Signs of Safety Webinar Series UC Davis Extension Center for Human Services Northern Training Academy Overview of Signs of Safety Implementation

Who’s facilitating this webinar? John Vogel: child welfare practitioner, thinker and learner from Massachusetts Heather Meitner: child welfare practitioner, master facilitator and strategic planner from Massachusetts Sophia Chin: child welfare practitioner, master facilitator and incessant inquirer from Massachusetts

Implementing the Signs of Safety makes it easier for you to help families keep children safe.

Implementing “Providing a practical means for accomplishing something.”

The Signs of Safety Who developed the Signs of Safety Framework? The ideas we are presenting today have been developed by… and countless other children, families and workers around the world! Andrew TurnellSteve EdwardsSonja Parker

Refers to the implementation of the ideas in: Signs of Safety, By Andrew Turnell and Steven Edwards, W.W. Norton and Company 1999 Working with ‘Denied’ Child Abuse by Andrew Turnell and Susie Essex, Open University Press, 2006 as well as ideas presented by these and other authors in training and journal articles.

What principals support Signs of Safety: Respect families as worth doing business with. Cooperate with the person, not the abuse. Recognize the cooperation is possible even where coercion is required. Recognize that all families have signs of safety. Maintain a focus on safety. Learn what the family wants to see happen. Always search for detail and clarity, rather than use jargon. Focus on creating small change. Don’t confuse case details with judgments. Offer choices. Treat the interview as a forum for change: Inquiry is intervention. Treat the practice principles as aspirations, not assumptions.

What practice elements of Signs of Safety: Understand the position of each family member Find exceptions to the maltreatment Discover strengths and resources Focus on goals Scale safety and progress Assess willingness, confidence and capacity

Developed in Australia in late 1990’s by Steve Edwards and Andrew Turnell- bringing the best of SFT to CW Objectives of Signs of Safety ENGAGEMENT: Create a shared focus to guide coursework among all stakeholders (child, family, worker, supervisor, etc.) CRITICAL THINKING: Help these stakeholders consider complicated & ambiguous case information and sort it into meaningful CW categories ENHANCING SAFETY: Clear the way for stakeholders to engage in “rigorous, sustainable, on the ground child safety” efforts

Social Workers facilitate (MAKE EASIER) change

Safety Mapping

Safety Mapping is a facilitated process of assessing the impact of a caregiver’s actions on a child. Relationships are the most significant factor in promoting child safety, permanency, and well-being. The words we use matter- shared agreement This framework helps us organize information around safety and danger to promote effective decision making The 3 questions

Safety Mapping Safety Mapping is a facilitated process of assessing the impact of a caregiver’s actions on a child. Relationships are the most significant factor in promoting child safety, permanency, and well-being. The words we use matter- shared agreement This framework helps us organize information around safety and danger to promote effective decision making The 3 questions

SDM Tools

Objectives of Structured Decision-Making are to: Identify crucial decision points in child welfare casework Increase consistency in the decision making Increase accuracy of the decision making Target resources to families most at need (through differential responses to the different scored levels of risk)

SOS & SDM combine the power of Intuitive and Analytical Thinking

Make it Easier Facilitative Practice: Collaboration and partnership Shared responsibility for decision making Builds agreement and understanding Strives for clear purpose Appreciative inquiry Strategic questions

CPS work is complex and the outcomes are hard to predict

Facilitative Practice: Collaboration and partnership Shared responsibility for decision making Builds agreement and understanding Strives for clear purpose Appreciative inquiry Strategic questions

For You

Social Workers facilitate (MAKE EASIER) change

To engage with children and families using clear, straight forward definitions of the key words in child welfare practice: Safety, Danger, and Risk To use effective and practice-based tools to focus your work on what matters most To identify the patterns of abuse or neglect impacting children To describe in behavioral terms the impact of caregiver actions on children To share decision making and responsibility by promoting NETWORKS to support children and families To use critical thinking to find the path through complexity To partner with families to create meaningful plans for change

“The single most important factor in minimizing error in child welfare is… To admit that you might be wrong.” Eileen Munro

To help families & Communities

Families are responsible for family safety

SOLUTION FOCUSED INTERVIEWING helps families see their strength, resources and success Use Family Safety Circles with family to ENHANCE SAFETY NETWORKS Collaborate with caregivers, children, networks, and communities to build effective SAFETY PLANS

Keep children safe Listen to what children have to say about their safety by using the THREE HOUSES INTERVIEWING approach Engage children in building Safety Plans Focus on the impact of caregiver actions on children Identify patterns that support safety, permanency and well-being for children

To summarize: Implementing the Signs of Safety makes it easier for you to help families keep children safe by:

Implementing a practical means for accomplishing…

Facilitated practices to…

Effectively use Safety Mapping to…

Develop clear Danger Statements and Safety Goals…

Using solution focused questions…

Which enhances Safety networks…

Needed for Safety Planning…

Including the voice of children…

For clear goal setting…

Creating consistency and clarity in practice by using SDM tools.

What does “parallel process” really mean? Meaning comes from the process not the product Search for the best questions, rather than the right answers

Implementing the Signs of Safety makes it easier for you to help families keep children safe.