The implementation of Structured Decision Making (SDM™) in child protection

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Author

Marilyn Leeks, Project Manager, Practice Standards Project Team

Speakers

Michael Walsh, Deidre Mulkerin and Tony Stanley

Organisation

Department of Child Safety, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The implementation of Structured Decision Making in Queensland is a fundamental change to decision making in child protection services. The Department of Child Safety used a three stage process to implement the model: pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation.

This paper will focus on the pre-implementation and implementation stages which were completed at the end of 2005. At the beginning, December 2004, the department informed departmental officers, government and non-government partners and other key stakeholders throughout Queensland about Structured Decision Making and why the model had been adopted for implementation. Extensive workgroups and consultations were held with departmental officers, service partners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to customise the Structured Decision Making tools in line with Queensland legislation, language, professional practice and cultural diversity. A statewide roll-out of training was undertaken which involved all frontline officers, team leaders, senior practitioners, managers in Child Safety Service Centres and Recognised Agencies. The preimplementation stage continued until September 2005 when the department released the Child Safety Practice Manual which integrated the Structured Decision Making model with the state's practice frameworks. Immediately following the statewide training of departmental officers, Structured Decision Making was implemented.

The implementation phase from September to November 2005 included ongoing statewide and local area communication with government, nongovernment partners and key stakeholders and intensive support provided to Child Safety Service Centres. The acquisition of the assessment tools from the Children's Research Center in the United States was part of the department's response to the recommendations made by the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission in the report, Protecting Children (January 2004). The Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission had concluded that the serious problems in the state's child protection system had existed for many years and that the department was perceived by many stakeholders to be in a state of crisis, to be incapable of responding adequately to child protection issues and had failed many Queensland children. The Commission found that the decisions being made by departmental officers in frontline practice were inconsistent and often based on personal bias. The Structured Decision Making model is a suite of evidence-based tools that provide structure and consistency to decision making points across the child protection continuum of practice.

The model identifies six critical decision making points and Child Safety Officers apply the eight Structured Decision Making tools to inform decisions at these critical points.

The objectives of Structured Decision Making are:

• to Identify and structure critical decision points;
• to increase consistency in decision making;
• to increase accuracy of decision making;
• to target resources to families most at risk;
• use case level data to inform decisions throughout the agency.

This paper will discuss the goals and strategies used in implementing the model and what has been achieved so far, towards meeting these objectives.

Presentation

Paper

Biography

Deidre Mulkerin
Deidre became the Executive Director, Child Safety Services Division, after contributing significantly to the development and initial implementation of the Blueprint for reform in her previous role as Implementation Leader, Child Safety Implementation Unit. Deidre's steadfast dedication to child protection has spanned 20 years. Beginning with the Department of Children's Services at the start of 1985, Deidre has worked in both larger metropolitan offices and a small rural office in Roma. She has also worked in child protection in the United Kingdom.

With a degree in social work and postgraduate study in management, Deidre has both the knowledge and practical experience needed to lead the department's child-focused service delivery functions throughout Queensland. Deidre's vibrant commitment to children was evident long before she began working in child protection. Originally trained as a classical music teacher, she has worked with intellectually disabled children through the use of drama. A devoted mother of two boys, Deidre considers her children and her partner to be the greatest blessing in her life.

Michael Walsh
Michael was appointed as Executive Director, Policy and Programs Division in October 2004, joining the department from the Department of Education and the Arts where he was the Director, Performance Monitoring and Reporting. Commencing his career as a maths and science secondary teacher, Michael has worked extensively for the betterment of children and young people in a range of service delivery and management roles. His experience includes being a youth worker and manager of a non-government, medium to long-term accommodation service for homeless young people. Michael has also managed a non-government accommodation care agency for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

As a psychologist, Michael has worked as a counsellor and Director of the Northern Territory Employee Assistance Service and later was Director of the Northern Territory Living With Alcohol Training Program and the Darwin Hospital alcohol and drug service. During this time, Michael also worked as a private consultant dealing with employment issues. In Queensland, Michael has worked across a number of government departments managing teams responsible for social policy, strategic policy and research, inclusive education, and drug and alcohol services.