Child protection and support services (CPSS) case worker cluster

DSS specific information:

In the Child Protection NMDS, this data item is applicable only for children on guardianship/custody orders where the jurisdiction is in the place of a parent (in loco parentis). If a child is on another type of order, this item should be left blank.

In this NMDS, this item refers to a primary allocated caseworker only. A primary allocated caseworker is defined as the person who has principle responsibility for recommending what decisions are made by the child protection service and has regular face-to-face contact with the child/family. There can only be one primary allocated caseworker at any point in time.

Each time a child is assigned a new primary caseworker, the date this takes effect should be recorded. If the child’s caseworker changes from A to B then back to A and the length of time that A is the allocated caseworker is less than 6 weeks, then this does not count as a new caseworker and should not be recorded.

DSS specific information:

This identifier is used to identifer clients across all CPSS data files. This identifier maybe implemented more than once within each of the three CPSS data collections to uniquely identify the client as well as case workers.

Each caseworker is to be assigned a unique ID by the Community Services department that will be retained by the caseworker and will remain unique to the caseworker through time. Within each state and territory, each caseworker should be identified by a code using consistent format. The identifier should be assigned by the state or territory community services department when the caseworker is first employed in this role. The caseworker should retain the same unique identifier across time.