Practitioner, Family Preservation Reunification Response

at  CatholicCare Victoria

CENTRAL OFFICE

4-6 Peel Street North, Ballarat VIC 3350
PO Box 2537, Bakery Hill VIC 3354
T 03 5337 8999
E people&culture@catholiccarevic.org.au

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Title: Family Preservation Reunification Response (FPRR) Practitioner
Program/Section and/or Client Services

POSITION SUMMARY

The FPRR Practitioner will provide outreach wraparound services to families where children’s ages range from
unborn to adolescents. Working flexibly, as part of the team they will report to the FPRR Practice Team Leader.
The early years family work will engage parents and their babies/children in order to build their capacity as
parents and functional families that provide for their children’s health, safety and development as well as work
towards building their self-reliance and sustainability through access to education, vocational training and
employment. The program is a whole-of-family service in the form of pre-birth support, intensive and longer-term
interventions and case work support until the child reaches approximately school age.
The adolescent family work will be child focussed and family-centred aligning with the Best Interests Case Practice
Model. The focus being to improve anti-social and violent behaviour, mental health symptoms, suicidal
behaviours and family relationships. The team will deliver services in the family’s home with FPR Practitioners
being with the family several times per week. The families will be able to access MacKillop’s Afterhours service,
seven days a week should a crisis arise, giving advice on the phone and if required supporting contact into the
home.
The FPRR Practitioner will deliver in the home and community as needed for 4 to 6 months by practitioners. Areas
of clinical focus include risk assessment and safety planning and practitioners will strive to empower caregivers to
help their children and young people live safely in the community, attain school/vocational goals, and develop
prosocial behaviours. Practitioners will work with the ecology of the family and school; sporting clubs and local
businesses will be engaged as the individual needs and strengths of the family are identified.
The FPRR Practitioner will engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in a culturally safe and
competent way. This includes engaging in regular consultation with the program’s Cultural Advisor and including
ongoing training.

POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS

The position is required to undertake the responsibilities of the position adhering to all CatholicCare Victoria
policies, procedures and practice guidelines and relevant standards and/or legislation including, but not limited

to:

• Employee code of conduct
• information privacy and confidentiality;
• Equal Opportunity, anti-discrimination and anti-bullying; and
• inclusion and diversity.

QUALIFICATIONS AND/OR TRAINING

1. The role requires appropriate tertiary qualifications. Bachelor’s degree in social work, Child
   Development, Psychology or a related subject area preferred, or a Diploma level relevant qualification
   with significant professional experience.

EXPERIENCE

1. Significant work experience (minimum 2 years) in a relevant field which supports an understanding of key
   child development issues relating to young parents and their families who have complex needs.
2. Understanding of and demonstrated experience working with issues such as attachment, trauma, and
   intergenerational disadvantage.
3. Demonstrated professional case management skills.
4. Significant clinical experience in treating serious antisocial behaviour in youth.
5. Implementation of evidence-based interventions within or between systems in the youth’s natural
   ecology that affect or influence the behaviour of youth (i.e., family, peer, school, and neighbourhood).
6. Direct use of pragmatic (i.e., structural, strategic and functional) family therapies and/or behavioural
   therapy targeting behavioural change in children at home and school.
7. Demonstrated experience referring to and collaborating with local service networks.
8. Work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

1. Child development research and its application in treatment.
2. Systems, behavioural and social ecological theories and application.
3. Social skills assessment and intervention.
4. Demonstrated ability to undertake complex casework with families and children who have experienced
   trauma.
5. Preferred sound knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal history, values, the stolen generation,
   practices and culture.
6. Have an awareness and knowledge of attachment and trauma theories related to Aboriginal children,
   young people and families; Demonstrated ability to use this knowledge to guide practice with Aboriginal
   children, young people and families.
7. Demonstrated understanding of cultural safety.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Current driver’s licence.
• Current Victorian Working with Children Check.
• Current Australia-wide Police Check.
• A Statutory Declaration (provided by CatholicCare Victoria) to declare that: you have not lived overseas
  for more than 12 months in one country; OR if you have lived overseas for more than 12 months, that you

have no criminal history overseas.

• International Police Check (where applicable).
• Right to Work in Australia.

Please note, CatholicCare Victoria will conduct the Police Check/s.
It is the incumbent’s responsibility to maintain a current valid Driver’s Licence, Victorian Working with Children
Check and Right to Work in Australia.
The incumbent is required to agree to undertaking a Police Check every three (3) years (or earlier to comply with
specific contractual or legislative obligations and requirements).

KEY RESULT AREAS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The order in which key result areas and responsibilities are listed is not necessarily significant.

KEY RESULT AREA KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Service Delivery • Conduct an initial assessment including review of referral information, identifying,
and engaging key participants, identifying systemic strengths and needs, and
developing an analysis of the referral concerns/behaviours within the ecological

context.

• Engage primary caregivers and other key participants in active change-oriented

treatment by identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement

• Implement a case conceptualization, treatment planning, intervention

implementation, outcome review and strategy revision procedure using evidence

informed analytic process.

• Maintain clear and concise documentation of treatment efforts that promote peer

and supervisory review and feedback and demonstrate implementation of

evidence based/informed interventions.

• Collaborate with all relevant systems and key participants within each system to

ensure their buy-in and cooperation throughout The Response Service.

• Provide direct clinical treatment using evidence based/informed methods.
• Participate in all training, supervision and consultation activities.
• Build strong relationships with community stakeholders (i.e., DHHS, other

providers, judges, schools, etc.) to ensure cooperation among service providers.

• Demonstrate ability to work with Aboriginal children, young people, and families

with complex trauma needs.
Work with Children and • Provide flexible outreach where we meet with the family multiple times a week

Families over a six-month (or for the duration of involvement) period.

• Use interventions based on the Best Interest Case Practice Model and other

evidence-based evaluation tools such as the North Carolina Family Assessment
Scale (NCFAS) and ASQ3 and ASQ-TRAK child development tools as well as SDQ
Tools for adolescents.
Professional • Engage in supervision with the line manager and actively participate in

Development supervision.

• Maintain quality case files.
• Sound knowledge of the Children, Youth and Families Act, 2005, with a focus on

the Best Interests Framework and Stability Planning.

• Contribute to ongoing Quality Improvement as required.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of the team through collaborative team

work.
The position is also required to perform other duties as lawfully and reasonably directed.