Casework Practice Manual 

Director General’s Message 

The Department for Child Protection’s Casework Practice Manual is a comprehensive online practice manual bringing together departmental guidelines and practice requirements for individual and family support, statutory child protection, and out of home care in Western Australia.

The Manual locates individual and family support as underpinning and reinforcing all of the Department’s work with children and families, including statutory intervention and out of home care services.  It articulates good practice for all children in care, as well as highlighting additional considerations for children of Aboriginal or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The Department for Child Protection’s Casework Practice Manual provides up to date direction and advice on procedures and practice requirements for complying with legislative authority and delegated powers of the Chief Executive Officer.

The Manual has been designed primarily for internal use, however, the Department is pleased to make it available to the public through the internet for the first time in Western Australia.  This will make the Department for Child Protection’s practice and procedures more transparent and open to scrutiny, and assist external parties to access information.

I hope you will find the Casework Practice Manual useful in your day to day work.

Terry Murphy
Director General
Department for Child Protection
July 2009