This Guide is intended to assist mandatory reporters who have become concerned about possible abuse or neglect of a child or young person and must make a decision whether or not to report their concerns to the Child Protection Helpline.
The reporting decision is not an easy one, and the consequences of the decision are considerable. New South Wales has undertaken the effort to develop the first known statewide, multidisciplinary mandatory reporting guidance tool in order to achieve the following goals.
1. Assist mandatory reporters as they gain familiarity with a new reporting threshold, risk of significant harm.
2. Help ensure that children and families requiring statutory child protection services are promptly reported.
3. Help increase direct family contact in response to reports of risk of significant harm by eliminating time spent on reports that could be diverted for a more appropriate service/services.
4. Provide alternative options for reporters to assist children, young people and families who would be better served outside of the statutory child protection system.
This Guide is intended to complement rather than replace critical thinking and does not prohibit a mandatory reporter from any course of action he/she believes is appropriate. The Guide incorporates proven design principles that help focus on the most critical pieces of information for the decision at hand. The Guide reflects the consensus of multiple government departments and non-government agencies concerning situations that are best served through statutory responses and those that are best served through alternative interventions.
Finally, this Guide is a dynamic document. Continuing evaluation and feedback will be used to refine this manual over time.