Easy English fact sheets for parents dealing with the child protection system. Advice from parents with experience.

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Court NSW

Court NSW / What is a Care Plan?
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What is a Care Plan?

Community Services took your child.
You must go to Court.
Community Services must make a Care Plan for your child.
Community Services ask you to a meeting.
It is about your childs Care Plan.
It is a good idea to go to this meeting.
Take a support person to the meeting.
You can take
  • a support person
  • an advocate.
You say what you want in the Care Plan.
Community Services may not agree with you.
You may not agree with the Care Plan.
That is OK.
Community Services write what they think is best for your child.
You can take the Care Plan to your lawyer.
He can help you work out what to do.
You do not have to sign the care plan.
You say
  • I agree
    or
  • I do not agree with the Care Plan.
Do not sign any papers when you do not understand them.

Your Care Plan

  1. Where your child will live
Community services says
  • your child can go home
    or
  • your child must live with someone else.
This may be until your child is 18.
  1. Who chooses things about your child
Someone needs to be in charge of your child.
That person chooses things about your child. Like
  • when to go to the doctor
  • what doctor to go to
It is called Parental Responsibility.
  1. Who can see your child
This helps you plan your contact.
You will know
  • who can see your child. Like
    • mum only
but
  • not your stepson
  • how many times you can see your child.
    Like a day each month
  • Who must be in the room for contact.
Like
  • the contact worker is in the room with you
    You will know who your contact worker is.
or
  • there is no contact worker in the room
    It is only you and your child.
  1. Other things important to you.
Like how your child
  • learns about their culture. It may be
    • about important days
    • special places for you
and
  • learns about your religion.
  1. Your childs other needs.
Some children have
  • more health needs. It may be asthma
  • disability needs.
The Care Plan will talk about this too.
The magistrate reads the Care Plan.
The magistrate must work out
Is this Care Plan the best for your child?
When the magistrate says yes to the Care Plan.
The magistrate says it is best for your child.
You do not have to sign the Care Plan.
Do not sign anything you do not understand.
When the magistrate says no to the Care Plan.
Community Services must make a new Care Plan.

More information

This fact sheet is general information.
It may not be the same for you.
Talk to a lawyer about
  • your own child
  • your family.
This fact sheet was made by
  • The WASH House
  • The Ability Rights Centre. A service of IDRS
with
  • a Parent Advisory Group, 2020.
Images
We have used images from
  • ChangePeople
  • COMPIC
  • Mayer-Johnson
  • Participics
  • Picto-Selector
  • TheNounProject.
Access Easy English helped The WASH House write the Easy English.
March 2020.

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