CCYPCG home / The blue card system / Child and youth risk management strategies
Child and youth risk management strategies
Creating safe and supportive service environments for children and young people
Safe environments don’t just happen, they require ongoing planning, commitment and maintenance. Organisations falling within the scope of the blue card system are required to implement child and youth risk management strategies which address eight minimum requirements. The purpose of these strategies is to ensure that organisations have appropriate policies and procedures in place to identify and minimise the risk of harm to child and young people in regulated service environments.
To assist organisations to develop and implement appropriate child and youth risk management strategies, the Commission has developed a toolkit to provide information and guidance on the eight minimum requirements. This toolkit will help you to provide a solid foundation for the creation and maintenance of a safe service environment for children and young people.
Please download the complete toolkit or click on the individual links below for each specific element.
What information do I have to include in my child and youth risk management strategy?
To comply with the requirements that are set out in the Commission’s legislation, a child and youth risk management strategy must include:
- A statement of commitment
A statement of commitment outlines your organisation's commitment to maintaining the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
- A code of conduct
A code of conduct outlines your organisation's values and provides clear expectations for all stakeholders.
- Policies for recruiting, selecting, training and managing employees (including volunteers)
Your organisation must have in place effective policies and procedures for recruiting, selecting, training and managing paid employees and volunteers.
- Procedures for handling disclosures and suspicions of harm
Your organisation must have policies and procedures for handling disclosures and suspicions of harm to ensure staff respond as quickly as possibly to a disclosure, allegation or suspicion of harm.
- A plan for managing breaches of your child and youth risk management strategy
A plan for managing breaches needs to outline the consequences for stakeholders if your policies and procedures are not followed.
- Policies and procedures for compliance with Chapter 8 (screening requirements)
A suggested employee register template is available to assist in keeping track of all blue card or exemption card holders in your organisation.
Your child and youth risk management strategy should contain clear procedures for complying with Chapter 8 of the Commission’s Act, which includes maintaining a register of the blue card status of your staff and reviewing, at least, annually your child and youth risk management strategy.
- A risk management plan for high risk activities and special events
An example risk management plan template is available.
When undertaking a high risk activity or special event you are required to identify potential risks and to develop and implement an effective risk management plan to remove or minimise the risk of harm to children and young people.
- Strategies for communication and support
Your organisation will need to consider strategies for communication and support so that all stakeholders will be made aware of the child and youth risk management strategy.
Last updated: 23 April, 2013
