the child guardians QLD exists to minimize young people’s fear and anxiety, in the struggle by them for survival and recognition in the wake of abuse. The core of a member’s relationship with the young person is as the primary person, expressed through a commitment to advocacy and empowerment in their journey. Equity
The practice of the child guardians will be non discriminatory. All young peopl
e: regardless of race, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, under Human Rights and Equal Opportunity legislation have the right to be treated in a fair and appropriate manner. This impacts directly on the members approach to young people. Regardless of a member’s personal beliefs, a young person has the right to be treated fairly and responded to on the basis of their need. If a member is unable to detach their personal beliefs from the situation, they have the responsibility to ensure the young person is referred to a member that can deal with their needs in a non discriminatory and sensitive manner. The focus here is responding to the young person’s need in the best possible way. Duty of Care
All members avoid exposing young people to the likelihood of further harm or injury. “Duty of Care’ recognizes that sometimes we can do more harm than good by intervening in a situation: that intervention carries some risk with it. We can get a bit fired up with our passion to help people, or to get things moving, or to use the skills and resources we have at our disposal, and it might not actually be the best thing. A member will never conduct any business alone in order to protect both the young person and the member. A member will never conduct any business under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Confidentiality
Information provided by young people will not be used against them, nor will it be shared with others. Young people should be made aware of the contextual limits to confidentiality and where required, their permission sought for disclosure. Until this happens, the presumption of confidentiality must apply. Cooperation
members will seek to cooperate with others in order to secure the best possible outcomes for young people. Working in deliberate isolation increases the risk of dependency-based relationships and denies young people the right to choose and an equitable share of available resources. Self-awareness
members are conscious of their own values and interests, and approach differences in those with whom they work with humility. Respect and dignity are crucial to being able to accept these differences between self and the young person, whilst also recognizing that universally accepted concepts of human rights cannot be compromised in doing so. Boundaries
The member’s relationship is a professional relationship, intentionally limited to protect the young person. members will maintain the integrity of these limits,
and will always be aware of their boundaries. Integrity
members are loyal to the empowerment of the youth and our role, never bringing the Association into disrepute. members will respect the strengths and diversity of roles other than theirs.
