A Collaborative Guide to Supervised Access

Access Putting the Pieces Together In the Best Interests of the Child Family Foster Family The Courts CAS Child

ACCESS Stakeholder Opportunities for… Bonding A Chance of a +ve Reunion Chance to see their child is OK A Sense of ‘Mattering’ to their child Demonstrating enhanced parenting Parent CHILD CAS Foster Parent Identity integration Attachment relationships A Better Sense of Belonging Knowing that their family is OK A Chance of a +ve Reunion OR Permission to move on Clear answers Observe Assess Communicate Teach Impact the Healing Process Help Child Heal Help Child Deal with mixed loyalty issues Respond to child’s anxiety & questions around family/ access R Pagnello

Level of Supervision Required Assessment Criteria Indicators Liberal, frequent, unsupervised The Default Option – we should begin with liberal access in mind and alter this plan only when there are clear & significant indicators present related to the safety, protection and best interests of the child Unsupervised with Specific Constraints – Moving towards more natural relationship opportunities for child & parent Constraints on time, place or frequency on child’s needs based on parents ability Some Supervision – Primary Goal is for parent enhancement interventions e.g. Parents cooperative willing but needs help in changing specific behaviours Supervised – Primary Goal is for observation, monitoring & intervening if necessary Parent somewhat cooperative, but at times, demonstrates behaviours that impact negatively on the child’s emotional health Also, early in the process to gauge ideal level of supervision required Highly Supervised with Trained Personnel - Child’s safety or emotional health at substantial risk without this level of supervision No Access – Access Contraindicated Child actively relives Maltreatment in access Access is persistently unsettling (rule out stages of loss first) Visits serve only to keep child in limbo Parent maintains patterns of maltreating behaviour despite repeated communication & attempts to alter that behaviour Planning for ACCESS Guidelines For the Best Interests of the Child Some Factors to Consider in Preparing a Comprehensive Plan for Access: The Individual Child’s Needs, Attachment & Developmental Levels The Parent’s Capacity to Participate in a plan to Develop ‘Good Enough’ Parenting Behaviour The Severity of Maltreatment or Reason for the Child being in Care The Permanency Plan & Concurrent Plans The Quality of Access that has Already Taken Place Children’s needs and parent behaviours change – access plans must be flexible to allow for this movement Move up the hierarchy once the parent improves and can meet child’s needs If the situation deteriorates significantly, prepare to return to court to request that the order be altered Level of SupervisonLevel of Supervison Least R Pagnello

PLAN DO CHECK ADJUST Planning for Effective ACCESS The Continuous Improvement Cycle  Establish Permanency Planning Vision  Assess/Re-assess  Parent’s attitude & capacity  Benefits to the child  Caregiver’s attitude & capacity  Plan to communicate logistics for upcoming visits  De-brief immediately with the child, the parents & the caregivers  Assess how the visit went  Assess the aftermath for the child, caregivers and parents  Observe interactions, reactions & opportunities for connections  Reinforce parent’s behaviour “Catch them doing something right”  Assess the impact on the visit for the child & adults  What needs to be altered to make the access more effective?  Involve everyone as much as possible in the pending changes  Communicate the rationale for the changes R.Pagnello – 2002

Continuum for Choosing the Access Setting The Default Option is the Natural Home Natural Family Home without Supervision Agency Building or other Institution with Supervision Least Intrusive Most Intrusive Community Setting with Supervision Where would you want to visit your child? Lowest Risk Threshold Highest Risk Threshold Child Safety& BestInterestsChild Safety& BestInterests Intrusiuveness Intrusiuveness Community Setting without Supervision Family Home with Supervision by Extended Family or Family Friend Foster Family Home with Supervision RPagnello