It’s important that you talk to the parents, carers or young person about your referral and get their consent to make it before completing the referral form.

Consent

If you're requesting support for a family, we won’t be able to move forward with the referral if they don’t want support from the Families in Focus teams.

You can complete the form without consent from the parents, carers or young person if:

  • telling the parents or carers would put the child at risk of harm
  • you have informed the parents, carers or young person about the referral, even if they don’t consent
  • you have made all possible efforts to inform the parents, carers or young person of the referral

Sharing of information

First Response and Families in Focus will often contact health professionals, education settings and other relevant professionals for further information.

You must discuss this with the family prior to making the referral and indicate whether they consent to this or not. If the family do not consent to information sharing, we will be unable to progress a Families in Focus referral.