ENHANCING POSITIVE WORKER INTERVENTIONS WITH CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN PROTECTION SERVICES: BEST PRACTICES AND REQUIRED SKILLS

PURPOSE OF PROJECT To explore the current clinical “ well being ” of the practice of social work in the field of child welfare and to make recommendations for enhancing its clinical application in Ontario To explore individual worker interaction with clients who are either being investigated or with whom there is a need to develop a service plan and an ongoing working relationship

The project will always hold a child ’ s safety and well-being as the paramount goal of intervention

It can be argued that the perceived shift in child protection services to more risk focused, adversarial approaches in recent past has resulted in the following: more contentious court litigated interventions i ncreased admissions and stays of children to care increased costs across the system

- lower job satisfaction rates for front-line staff/higher staff turnover - loss of long term relationships with family for children in care

These clinical concerns have been well articulated in previous papers. They were most succinctly expressed by the Provincial Directors of Services in their paper entitled A Critical Analysis of the Evolution of Reform (2001). It called for a ‘rebalancing of priorities to enable a viable, client centered protection service’. This project intends to work towards this goal. They fit with other projects such as Differential Response and Kinship Care.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT Form a project committee Conduct a literature review Conduct a survey of front-line workers and supervisors Develop key recommendations and conclusions about effective clinical intervention Examine use of recording and the development of a comprehensive assessment and treatment plan Explore the potential for training

PROJECT OUTCOMES The production of a Position Paper that identifies the preferred approaches/best practices for the positive engagement of child protection clients. These best practices will be directly linked to improved outcomes for children receiving child protection services. The development of a more positive agency culture in which new child protection staff can develop professional helping social work skills and approaches.

Distribution of this position paper to Schools of Social Work, and other key stakeholders so that workers entering the field will be appropriately prepared for practice. Development of an Action Plan to ensure the training and implementation of these best practices in CAS ’ s across the province Coordination with other related OACAS projects.