Be prepared with procedures

The procedure for a response follows these steps:

1. Initial contact
2. Identify signs of non-presenting issues and make an assessment
3. Check your information
4. Identify the client’s issues
5. Decide what to do:
   • Provide a brief intervention if needed.
   • Refer the client.
6. Evaluate what you did. Was it effective? Did the services meet the clients’ needs? In your review, consult your clients, carers and significant others, case managers and other service providers.
7. Then make changes if you find errors or inadequacies.
8. If relevant, give input into a review of "whole of system" and outcomes.

Preparation

As an organization, you need to prepare in several ways before you can successfully handle these kinds of interventions.

Check that you have procedures in place before you start. In particular, you need a procedure for reporting routine contacts with clients, such as a journal or a system of case notes. You’ll also need a framework for handling serious incidents involving difficult behavior. You might have to inform someone orally at the time, but there should be a form for reporting incidents in writing. Some procedures are not written down, especially in smaller organizations. They are the normal "how we do things here" that are taught to new staff.

Check that you have a procedure for addressing duty of care and legal requirements in responding to indicators of risk of abuse, neglect or harm. For example, you might be subject to mandatory reporting. Besides, you might have a wider duty of care than you think for people in your care who are not mentally competent.

The specific procedure for giving referrals is described in "Your referral list."

Policies and procedures have various purposes:

• To ensure your safety as an employee and the safety as visitors in your workplace. It's a legal obligation of employers.
• Comply with any relevant laws, e.g. mandatory reporting
• Counter any significant risks
• Meet insurance requirements
• Protect both you and your organization from legal proceedings

If there could be legal consequences, get your procedures checked for legal implications. In particular, they need to reflect your duty of care. For example, if you might have to physically restrain someone who is being dangerous, you need to know how to exercise your duty of care without being booked for assault.

Assessment tool

You should have an assessment tool to assess the level of risk to the client and others involved. This kind of assessment is quite different from the normal ""How much harm? and "How probable is it that it will happen?" The reason is that you already have signs of risk or harm. The "tool" will likely be a set of questions or criteria such as the following:

 

Assessment of suspected harm or risk
To be read in conjunction with intervention and referral procedures

Assess the case using the following questions:

• How clear and unambiguous are the signs of harm or risk?
• How serious is the harm or risk?
• How reliable is your information? Is there any corroboration?
• What is already being done about the problem?

Decide on one of the following options:

• If your suspicion of harm or risk is unsupported, do not continue this procedure.
• If the harm or risk is trivial, do not continue this procedure.
• If you strongly suspect harm or risk but the information and the signs are inconclusive, confer with a supervisor or colleague.
• If the information and the signs clearly indicate harm or risk, continue with a brief intervention and/or referral.