Teaming for Parent-Child Visitation

The Power of Partnership The Alliance for Child Welfare Excellence is Washington’s first comprehensive statewide training partnership dedicated to developing professional expertise for social workers and enhancing the skills of foster parents and caregivers working with vulnerable children and families.

Caregiver Learning Goals Understanding caregivers’ role in visitation to be: positive and supportive of child’s contact with family making the child available for visits developing positive relationships with birth parents supportive of the parents positive relationships with their children

Social Worker Competencies Ability to arrange visits so that parents have an opportunity to practice skills and behaviors needed to reduce risk and increase safety Ability to assess for new skills and protective capabilities during parent-child visitation and accurately document progress Ability to help caregivers anticipate and manage the challenges and stressors children experience from parent-child visitation Ability to match the level of restrictiveness of visits (level of supervision, who can supervise, and location) to the safety threats and to the progress made by the parent toward reunification

Let’s Imagine Ourselves in the Child’s Shoes

Why have visits with parents? Selected Key Benefits of Parent-Child Visits

Requirements Visits are the right of the family (RCW ) Efforts must be made to have the first visit within 72 hours of placement with a written visit plan within that same time period Visits can only be limited or terminated when a child’s safety, health or welfare is compromised. Only courts can approve changes to visit plans

Safety: Ensure children are safe both physically and emotionally What are the safety threats? Can you control the safety threats to keep the child safe? Are there ways to manage the safety threats through the location of visits, levels of supervision, and the time of visits?

Visits should occur in the least restrictive environment that keeps the child safe. Visits should occur where: The environment is family- friendly Children and parents will be safe If indicated, additional controls can be utilized if needed

Levels of supervision: Supervised Visits Safety There is a safety threat that is active and present during visits that can be controlled only with a visit supervisor There is reason for concern that parents may abduct the child There is a concern that the parent may attempt to influence the child’s disclosures during visits Requirements Supervisor is with the child at all times Supervisor is able to see and hear all that occurs between the parent and the child Supervisor is expected to intervene if needed to protect the child

Levels of supervision: Monitored Visits Safety There continue to be safety concerns but not present danger This means that the parents have come control over their behavior Safety threats can be controlled by the environment and the safety monitor Monitored Visits Location of the visit is set Monitor checks in periodically (at least every minutes) to ensure the visit is going well Monitor is expected to intervene if there are safety concerns

Unsupervised visits Unsupervised visits occur when safety threats have been mitigated and there is progress toward reunification. Overnight visits occur after parents have made significant progress and reunification is expected soon. Visit plans include a safety plan in the event of an emergency or if parents begin to feel out of control.

Restrictiveness Should Match the Safety Threats and the Progress of the Parents Supervised Present safety threat Present danger Monitored Safety threat controlled with check-ins Indicates parental ability to control threats for short periods of time Unsupervised Parents have made progress in controlling their behaviors which posed safety threats Safety plan controls threats

Who can supervise or monitor visits? Children tend to be more comfortable with those they know and trust. Relatives, caregivers and family friends can supervise or monitor visits as long as they understand their role and are aware of the rules of what can and cannot occur during visits. Reports from the visits should occur in writing (required by contract or by agreement with non-contracted visit supervisors) or through a verbal report if the non-contracted supervisor is not comfortable completing a written report. Social workers should sit in on visits to make their own assessments of progress.

Creating a visit plan Discuss with the parent how frequently and when they can see their children given their schedules for work, treatment, etc. Ask the parent who can help provide transportation and supervision/monitoring of visits. Discuss with the parent a safety plan for visits that includes location and how they will get assistance if needed. Caregivers (and the child if appropriate) should provide input about when visits will be most convenient Relatives and other family supports should be asked to provide their input and asked to volunteer their time to help facilitate visits. Discuss when a parent may see a child outside of regular visits

Reviewing and updating visit plans Discuss the plan monthly with caregivers, the child, parents and supervisor Review at every shared planning meeting and FTDM Explore alternatives for transportation and supervision/monitoring among friends and family Discuss when visits can be improved or when things are not going well Provide feedback to the parent about observations Celebrate positive parenting skills and improvements noted

Changing the frequency and level of supervision of visits Decreasing Frequency or Increasing Restrictiveness Should never be done as a sanction for failure to follow the case plan [RCW (2)(b)(ii)(B)] Can be requested of the court to modify the order in reaction to safety concerns or the best interest of the child Increasing Frequency or Decreasing Restrictiveness Should reflect progress of the parents in mitigating safety concerns and risk factors that contributed to abuse or neglect Should be increased in frequency and length, and reduced in level of supervision, as moving toward reunification

Incarcerated parents Consider: The parent’s current relationship with the child Distance Whether visitation is allowed in the facility Other forms of communication (i.e., Skype, telephone, letters and cards, etc.) Length of incarceration Permanency planning

Sibling Visits Siblings are family Connections provide a sense of identity and belonging Continuing sense of family, even with the loss of parents Minimizes sense of loss and grief if contact is maintained If in-person visits are not possible, can visit by Skype or phone

Reporting to the court: Both caregivers and social workers report on the outcomes of visits Social workers report: Compliance with the visit plan Observations concerning parent- child interactions The progress parents are making in their parenting abilities Any behavior of the parent that has a detrimental consequence to the visits Caregivers report: The behavior and emotional state of the child before and after visits Discussions with the child about the visits Caregiver Report to Court (DSHS )

How can we team to make visits positive?

Role of the caregiver Ensure children are available for visits Discuss with children plans for visits and what they would like to do Communicate with the parent about ways to promote the child’s adjustment in your home and ways to promote cultural and family activities Consider having visits in your home (after discussion with social worker) Consider how you can make visits more positive (i.e., sending items the child can give or show the parent, arranging for pictures) Help the child debrief after the visit

What can caregivers and social workers do to keep visits positive for children? Before visits, help the children think of activities they want to do with their parents and help them plan for those activities Provide parents with activities that are age appropriate Do not criticize others to the children Validate the children’s emotions Reassure the child Help children learn self-soothing techniques Keep visits as consistent and regular as possible

Both social workers and caregivers can help the parent Ensure visit locations are accessible and that parents have the ability to call ahead if there is a problem Help parents answer children’s questions Provide honest feedback to parents while also providing ways they can improve their interactions with their children Help parents understand why it is important to support children’s positive feelings toward their caregivers and to support children being happy

Role of the social worker Ask relatives, family friends, caregivers, and other support persons to provide transportation, supervision or monitoring, and family-like locations for visits. Develop visit plans jointly with parents, caregivers and children (if appropriate) Discuss visit plans at every FTDM and shared planning meeting Team to improve visits Consider other natural opportunities for contact such as school events, child’s sporting or other extracurricular events if appropriate Report to the court and request modifications of orders to reflect progress toward reunification or to protect the child.

Guidelines for parents Come on time. Give your child your full attention. Bring things to do during the visit: healthy snacks, books, activities and special toys or games. Talk about your child’s activities and things that happened at school. Use encouraging statements with your child such as, “You did a good job,” “Wow, you are learning new things,” and “I am proud of you.” Be open to any feelings your child may share. After the visit, help your child clean up the room or area. Let the child know you want them to be happy where they are currently living.

Role of the social worker: Assessing progress Visitation is one area in which you can measure progress. During visits, you can see if parents are able to attend to their children, show interest in the children’s lives and activities, have appropriate expectations and interact with their children at their developmental level. If parents persist in behavior that is negative with their children, therapeutic intervention may be appropriate.

We appreciate all you do to help children adjust to removal from their homes. Without your care and concern, they would have a much tougher road in life.