In this issue

This month has seen the commencement of our Police Referrals engagement sessions that will be held across 13 Police Districts before December, with the remaining 2 to be held in early 2020.

In addition to the introduction of the components of the Model Referral Process, this process is also an opportunity to ensure we have engaged with every appropriate local service provider who could be part of the Police Referrals network.

The implementation of a model referral process is introducing, or reinforcing, some simple steps with the ultimate end goal of increasing the percentage of referrals that result in the successful engagement by clients with service providers.  The model process covers the whole process from the initial contact by Police through to the client being contacted and accepting the service offered by the service provider.

Our current list of over 485 Service Providers has come from a range of processes through working with Government Departments to build an initial list, but then largely working on word of mouth.

To this end, I am asking each of you to think about what other Service Providers are you working with in your local networks and are they involved in Police Referrals.  If there are Service Providers that you deal with that are not part of Police Referrals, please speak with them about what we are doing and what we are working towards. If they are interested in becoming part of the Police Referrals network then have them contact our Referral Coordination Management Service at admin@policereferrals.org.au.

Alternately, if you would feel more comfortable with us contacting other services direct to discuss with them the benefits of being part of Police Referrals then please e-mail the details of the service provider (and preferable with a contact person) to this same e-mail address.  The more local level service providers we are able to have engaged with Police Referrals the more we are able to spread the load of attending to.

Until next month, thank you for all of your work in helping to build safe, caring and connected communities.

A/Senior Sergeant Chris Stafford

As we continue to explore the best way forward to support Mental Health as a referral category for referring officers, we wish to extend a special thank you to Artius Health for their continued support and taking over the management of the State Wide referrals for Mental Health.

Without your support we would be facing a Police Referral Service unable to refer vulnerable community members to appropriate mental health support services. THANK YOU.

Did you know you can contact the Police Officer who submitted the referral directly via email?

This can be done by emailing the officer’s rego number that can be found in the content of the referral information. Example as below would be 4008846@police.qld.gov.au

BUT it is important to remember, Police Officers are shift workers so a reply will not be immediate.

There are occasions when Service Providers need to on-refer clients to a more appropriate referral point.

In most instances this can be done through the Police Referral system and can begin with a QPS Directory Search.

Please visit the ‘How to On Refer’ resource section of the website to ensure you are using all available functionality to assist in this process.

https://policereferrals.org.au/resources/

This functionality is configured as a set and forget feature and is part of our Model Referral Process rollout across Queensland.

Once set up the auto-response feature will EMAIL or SMS the client when a referral is created. As the referral arrives in your inbox, where safe to do so, the client will automatically receive an EMAIL or SMS with your services details.

If this is something you would like to have set up or more information about, please contact the Referral Coordination Service on rmcs@redbourne.com.au or 1300 058 910.

No story is too small to share. To show how much the Police Referrals program contributes to safer and more supported Queensland communities, please send through any good news stories to nicolad@redbourne.com.au. Nicola is our Marketing Communications Manager.

This month’s District Police Referrals Coordinator spotlight is with Senior Sergeant Kevin Thomas

About me:

How long have you worked in the Queensland Police Service?

• I have worked for the QPS for 40 years.

When did you become a District Police Referral Coordinator?

• I became the District Police Referral Coordinator in 2016.

What do you like about being a District Police Referral Coordinator?

• I like providing advice about the referral practice and policy to our front line officers in the Wide Bay Burnett region.

Making a Difference:

What policing priorities are you targeting within your District and how is Police Referrals supporting that?

• We focus on our support in the Domestic Violence and Vulnerable Persons areas for our region.

What Referrals categories are most common in your District?

• Our top category would be Domestic Violence.

Thinking about the future:

What is your goal in Police Referrals?

• Increase and improve the opportunities to refer Vulnerable Person’s to agencies that are better equipped to deal with their issues.

Welcome to the Police Referral Network!

A big welcome to the below Services who have commenced being part of the Police Referral Network.

Gungarde Family Wellbeing Service, located in Cooktown

Inala Youth Service, located in Brisbane

We are excited to advise that we have conducted our first two District Engagement workshops – Brisbane North District and Brisbane South District. We thank all our Service Providers and QPS members who attended.

Feedback has certainly been positive highlighting the benefit of both Queensland Police Service and our Service Providers sharing their perspectives and appreciation of the Police Referral Program.

Keep an eye on our District Engagement Events page with our next workshop being held in Cairns and on the Sunshine Coast.

Invites will be sent to nominated persons.

The Family Mental Health Support Service by Accoras

In this month’s Service Provider Spotlight, we talk with  Fabrianne Russell.

Fabrianne is the Intake & Program Support Coordinator of Family Mental Health Support Service, Secondary to Intensive Family Support Service & Settlement Engagement and Transition Support Program Child, Youth & Family Services at Accoras.

Can you tell us about the Family Mental Health Support Service by Accoras?

The Family Mental Health Support Service (FMHSS) is delivered by Accoras – a not for profit organisation committed to supporting and promoting mental health and positive wellbeing in South East Queensland. The organisation has been around for 25 years and have been delivering the FMHSS contract for the past 5 years.

We are based in Yeerongpilly in Brisbane’s south and we provide outreach services to the Brisbane South Region.

We are a free early-intervention mental health service that works with children and young people aged 0-18 years. We provide assistance with challenges the young person maybe be facing in regards to their mental health and support them to overcome barriers they may be facing. We utilise a strengths-based approach, using the young person’s strengths to help them work through their difficulties.  We work with children and young people to support the development of positive coping strategies as well as upskilling the family to support their child/young person’s needs.

What is the average length of time for client engagement?

On average most clients achieve their goals within 3 to 6 months. However, some clients can be on-referred to help with a different need.

Why do you think Police Referral Service is an important community service? 

We believe it is really important to help people especially our troubled youth, we believe that if the Police can get to the kids that are in the community or the ones that seem to slip through the gaps then that can make a big difference to helping them before it’s too late.

Do you have any suggestions on how the Police Referrals Program could be improved?

The only suggestions would be for the Police Officers on duty to get to know the services in their area better, so that they can refer to the best and most appropriate service available for that young person.

A link to our website to view all programs and more detail about us: www.accoras.com.au