4.1 Case plans

A case plan is an individualised, dynamic, written plan or support agreement for children in care, outlining the goals of ongoing intervention and the outcomes and actions required to achieve these goals. It usually includes information on needs assessments, relative/kin contact arrangements and living arrangements.

Case plans are developed to assist in providing child protection services that meet the needs of children. The indicator captures children who have a current approved case plan, as a proportion of all children who require a case plan.

Trend data: For all indicator displays, the yearly trend is limited to indicators with 3 or more years (including the current year) of comparable time series data. To see the trend click on “Yearly Trend” button on the display. Where 3 or more years of comparable data including the most recent year is not available, a “No time series data” message is shown on the display.

The bar graph shows the proportion of children and young people aged 0–17 who have a current documented case plan at 30 June, by Indigenous status. Data can be selected by year from 2012 to 2021.

Source: AIHW Child Protection Collection

See the supplementary data tables for further information and footnotes about these data.

Indicator technical specifications

The information below provides technical specifications for the summary indicator data presented in the quick reference guide.

National Standards Indicator 4.1 Case plans: Proportion of children and young people who have a current documented case plan 
  Definition Data source
Numerator Number of children aged 0-17 years who have a current documented and approved case plan at 30 June AIHW National Child Protection Data Collection
Denominator Number of responding children aged 0-17 years who are required to have a current documented and approved case plan at 30 June AIHW National Child Protection Data Collection

Explanatory notes

Children in ‘care’ are defined as those whose care arrangements have been ordered by the Children’s Court, where the parental responsibility for the child or young person has been transferred to the Minister/Chief Executive.

A current case plan is one that has been approved and/or reviewed within the previous 12 months.