Screening and Response Priority (SCRPT) Tool

Screening and Response Priority is a Structured Decision Making (®SDM) tool used by DCJ Child Protection Helpline to assess child protection concerns regarding risk of significant harm. Helpline practitioners use the Response Priority Tool within the SCRPT, as well as professional expertise, to assess how quickly a response is needed.

Helpline practitioners also take into consideration whether a report meets the referral criteria for the Joint Child Protection Response Program. They consider whether the report is indicative of sexual abuse, serious physical abuse or serious neglect, and whether:

• a crime has been committed
• it requires referral to NSW Police.

When assessing reports, Helpline practitioners take into account a range of information and considerations including:

• the nature of the concerns (extent of harm)
• the immediacy of contact between the child and the person believed to be causing harm
• if there is forensic evidence that needs collecting or the child requires urgent medical intervention
• if the person believed to be causing harm has previously seriously harmed a child
• if the family is likely to move to avoid investigation
• an established pattern of behaviour by the person believed to be causing harm to the child
• the age of and/or the level of functioning of the child
• if a High Risk Birth Alert (HRBA) exists and a safety assessment is required at the time of delivery.

The application of SCRPT to a report can result in the report being ‘screened out’ when the information is not significant and when a new statutory investigation is not required. Many reports that are screened out still involve information being forwarded to a CSC when the child is already known to the child protection system.

If the report is ‘screened in’, the Response Priority Tool helps workers determine how swiftly an investigation must be initiated for those reports accepted for investigation.