CHCFAM004 — Facilitate changeovers

Elements & performance criteria

Performance evidence

• followed all required processes to facilitate at least 5 changeovers for different clients presenting with varied circumstances, including situations where there are: involuntary or resistant children, inter parental abuse and conflict, parents with mental health or alcohol and other drugs issues
• communicated effectively with vulnerable or hostile parents and children in crisis using the following interpersonal skills: listening and understanding, speaking clearly and directly, rapport building, negotiating responsively, persuading effectively, being appropriately assertive, empathising, using age appropriate language, using neutral language
• completed both case notes and incident reports, showing effective use of: objective observational skills, clear written communication

Knowledge evidence

• legal and ethical considerations (national and state/territory) for workers in children’s contact services, and how these are applied in organisations and individual practice: codes of conduct, discrimination, duty of care, human rights, mandatory reporting, privacy, confidentiality and disclosure and limitation in children’s contact services work, records management and reporting, rights and responsibilities of workers and employers, specific legislation that impacts the changeover process in children’s contact services work, including: child protection legislation, family law, domestic and family violence laws, work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations, work health and safety, including risk management
• the changeover process, and its components, including: client rights and responsibilities, expectations on behaviour, limitations of the changeover process, communication strategies related to late arrival, non-attendance, review of the process, concerns and complaints, clarification of client’s expectations of the changeover service, provision of written and other forms of information to meet specific communication need of clients
• risk factors for child and parents including: parents presenting under the influence of substances, parents with unmanaged mental health issues, displays of volatile behaviour, aggressive physical and verbal behaviour, unmanaged physical and mental illness, indicators of violence or family abuse, child protection concerns, social, geographical and emotional isolation of family members, financial difficulty
• components of what constitutes a safe changeover environment including: ensuring parents do not interact during changeover, monitoring and observing behaviour of all parties at points of handover, ensuring parents are aware of the limitations of the organisation and expected client behaviour, confidently activating incident response when needed, commitment to child safety measures in all aspects of work practices, ensuring the physical environment of the changeover site is free from hazards and potential risk for clients
• communication techniques and their appropriateness in different situations, including: listening and understanding, speaking clearly and directly, rapport building, negotiating responsively, persuading effectively, being appropriately assertive, empathising, using age appropriate language, using neutral language
• factors affecting family dynamics and particularly children, with incidents or history of high levels of parental conflict, violence, abuse or mental health concerns
• family systems and how this is relevant to the role of contact worker in the changeover and contact process
• child developmental norms at different ages and stages
• separation anxiety and attachment theory, child development, loss and grief issues and family violence and how this is relevant to the role of contact worker in the changeover and contact process, particularly observing child’s emotional reaction and interactions with carers/parents
• factors that may impact both children and parents behaviour at changeover, including: impact of high conflict in post separation involving children, reactions of children experiencing re victimisation and who are affected by trauma, how the observer role can influence the interaction and behaviour of others
• emergency response procedures in situations of critical incidents eventuating from a breakdown in the changeover process
• case work practices and how to contribute to these process through documentation and consultation with senior staff or supervisors
• local support services available to clients needing external information, support or interventions

Unit content sourced from training.gov.au — © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Auditori is not affiliated with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Questions about assessing CHCFAM004