Voluntary out-of-home care is now known as specialised substitute residential care and new Code of Practice in place
As of 1 September, the voluntary out-of-home care (VOOHC) regulatory system was replaced with the specialised substitute residential care (SSRC) system. SSRC is now regulated under the Child Safe Scheme, and all SSRC providers need to make sure they are complying with the 10 Standards. There is also an SSRC Code of Practice in place for all providers, which replaces the Statutory Procedures: Voluntary out of-home care in NSW.
What does this mean for new SSRC providers?
The registration process has changed, and if you would like to provide SSRC services, including overnight respite care, you will need to:
- complete the Child Safe Self-Assessment
- ensure you comply with the SSRC Code of Practice and 10 Child Safe Standards
- apply for access to the SSRC Register.
Please contact us for more information and to access the self-assessment and SSRC Register: ssrc@ocg.nsw.gov.au.
What does this mean for former VOOHC providers?
If you are a VOOHC registered provider, you would have received advice from the Children’s Guardian in August 2022 describing the changes and next steps required. You will need to:
- complete the Child Safe Self-Assessment by 1 March 2023
- ensure you comply with the SSRC Code of Practice and 10 Child Safe Standards.
Please contact us for more information and to access the self-assessment: ssrc@ocg.nsw.gov.au.
SSRC webinar series
The SSRC team will be holding regular webinars that will be promoted via this newsletter and on the OCG website. Please register on the OCG website.
Thursday 3rd November 2022
Specialised substitute residential care overview - for new principal officers and SSRC coordinators
Previous webinar recordings:
Overview of the changes from voluntary out-of-home care to specialised substitute residential care
A recording of the webinar explaining the change from VOOHC to SSRC is available on the OCG website. We recommend any staff who formerly provided VOOHC watches this to get an overview of the changes and the program.
To suggest topics for future webinars, please fill in our training survey.
New information and resources on the OCG website
Information and resources for SSRC providers can be found on the OCG website, including the SSRC Code of Practice and key information about supervision, case planning and information exchange.
In addition, there are a number of resources including handbooks, policy templates, and videos for the implementation of the 10 Child Safe Standards available. The OCG also runs webinars and face to face training on a regular basis.
Some key topics that will interest SSRC providers include the following (all available via links above):
Child Safe:
- Guide to child safe standards handbook
- Understanding and developing a child safe policy handbook
- Risk management and the child safe standards handbooks
- Empowerment and participation handbook
- Child Safe codes of conduct handbook
- Child safe action plans handbook
- Child Safe Standards videos – ‘Introduction to the child safe scheme’ and 10 short videos explaining each of the standards
- Safe Space e-learning modules and ‘Risk of Harm’ videos
- Webinars and face to face training – book online
Reporting and procedural obligations:
- Reporting obligations and processes handbook
- Working with children check process videos
- Responding to Reportable Allegations e-learning modules
- Recognising and responding to abuse
We encourage you to browse the whole catalogue, and register for upcoming training via the links above.
Specialised resources in development
The OCG is developing additional implementation resources for SSRC, including an implementation guide for the SSRC Code of Practice, and a webinar training series for SSRC providers and their staff.
We would value your feedback on the topics that are of most interest via our training and resources survey. Access the survey.
SSRC Register report changes
The OCG is reviewing the system reports that we regularly send to SSRC providers to ensure that they remain useful and do not create further administrative burden. We are currently trialling the following:
- Supervision (90 day) and Case Planning (150 day) reports sent every 2 weeks, rather than weekly
- Reports on potential duplicate records, adult placements, and expiring case plans sent monthly
- Quarterly reports sent as usual.
If you have feedback, questions or concerns, please reach out to us at ssrc@ocg.nsw.gov.au.
New contact details for the OCG SSRC team
The SSRC team also has a new email address, and can be contacted at ssrc@ocg.nsw.gov.au. Our phone number remains the same: 02 8219 3798. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 3 working days.
