1. SAFETY ORGANIZED PRACTICE: EMPOWERMENT GROUP FOR PARENTS CHELSEA CORNELL, MSW Handouts for this presentation are available at: http://academy.extensiondlc.net/mod/resource/view.php?id=779

2. PURPOSE To best equip parents as partners in the work by creating shared understanding To help parents utilize this understanding to build partnership/transparency in the work To empower parents to genuinely engage in change to create safety for children To be a trauma informed system-with knowledge comes the ability to be prepared To instill hope in the ability to succeed

3. STRUCTURE Who: Parents receiving services from a Child Welfare Agency What: empowerment/support group When: weekly for 2 hours 8-10 weeks Where: depends on county structure

4. THINGS FOR COUNTIES TO CONSIDER Who will facilitate? Where will this happen? Open or closed group? How often? How long? What parents? Is the agency ready?

5. CONTENT  Week 1:What is Safety Organized Practice?  Week 2: Culture and Values  Week 3: Trauma  Week 4: Assessment Tools  Week 5: Safety Mapping/Family Team Meetings  Week 6: Three Houses  Week 7: Safety Circles  Week 8: Safety Planning

6. SUGGESTED CONTENT If counties don’t already do this in another venue they may want to consider adding information about the Juvenile Court Process. Resources below are from the California Courts website  Video clip describing the Juvenile Court process http://www.courts.ca.gov/programs-cfcc.htm  Booklet describing the Juvenile Court process http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/juvenile-dendency- court-and-you.pdf

7. QUESTIONS

8. WEEK ONE: WHAT IS SAFETY ORGANIZED PRACTICE? Goals: –Good working relationships –Use of critical thinking –Creating detailed safety plan What to expect? Components –Culture –Trauma –Assessment Tools –Signs of Safety

9. WEEK TWO: CULTURE/VALUES What is culture What are Values Identifying your personal values What are the values you most want to pass onto your children? How can thinking about your culture and your values guide you in your work with Child Welfare?

10. WEEK 3: TRAUMA What is it? Causes Symptoms –Emotional –Physical Impact on relationships and parenting What can you do?

11. WEEK 4: ASSESSMENT TOOLS What are they? What do they do? Read through and discuss the following tools (what do these tools mean to you, what is Child Welfare looking for?) Behavioral change over time…. –Hotline tools –Safety assessment –Risk assessment –Family Strengths and Needs –Reunification Reassessment –Re-assessment for in home cases

12. WEEK 5: SAFETY MAPPING OR FAMILY TEAM MEETINGS What are they? What do you need to Know? How do you prepare? What happens after your meeting Examples Definition and purpose of –Harm Statement –Danger Statement –Safety Goal

13. WEEK 6: THREE HOUSES What is it? What is the purpose? Sharing of the Three Houses? An example…. Exercise…. –Fill out your three houses for yourself as a child… –Now fill out a three house based on the following 5 years from know you child is asked to fill out the three houses based on life with you, “what do you hope they will put in their houses?”

14. WEEK 7: SAFETY CIRCLE What is it? What's the purpose? –Why do families need natural supports? The process of completing a Safety Circle An example Exercise: Lets try it?

15. WEEK 8: SAFETY PLANNING What is a safety plan/case plan Steps in developing an ongoing safety/case plan Moving from the Danger Statement to the Safety Goal Danger Statement Action Steps Safety Goal (Child welfare involvement) (Child welfare is able to close your case)

16. QUESTIONS