity, but willing to provide a short break care, a CAR relating to the child or young person must be sent to the Hub.  The short break care arrangement may only proceed with approval from Director Out of Home Care – Care Arrangement Hub.


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Recording requirements

​All short break care must be agreed to by the case managing district before it begins, and be recorded in the child or young person's case plan.


The OOHC Provider must inform the Hub of all care arrangement movements, including short break care arrangements via email: cahubreferrals@communities.wa.gov.au.  The Hub records the short break care as a 'temporary living arrangement' and records the date that the child or young person entered the care arrangement and the care arrangement's end date.

For the purposes of measuring occupancy, the OOHC Provider imust track all short break care arrangements. It is important that the occupied care arrangement days are counted once against the primary carer and not also counted against the short break carer while the child or young person is in short break care.


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Extended short break care arrangements

​Extended short break care is for planned events longer than five consecutive nights, and for the purpose of supporting the child or young person and their carer to meet their care arrangement needs. As above, these arrangements are expected to be sourced from within the OOHC Provider's existing and approved carer group.


The child or young person's needs for the duration of the extended short break care arrangement must first be discussed with the managing district, and agreed to.  It must be recorded in the child or young person's case plan, and the Hub must be notified. Consideration may also be given to allocating Care Arrangement Support Costs (CASC) to fund the support and service needs during the extended short break care arrangement.


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