Who family support services work with

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.

Families who engage with Intensive Family Support services often have multiple needs associated with an increased risk of child abuse or neglect. These can include financial stress, child or parental mental health issues, physical health and disability, social isolation, challenges with parenting, drug and/or alcohol misuse, housing/risk of homelessness or domestic and family violence.

Family support workers 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.

The aim is to strengthen skills so that parents can improve their health and wellbeing and safely care for and nurture their children.  

Families referred to 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 the number of referrals opened and recorded as a case by Intensive Family Support services during the reporting period.

  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. 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 referred to an Intensive Family Support service by presenting concerns

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 presenting concern as a proportion of all cases created.

  3. A family can have more than one presenting concern.

  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. Presenting concerns: Concerns of the family are identified in the referral and can include:
    • child wellbeing
    • domestic and family violence
    • parenting skills

    • household relationships including conflict between parent/s and child/ren.

  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 referred to an Intensive Family Support service by referral source

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.

  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. 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.

  3. Prescribed entities: Includes the following entities:
    • the chief executive
    • an authorised officer
    • a licensee
    • the public guardian
    • the chief executive of a department that is mainly responsible for any of the following matters:
      • adult corrective services
      • community services
      • disability services
      • education
      • housing services
      • public health
    • the chief executive of the Mater Misericordia Health Services Brisbane Ltd (ACN 096 708 922)
    • a health service chief executive within the meaning of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011
    • the police commissioner
    • the principal of a school that is accredited, or provisionally accredited, under the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001
    • the person in charge of a student hostel
    • the chief executive of another entity, that provides a service to children or families, prescribed under a regulation.