What family support services do

Family support services are helping families sooner, supporting them to provide a safe family environment for children to grow and thrive, reducing the need for child protection services.

Intensive Family Support (IFS)

Intensive Family Support (IFS)

Intensive Family Support services respond to families with children and young people who are experiencing multiple and/or complex needs and are at risk of involvement in child protection services. Case management support is provided to families who agree to engage with the service.

All individuals who identify as being family members of a referred child and consent to engage are eligible for a service. Case managers work collaboratively with families to identify and prioritise their goals and address their needs by providing intensive support and facilitating engagement with specialist services as required.

Intensive Family Support services undertake collaborative case planning with other agencies to develop a single case plan and provide a co-ordinated and comprehensive response to address families' needs.

Families referred to an Intensive Family Support service by whether consent was received

Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.

What is being counted

  1. Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).

  2. Counts the number of referrals opened and recorded as a case by an Intensive Family Support service during the reporting period by whether consent was received to commence the service at either the end of the reference period or when the case was closed.

  3. The consent status of ‘No consent – other reasons’ includes cases that were closed for reasons such as the family was non-contactable, the family were already engaged with another support service or the family were referred in error.

  4. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family is identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander if one or more people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

  5. Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family where no people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown.

Definition notes

  1. Case: A case is created by an Intensive Family Support service to begin working collaboratively with families to identify and prioritise their presenting needs and address those needs by providing intensive support and facilitating engagement with specialist services as required.

  2. Consent: Once a referral is received by an Intensive Family Support service the service then work towards gaining consent from the family to begin assistance. Receiving services from an Intensive Family Support service is voluntary for families and consent is required.

  3. Intensive Family Support: Intensive Family Support (IFS) services are funded by the department to provide support to help families address multiple and/or complex needs and assist them to build their capacity to care for and protect their children.

Percentage of families referred to an Intensive Family Support service by whether consent was received

Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.

What is being counted

  1. Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).

  2. Counts the number of referrals opened and recorded as a case by an Intensive Family Support service during the reporting period by whether consent was received to commence the service at either the end of the reference period or when the case was closed as a proportion of all cases created.

  3. The consent status of ‘No consent – other reasons’ includes cases that were closed for reasons such as the family was non-contactable, the family were already engaged with another support service or the family were referred in error.

  4. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family is identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander if one or more people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

  5. Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family where no people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown.

Definition notes

  1. Case: A case is created by an Intensive Family Support service to begin working collaboratively with families to identify and prioritise their presenting needs and address those needs by providing intensive support and facilitating engagement with specialist services as required.

  2. Consent: Once a referral is received by an Intensive Family Support service the service then work towards gaining consent from the family to begin assistance. Receiving services from an Intensive Family Support service is voluntary for families and consent is required.

  3. Intensive Family Support: Intensive Family Support (IFS) services are funded by the department to provide support to help families address multiple and/or complex needs and assist them to build their capacity to care for and protect their children.

Families receiving an Intensive Family Support service

Source: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services.

What is being counted

  1. Data is for the year ending the reference date (12 months of data).

  2. Counts all families where consent was received, and the case remained open at some point during the reporting period irrespective of when the case was created and/or closed.

  3. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family is identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander if one or more people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

  4. Non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: A family where no people attached to the case are identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status is unknown.

Definition notes

  1. Case: A case is created by an Intensive Family Support service to begin working collaboratively with families to identify and prioritise their presenting needs and address those needs by providing intensive support and facilitating engagement with specialist services as required.

  2. Consent: Once a referral is received by an Intensive Family Support service the service then works towards gaining consent from the family to begin assistance.  Receiving services from an Intensive Family Support service is voluntary for families and consent is required.

  3. Intensive Family Support: Intensive Family Support (IFS) services are funded by the department to provide support to help families address multiple and/or complex needs and assist them to build their capacity to care for and protect their children.