30 SepIt’s ok to share, you could make a difference.
The Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) aims to assist professionals to better support positive child wellbeing and safety outcomes. It does this by enabling specified government agencies and service providers, known as Information Sharing Entities, to share information about children (personal, health or sensitive information), their families or relevant third parties that will:
- improve early risk identification and intervention
- change a risk-averse culture in relation to information sharing
- increase collaboration and integration between child and family services
- support children’s participation in services.
To promote awareness of the CISS, the Victorian Department of Education (DET) commissioned Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) to develop a practical resource –The ABCs of CISS to address the key questions early childhood teachers, educators and leaders need answered to be able to participate in the scheme with confidence.
The Practice Guide was developed to provide practical and contextual information, supporting authorised early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce to use the Reforms. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the legally binding documents outlined in the Reforms, the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) Ministerial Guidelines, the Family Violence Information Sharing (FVISS) Guidelines and Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM), as well as other resources relevant to the Reforms.
The Practice Guide draws from findings in the Child Information Gap Analysis Survey which was conducted by ELAA and other early childhood grantees including Community Child Care, Australian Childcare Alliance (Vic), Municipal Association of Victoria and Early Childhood Australia (Vic). It provides step by step information, infographics, and case studies specific to the ECEC sector. The guide will contribute to:
- greater awareness of the schemes, and the roles and responsibilities of services
- ECTs/educators feeling more confident about their role and capability to share information
- improved quality and timeliness of requests for and responses to requests for appropriate information sharing
- greater collaboration and coordination with other services
- a shared commitment to child wellbeing, in particular between universal, secondary, and tertiary services.
Services must complete the DET training to ensure they can respond to and make information sharing requests appropriately and effectively. To access training, please register for an account on the Information Sharing and MARAM Online Learning Management System.
Through proactive sharing, the scheme enables a range of allied health and community services to coordinate strategies and ensure greater success for children’s wellbeing and safety in care environments.
To access your copy of the practice guide CLICK HERE
