A quick guide to decision making

These guides give you some basic information about which decisions you can make on your own, and which need input from your agency.

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If you are a long-term carer and parental responsibility has been allocated to the Minister of DCJ, then you will be responsible for making many of the day-to-day decisions about your child. However, certain decisions can only be made by your agency (whether that's DCJor a non-government agency). There are also a small number of decisions that can only be made by DCJ.These guides give you some basic information about which decisions you can make on your own, and which need input from your agency. If you're not sure whether you can make a decision in a particular situation, or if you need help to organise approval either from your agency or from DCJ, contact your caseworker.

Care arrangements

Carers must always keep their caseworkers informed about anyone who has regular contact with the child in their care. DCJ may need to do a Working With Children Check (WWCC) on that person, even if they are a partner or family member.

Care arrangements	Who is responsible
Assistance and support Coordinate the involvement of agencies or services to meet the needs of the child in relation to things like health, education, vocation or disability	Agency
Contact Make decisions around contact with birth family and significant others	Agency
Contact Arrange and help maintain contact with birth family and significant others (unless it is determined that supervised contact is needed)	Carer
Sharing information Provide information to parents on whereabouts of child or young person	Agency
Moving interstate You caseworker will contact DCJ for approval and/or management of a carer's move interstate with the child or young person	Agency
Ending the placement Remove the child or young person from a placement	Agency
Life Story work Preparing and helping the child to record information in their Life Story work	Carer
Media and public appearances where the out-of-home care status and/or identity of the child is not revealed Give permission for appearances where there are no safety risks	Carer
Media and public appearances where the out-of-home care status and/or identity of the child is revealed Your caseworker will contact DCJ for approval for these appearances	Agency

Health, wellbeing, personal development

Carers must inform their caseworker if the child or young person in their care suffers a serious accident, injury or illness.

Health, wellbeing & personal development	Who is responsible
Driving lessons Make arrangements for driving lessons	Carer
Haircuts Make arrangements for haircuts	Carer
Hearing and eye tests Arrange and attend tests as appropriate	Carer
Immunisation Ensure that child’s immunisation is up-to-date	Carer
Marriage Your caseworker must contact DCJ for permission for the marriage of the young person in care	Agency
Medical and dental (general) Arrange and attend treatment or check ups not requiring surgery or specialist treatment identified in Case Plan, for example, treatment for asthma or diabetes	Carer
Medical emergency at school To be the first point of contact	Carer
Medication Administer medication prescribed by a medical practitioner as well as some over-the-counter medicines	Carer
Medication Approve psychotropic medication (such as anti-depressants) if part of an approved Behaviour Support Plan and prescribed by a doctor	Agency
Surgery (non-urgent) You caseworker will contact DCJ for approval for non-urgent surgery	Agency
Surgery (urgent) Give approval in emergency situations where the medical officer deems it necessary to save the life of the child or young person	Carer
Swimming lessons (organised by carer) Give permission to attend	Carer

School and education

Carers must inform their caseworker if the child or young person in their care is suspended or expelled from school.

School and education	Who is responsible
After-school activities Give permission to attend after-school activities organised by the school	Carer
Before and after school care (unplanned or infrequent arrangement) Arrange and facilitate care arrangements as necessary	Carer
Before and after school care (any planned or frequent arrangement) Approve care arrangements	Agency
Enrol at school Enrolling in local primary or high school as required for the child	Carer
Enrolment and/or transfer to a new school Make decisions regarding school enrolment, education and training and provide school with information about the child or young person’s history (where appropriate) and care arrangements, including current schooling arrangements and supports	Agency
Hearing and eye tests Arrange and attend tests as appropriate	Carer
High-risk activities Give permission for activities organised by school such as rock climbing or surfing	Agency
Information sharing Share relevant information with school when appropriate	Carer & Agency
Parent-teacher interviews Attend parent-teacher interviews	Carer
Report cards and test results Review report cards and test results; note school sends copies to both carer and agency	Carer & Agency
School attendance Ensure attendance on a day-to-day basis	Carer
School expenses (regular) Cover the cost of school expenses such as uniforms, books, travel and excursions	Carer
School expenses (additional) Pay and reimburse additional school-related expenses not covered by the Care Allowance, for example, tutoring	Agency
School excursion (short) Give permission for day trip or excursion of less than one week within NSW	Carer
School excursion (long) Give permission for excursion of one week or more within NSW (interstate or overseas excursions require consent from DCJ)	Agency
School expulsion (consideration) Be contacted by school if expulsion is being considered; note school will contact both carer and agency (also see school suspension)	Carer & Agency
School expulsion (decision) Find an alternative educational placement following expulsion (also see school suspension)	Agency
School photos Give permission for child to be in school photos	Carer
School suspension (less then five days) Be point of contact regarding short suspension	Carer & Agency
School suspension (five days or more) Be point of contact regarding long suspension; note school will contact both carer and agency	Carer & Agency
School suspension (return-to-school strategy) Agency, school and authorised carers to work together to identify and case manage appropriate return-to-school strategies	Carer & Agency
Swimming lessons (organised by school) Give permission to attend	Carer

Recreation, camps, holidays

Recreation, camps and holidays	Who is responsible
Camps (short) Give permission for camps of less than one week duration (interstate and overseas camps require consent from DCJ)	Carer
Camps (long) Give permission for camps of one week or longer (interstate and overseas camps require consent from DCJ)	Agency
High-risk activities (organised by school) Give permission for high-risk activities such as rock climbing or surfing	Agency
Holidays and travel (local or interstate for one day or less) Arrange holidays and travel, and inform caseworker	Carer
Holidays and travel (interstate for more than one day or overseas) Your caseworker will contact DCJ for consent to travel interstate or overseas	Agency
Overnight stays (one-off activities including sleepovers) Give permission and make arrangements	Carer
Overnight stays (frequent/regular overnight stays) Approve frequent/planned overnight stays	Agency
Passport Apply for passport	Agency
Recreational, leisure, sporting and community activities Make arrangements for participation as per Case Plan	Carer

Behaviour

Behaviour	Who is responsible
Bail Payment of bail	Agency
Behaviour Make day-to-day decisions around behaviour	Carer
Behaviour Support Plan (development) Develop a plan in partnership with carer and relevant professionals	Agency
Behaviour Support Plan (psychotropic medications) Approve Behaviour Support Plan involving the use of psychotropic medications for the purpose of controlling behaviour	Agency

Family life

Family life	Who is responsible
Celebrations Make arrangements for celebrations in the carer family; being mindful to arrange those celebrations so that they don’t impact on birth family contact visits	Carer
Child minding (unplanned or infrequent arrangements) Make arrangements for child minding as necessary	Carer
Child minding (planned and frequent arrangements including formal childcare) Approve child minding arrangements	Agency
Name change Approve a legal change of name for the child	Agency
Pocket money Decide on amount and frequency	Carer
Religious instruction Facilitate religious instruction as detailed in the Case Plan	Carer
What the child should call you the carer The carer can decide on the name used by the child, but should speak with the child at an age-appropriate level to ensure they understand the difference between their birth parents, and their carer	Carer