Family Intervention Service
What does the Family Intervention Service do?
Each year, our Family Intervention Service (FIS) provides intensive support to approximately 60 families with children and young people under 18 years (including unborn) who are involved in the statutory child protection system. We work in partnership with the family, their supporters, and Child Safety to:
- Maintain families where a child remains living at home under the ongoing intervention and monitoring by Child Safety Services Centres; and/or
- Assist in the reunification of the child with their family from a care placement where this is in the child’s best interests
To receive our service, families must be working with Child Safety on either:
- an intervention with parental agreement (IPA), a directive order, a supervision order or a support service case to prevent any likelihood of an unborn baby coming into care at birth
- a child protection order (CPO) or a long-term guardianship order (LTG) where active reunification is planned within 12 months.
FIS will provide intensive support to parents and other immediate family members with a direct caring role for the children. Parents may choose whether to receive support from FIS, and their engagement with our service is voluntary.
What does the Family Intervention Service do?
Each year, our Family Intervention Service (FIS) provides intensive support to approximately 60 families with children and young people under 18 years (including unborn) who are involved in the statutory child protection system. We work in partnership with the family, their supporters, and Child Safety to:
- Maintain families where a child remains living at home under the ongoing intervention and monitoring by Child Safety Services Centres; and/or
- Assist in the reunification of the child with their family from a care placement where this is in the child’s best interests
To receive our service, families must be working with Child Safety on either:
- an intervention with parental agreement (IPA), a directive order, a supervision order or a support service case to prevent any likelihood of an unborn baby coming into care at birth
- a child protection order (CPO) or a long-term guardianship order (LTG) where active reunification is planned within 12 months.
FIS will provide intensive support to parents and other immediate family members with a direct caring role for the children. Parents may choose whether to receive support from FIS, and their engagement with our service is voluntary.
What do we offer?
Families we support receive a culturally safe and respectful service. We recognise that every family is unique and has strengths, and that parenting can be challenging. We take the time to listen, build trust, and truly understand each person’s unique situation. Our team works in partnership with service users, ensuring their voices are heard and reflected in the support plans we develop together.
We work with families to identify their strengths and goals and to develop a plan to address the Child Safety worries and achieve a safe home for their children. We place the safety and well-being of children at the centre of everything we do.
When children are in family-based care, our approach is to support parents to build a collaborative relationship with the foster or kinship carers for their children and to have a shared parenting approach to the care of their children, while they work towards their children returning home.
Our FIS team is trauma-aware and uses a healing-informed approach. We base our practice around the Parents Under Pressure (PUP) framework, which recognises that each family is different, with their own strengths and areas of need. Using PUP, we work with the family to develop a tailored support plan based on the family’s circumstances, goals, strengths and stressors. With this plan as a guide, we support families to achieve their personal and case plan goals through education, practical and emotional support, referrals, advocacy and much more. We also have a specialist Parent Coach role who provides trauma-informed reflective parenting support to educate and coach parents on how they can better identify and meet the needs of their children.
We also run multiple parenting programs, which include Circle of Security, Tuning in to Kids, Triple P, and Dads Under Construction. We also have a regular 8-week Women’s Group for domestic family violence survivors, together with various other social and well-being and healing groups.
Our case workers aim to get to know their families well, including the children, providing support for up to five hours a week, for up to 12 months. There is the potential for a further 6-month extension for support, and families may choose to remain engaged with the service for a short period of time once the case plan goals are achieved and they have ceased working with Child Safety to ensure ongoing safety and to consolidate their learning.
Referral process
All referrals must come from Child Safety Service Centres. Inala CSSC and Forest Lake CSSC can make referrals for intensive case work support or programs only support. Other CSSCs can make referrals for parents to attend our parenting programs. Referrals cannot be accepted from parents who seek to self-refer, nor other government and non-government agencies.
For intensive case work support, the Child Safety case plan must include one of the following goals:
- Child to remain safely in the home
- Reunification of the child with the family
If your family needs support and you don’t meet our referral criteria, check out the list of Helpful Resources below, which may be of some help. In particular, consider contacting Family and Child Connect on 13 32 64, for free, unlimited and confidential advice, where they will listen and connect you to practical support.
Fee for Service
Our service has expertise in intensive family support, navigating the child protection system, initiating referral and support pathways for services, establishing a therapeutic relationship which can motivate change, overcoming parenting challenges and reunification.
We can provide tailored intensive support on a fee-for-service basis (dependent on the resource capacity at the time).
Helpful Resources
Family and Child Connect – 13 32 64 – free, unlimited and confidential advice if your family is going through tough times. We will listen and connect you to practical support.
Parent Helpline – 1300 301 300 – free phone and online counselling for parents and carers.
Raising Children Network – Get expert-backed parenting advice for every stage of childhood. Raising Children Network offers trusted tips on health, development and wellbeing.
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800 – is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and online chat counselling service for kids, teens and young people.
Mensline Australia – 1300 789 978 – offers free professional 24/7 telephone counselling support for men with concerns about mental health, relationships, anger management, family violence (using and experiencing), stress, and suicidal thoughts.
DVConnect Mensline – 1800 811 811 – is a free, confidential telephone counselling, referral, information and support service for men affected by domestic and family violence in Queensland.
Adis – 24/7 – 1800 177 833 support for people in Queensland with alcohol and other drug concerns.
DVConnect – 1800 811 811 – helps to find pathways to safety, away from domestic, family and sexual violence. We provide emergency transport and accommodation for your entire family, including pets. We also provide safety planning, crisis counselling, intervention, information and referrals at no cost to you.
1300 MH CALL – is a confidential mental health telephone triage service that provides the first point of contact to public mental health services to Queenslanders.
13YARN – provide crisis support 24/7 to yarn with you without judgement and provide a confidential, culturally safe space to yarn about your needs, worries or concerns.
Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636 – support for anxiety, depression and suicide prevention.
Lifeline – 13 11 14 – crisis support and suicide prevention services to all Australians. You can call, chat, text or access online tools and resources.
A little resource from us
Key Points for Parents with Children in Care
For more information about our Family Intervention Service programs, submit an enquiry below or contact us at (07) 3372 1711 and ask to speak with the Family Intervention Service team