Policy submission image

Pulse check survey

Download PDF

The ITC Pulse Check Survey and Outcome Report provides a point-in-time reflection on the experiences of the reform process by ITC agency staff. To this end, the survey results clearly show that the process of change toward trauma-informed therapeutic care is underway in NSW. There is broad support and motivation amongst workers for the transition away from previous models of care, with general agreement that the implementation journey is far from over.

The survey outcomes highlight the need for:

 

  • Sustained efforts to build organisation and system capacity within the context of workforce recruitment and retention challenges.
  • Continued clear and committed leadership within organisations and DCJ to the intent of the reforms and a preparedness to be reflexive and responsive in collaborating to navigate implementation challenges faced by both agencies and the system more broadly.

You may be interested in: Care system Therapeutic care Therapeutic specialist

What are the 10 essential elements of the Intensive Therapeutic Care System in NSW?
What are the 10 essential elements of the Intensive Therapeutic Care System in NSW?
Concepts of ‘complexity’ and ‘evidence’ are often heard in discussions that seek to find ways to better meet the needs of traumatised young people requiring more intensive forms of care....
Read more
Staying on your game as a therapeutic specialist
Staying on your game as a therapeutic specialist
What follows is a mixture of tips, reminders, encouragement and hopefully a little bit of inspiration. Start with your “why" - Knowing your why is a key essential to success...
Read more
Vanessa Farrell interview: Therapeutic opportunities in the time of COVID-19
Vanessa Farrell interview: Therapeutic opportunities in the time of COVID-19
In this video, we talk to Vanessa Farrell Therapeutic Care Manager at Anglicare. I had the opportunity to hear Vanessa speak at a recent Therapeutic Specialist Community of Practice on...
Read more
How do you support staff feeling defeated and powerless? A Case Study
How do you support staff feeling defeated and powerless? A Case Study
My work as a Therapeutic Specialist is about finding ways to equip and support staff to provide high-quality therapeutic care for young people living in Intensive Therapeutic Care homes. It...
Read more
The 10 essential elements of Intensive Therapeutic Care NSW - Practice guide
The 10 essential elements of Intensive Therapeutic Care NSW - Practice guide
This guide has been developed to describe the 10 Essential Elements that form the basis for Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) service provision in NSW. The 10 Essential Elements have been...
Read more
Client mix and matching in intensive therapeutic care
Client mix and matching in intensive therapeutic care
Young people living in residential care are highly vulnerable and have commonly experienced a significant level of trauma and abuse. They often present with complex needs and a range of...
Read more
Reflections on the therapeutic specialist forum
Reflections on the therapeutic specialist forum
Last month, 40 Therapeutic Specialists from a range of organisation’s gathered in Sydney for the annual Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) Therapeutic Specialist Forum. Across two days participants engaged in workshops,...
Read more
Client mix and client matching in therapeutic care - Practice guide
Client mix and client matching in therapeutic care - Practice guide
Client mix and the process of client matching is one of the 10 Essential Elements underpinning the Intensive Therapeutic Care (ITC) system in New South Wales. This guide has been...
Read more
‘Drop and run’ - the experience of kinship carers in the Australian child protection system
‘Drop and run’ - the experience of kinship carers in the Australian child protection system
Recent research was conducted by the Southern Cross University and the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care (McPherson, Gatwiri, Day, Parmenter, Mitchell & Macnamara, 2022) into the experience of kinship...
Read more
‘There was no support’: Getting kinship care support right
‘There was no support’: Getting kinship care support right
We did not and am still not receiving support requested or needed. Case managers or staff change without us being informed. Phone messages left at their offices and drop in...
Read more
Trauma, loss and parenting – care leavers’ experiences of having their own children during transitions from care
Trauma, loss and parenting – care leavers’ experiences of having their own children during transitions from care
This post is written by Jade Purtell, a multidisciplinary researcher and practitioner focused on out-of-home care and transitions from care experiences and policy. This research is funded by an Australian Government...
Read more
Extending care support past age 18 to 21
Extending care support past age 18 to 21
How old were you when you moved out of home for the first time? Did you continue to get support from home, perhaps for an emergency loan, help to file...
Read more
Christmas in residential care: It doesn’t need to be the most wonderful time of the year
Christmas in residential care: It doesn’t need to be the most wonderful time of the year
Christmas is a time of joy and celebration for many Australians, but it can also bring pressure and unrealistic expectations. The shops are decorated, Christmas songs are everywhere, and cheesy...
Read more
Agenda for Change: Ensuring a safe and supportive out-of-home care system for children and young people in New South Wales
Agenda for Change: Ensuring a safe and supportive out-of-home care system for children and young people in New South Wales
A system in crisis: A call for transformation The out-of-home care system in New South Wales (NSW) should be a safe haven for children, young people and families. It is...
Read more
Can we provide trauma-informed care for children without changing our beliefs about their behaviour?
Can we provide trauma-informed care for children without changing our beliefs about their behaviour?
This blog article was written by Noel Macnamara, Executive Manager - Research and Policy and Deputy Director, Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care, CETC. There is a growing tendency to...
Read more
How are restrictive practices interpreted in therapeutic residential care?
How are restrictive practices interpreted in therapeutic residential care?
This blog article was written by Glenys Bristow,  Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Residential Care, CETC. Restrictive practice in therapeutic care The Royal Commision into Violence, Abuse and Exploitation of People with...
Read more
Hard vs soft skills: which are more important in residential care work?
Hard vs soft skills: which are more important in residential care work?
Not everyone is suited to being a therapeutic residential worker. Working in therapeutic care requires special skills and qualities, some that can be taught or mentored, and others that are...
Read more
Spotlight on a therapeutic specialist in out-of-home care - Jess Wright
Spotlight on a therapeutic specialist in out-of-home care - Jess Wright
Foster Care Week 2023, celebrated from September 10-16, is an annual celebration of foster carers and their supporters for the contributions they make to the lives of children, young people,...
Read more
Research Update: Understanding Relationships in Therapeutic Residential Care
Research Update: Understanding Relationships in Therapeutic Residential Care
The Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care (CETC) is engaged in ongoing research to understand how positive, trusting relationships and social connections can be fostered for young people in Therapeutic...
Read more
Meet the CareSouth team
Meet the CareSouth team
CareSouth was recently awarded the Outstanding Therapeutic Residential Care Team Award at Youth Action NSW's Youth Work Awards. The CETC proposed the new Outstanding Therapeutic Residential Care Team award category...
Read more
Submission to the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People: Special Inquiry: Children and Young People in Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs)
Submission to the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People: Special Inquiry: Children and Young People in Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs)
Alternative Care Arrangements are the symptom of a care system in crisis ACAs have no place in a modern trauma-informed and child-centred out-of-home care system. The retention of foster carers...
Read more
The effective and efficient approach to preventing placement breakdowns
The effective and efficient approach to preventing placement breakdowns
For children with complex trauma, the out-of-home care sector is more often reactive rather than proactive or preventative. Not many programs exist to provide significant early intervention support, as opposed...
Read more
Q&A with the trainer: Trauma-informed supervision
Q&A with the trainer: Trauma-informed supervision
Over the recent decades, we have seen leaps in research and practice promoting the importance of taking a holistic trauma-informed approach to caring for children and young people with trauma....
Read more
When systems designed to protect do harm
When systems designed to protect do harm
What comes to mind when you think about the child protection or youth justice system?  Protection and safeguarding? Rehabilitation? Trauma-informed care? These two complex and often interacting systems are intended...
Read more
Holding on by a thread - Connecting with adolescents in a culture of disconnection
Holding on by a thread - Connecting with adolescents in a culture of disconnection
Recently I listened to the Brené Brown podcast Unlocking Us episode from 20th March 2024, where she spoke with Esther Perel on the new “AI” – Artificial Intimacy. There were...
Read more
And the recommendations are… systemic reform towards providing therapeutic care, again
And the recommendations are… systemic reform towards providing therapeutic care, again
The Australian Institute of Family Studies recently released a report titled Improving the Safety and Wellbeing of Vulnerable Children: A Consolidation of Systemic Recommendations and Evidence. This report aims to...
Read more
The overlooked crisis of FASD hiding in youth justice and out-of-home care
The overlooked crisis of FASD hiding in youth justice and out-of-home care
In Australia, children and young people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in out-of-home care are at critically greater risk of getting involved with the youth justice system. The issues...
Read more
A Traumatised Organisation: The system as a client
A Traumatised Organisation: The system as a client
The concept of organisations as living systems is not new. Extensive work, particularly in the area of systems thinking, has brought this perspective into the limelight.Out-of-home care (OOHC) organisations are...
Read more