Quality Assurance Framework (QAF)

The QAF recognises that data is everywhere, but that it can often be hard to find, confusing or incomplete.

That’s why the Child Overview gives practitioners regular and timely information to help track how children and young people are going over time to improve their safety, permanency and wellbeing. The Child Overview summarises information relevant to these domains and uses it to show us the link between potential risk factors, protective factors, interventions and outcomes.

Each individual child in the QAF cohort will have a Child Overview produced, stored in ChildStory and provided to caseworkers every three months. Each quarter the Child Overviews includes information on the previous three months the capture and release dates are:

• Quarter 1: January to March released in April
• Quarter 2: April to June released in July
• Quarter 3: July to September released in October
• Quarter 4: October to December released in January

The QAF Sample Child Overview here.

More information can be found in QAF User Guide - Chapter 1 – Child Overview

What information is in the Child Overview

Information is collated from the Child and Young Person and Carer Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Questionnaires, administrative data from DCJ and administrative data from other NSW agencies such as Department of Education.  Examples of the types of data represented in the Child Overview are:

• Risk of significant harm (ROSH) reports received, substantiated issues, child assessment tool (CAT) scores, days in placement, placement type and stability.
• NAPLAN and school attendance, mobility and suspension from the NSW Department of Education.
• Health information from the OOHC Health Pathways program
• Information from the children and young people themselves around safety, multicultural and Aboriginal cultural identity from the Child and Young Person Questionnaire

A child friendly app called Viewpoint is used by the carers, children and young people to complete the Questionnaires.

More information can be found in the QAF User Guide - Chapter 2 – Viewpoint for Caseworkers.

How is the Child Overview used

The Child Overview has multiple applications within OOHC casework practice. Types of use are:

• At Home visits with carers, children and young people
• Planning – case planning, work load planning, cultural care planning, behavioural support planning, leaving and after care planning, Group Supervision, rationale for decision making, Life Story work, referrals, placement requests, case transfers, and meetings with local representatives of the Department of Education and local Health Districts.
• Aboriginal consultations
• Reviews – carer reviews, s163 to parents, financial reviews, training and recommendations for additional placements

More information on Child Overview applications in casework can be found here.

The Child Overview is designed to provide meaningful information to support decision‐making and good practice, rather than replace professional judgement and expertise.

Child Overview information over time

Over time, a caseworker will be able to compare past Child Overviews to understand the progress a child or young person has made, what has improved and what requires additional attention. Managers and agencies will be able to identify across their cohort, areas of need and implement new initiatives such as training or workshops for carers, children and young people around behaviour, culture, mental health or self-harm.

Download the QAF Child Outcomes Infographic. 
A text alternative to the Infographic is available.