Key insight - there are many more families who need, and would benefit from, a CFSS service than the system currently has capacity to support.
As a centralised referral service, the CFSS Pathways Service enables the coordination and oversight of all referrals to Intensive Family Services (IFS) and Child and Family Safety Networks (CFSN). When a referral is received by the CFSS Pathways Service, the referral is processed by a social worker who clinically assesses the need of the family and determines the most appropriate service response.
The CFSS Pathways Service is helping us to better understand the population level need for CFSS services. It shows that every year approximately 3,500 referrals are received for an IFS response. 37% of these were able to be allocated based on current services.