Safety Organized Practice: Key Skills to Develop Sue Lohrbach 2012

Webinar Guide Child Welfare History 101 Practice Model Components Constructive Engagement Involvement Research Translated into Direct Practice Gathering, Organizing & Analyzing Information Ongoing Assessment, Planning & Decision Making Critical Thinking Engagement Specific to Children/Youth Questions

Where were we before we recognized strength based work with children, youth and families?

Child Protection Transformation Toward Partnership & Collaboration Incident Based Retrospective Fact Finding Paternalistic Isolation Adversarial Safety Well-being Permanency Ecological Prospective Needs Based Partnership Collaboration Settlements Sawyer/Lohrbach 2004

Practice Model Constructive engagement Inclusion of family, extended family & community Collaborative engagement Utilization of research Lohrbach - Sawyer

Practice Model Safety organized Responsible use of authority Comprehensive assessment of risk including protective capacity Lohrbach - Sawyer

“Engaged relationships hold the promise for sustained change” Communicate interest by Asking good questions that Provide a high yield of information and Share resources that are available to Support assessment, planning and decision making now and Into the future

Communicating Interest: Setting the Stage Greetings – inclusion of disclosure of role and purpose of the meeting Transparency – “the agency received information……….” Choices – even if between “rock and hard place” Questions – open ended questions signal interest

Asking “Good” Questions Open ended: What? When? Where? How? Avoid: Why? Questions that elicit a “yes/no” response unless desired Solution focused Strengths based

Open – ended Questions with a Focus What? > brought the family to the attention of the agency? > alternative explanations are there? > is known about any previous history with child protective services/youth services? Specific allegations? > behaviors were observed or described? > is known about safe and protective parenting practices? Lohrbach, S. (2010). Framework Questions. Unpublished manuscript.

Open – ended Questions with a Focus Where? > do family members live? > do family members go when times are stressful? > do folks tend to get stuck? > do folks tend to find success? S. Lohrbach, (2010). Framework Questions. Unpublished manuscript.

Open – ended Questions with a Focus When? > was the first time you can remember using alcohol? > did the relationship begin? > did you first get the diagnosis? > was there a time when you were feeling healthy? S. Lohrbach, (2010). Framework Questions. Unpublished manuscript.

Open – ended Questions with a Focus Who? > is in your family? > was/is involved? > do you turn to for support? > else is involved with your family (e.g. service providers) > has been helpful? S. Lohrbach, (2010). Framework Questions. Unpublished manuscript.

Open – ended Questions with a Focus How? > do caregivers manage frustration? Anger? > are the children doing? Developmentally, academically? > do folks typically contact one another? > can we prevent this from happening again? S. Lohrbach, (2010). Framework Questions. Unpublished manuscript.

Solution Focused Questions Scaling Questions Detail and Amplification Questions Exception finding Questions Miracle Questions Coping Questions Goal Setting

Strengths – based Questions Listen to family stories rather than telling them or becoming preoccupied with moving through an assessment protocol.

Strengths – based Questions Survival Questions – How have you managed to survive (or thrive) given the challenges you have had to contend with? What have you learned about yourself and your world or family during your struggles? What are the special qualities that you rely upon? Saleebey, D. (ed) (1997): The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice 2nd edition. Allen and Unwin, New York.

Strengths – based Questions Support Questions: who in your life has given you understanding, support, and guidance? Who are the people that you can depend on? How did you find them? What groups, organizations, etc. have been useful/helpful to you in the past? Saleebey, D. (ed) (1U97): The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. 2nd edition. Allen & Unwin, New York.

Strengths – based Questions Exception Questions: When things were going well in life, what was different? When was a time you felt like ____ and did something else? What parts of your world and your being would you like to recapture, reinvent, or relive? Saleebey, D. (ed) (1997). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. 2nd edition. Allen and Unwin, New York.

Strengths – based Questions Possibility Questions: What are your hopes and visions? What fantasies and dreams have given you special hope and guidance? What people or personal qualities are helping you move in these directions? Saleebey, D. (ed) (1997). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. 2nd edition. Allen & Unwin, New York.

Strengths – based Questions Esteem Questions: When people say good things about you, what are they likely to say? How will you know when things are going well in your life – what will you be doing, who will you be with, how will you be feeling, thinking and acting. Saleebey, D. (ed) (1997). The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. 2nd edition. Allen & Unwin, New York.

Making Space for Critical Thinking Use of language Practice makes permanent Gathering information Organizing information Analyzing information Impressions & intuition Lohrbach, 2000

Comprehensive Risk Assessment Family Knowledge Network and Culture Balanced Assessment of Risk Safety Danger Professional Knowledge Network and Authority ©2000Andrew Turnell PO Box 56 Burswood WA 6100 Australia, aturnell@iinet.com.au

Consultation and Information Sharing Framework Reason for Referral Safety GENOGRAM/ECOMAP ℴ Detail re: incident(s) Bringing the family to the attention of the agency. Impact on child(ren). ℴ Pattern/history ℴ Strengths demonstrated as protection over time ℴ Pattern/history of exceptions (Gray Area) Next Steps Strengths/Protective Factors Risk Statements Current Ranking 1 (Immediate Progress) Safety/Protection Required ℴ Assets, resources, capacities within family, individual/community ℴ Presence of research based protective factors ℴ Risk to child(ren) ℴ Context of risk 2 3 4 5 ℴ Development of next steps relevant to risk context ℴ What ℴ Who ℴ When ℴ Etc. Complicating Factors 6 Purpose/Focus of Consultation ℴ Condition/behaviors that contribute to greater difficulty for the family ℴ Presence of research based risk factors 7 8 9 ℴ What is the worker/team looking for in this consult? 10 Enough safety to close Partnering: Action with family in their position: willingness, confidence, capacity (Lohrbach)

Development of Risk Statements (aka: “danger statements”) Two Components Risk: What is it you are worried may happen to the child/children? Context: When are you most worried that will happen? Lohrbach, 2000

Risk Statement Prompts ________(child name) may be ________(risk) when/should _______(context). Lohrbach, 2000

Risk Statement Prompts Risk statements are generally built from the detail regarding harm done, impact on child – may include discrepant explanations Safety plans and goals are built specifically to the contexts of risks Risk statements can be organized specific to child safety, well-being and permanency in child welfare work Risk statements are written in a language that makes sense to the family Risk statements reflect the agency’s concerns Lohrbach, 2000

Safety Statement Prompts The risk of _______to _______ (child name) when/should ________(context) is being/has been addressed by ________. Safety statements/goals are put in behavioral terms and reflect all detail. Lohrbach, 2004

Creative Engagement with Children & Youth Do ask for consent Do use paper, crayons, markers, pencils, pens Do mirror the developmental stages – move to the floor or the table, slouch as necessary  Do give choices Do be honest about how the information (pictures, etc.) will be used and with whom Do adapt and flex

Prompts/Tools/Techniques for Engaging Children & Youth The Three Houses – Nicki Weld/Maggie Greening The Safety House – Sonia Parker Fairies and Wizards – Vania da Paz Draw a Person Resource Game Texting/passing notes Using self - authenticity Other

Children - The Little Prince Grownups love numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask you questions about the essential things. They never say to you: What does his voice sound like? Which games does he like? Does he collect butterflies? Instead they ask you: How old is he? How many brothers has he got? How much does his father make? Only in that way do they get the feeling they know him. - The Little Prince Lohrbach - 2012

Sue Lohrbach twinoaksfc@aol.com Questions? Sue Lohrbach twinoaksfc@aol.com