1. Module Four: Solution-focused Inquiry
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Integrated
Safety-Organized Practice
Module Four: Solution-focused Inquiry
PURPOSE
Set the purpose and plan for the module.
EXAMPLE
This module begins to get us into the practice skills of this integrated framework.
For those of you who have had some solution-focused training in the past, we hope to draw on your expertise and experience in actually using these practices.
For those of you to whom this is new, we will be interested in your thoughts as you go through this and the ways, if any, you think this might enhance your work.
One thing you should know about today’s session is that it will be heavy on your practice, which is why we are going to go a little longer today.
There will be many chances to form small groups and to give things a try.
We hope you will walk away with an even better sense of how these practices work because of the chance’s to practice here today.
TRAINER NOTE
This module is closer to three hours so that workshop participants get the chance to do as much practice of these skills during the workshop as possible. It is a good idea to explain why this module is longer.
Children’s Research Center
A nonprofit social research organization and division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency

2. Interviewing for Safety and Danger
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Module
Subject 1
Interviewing for Safety and Danger 2
Three Questions to Organize Your Practice 3
Small Voices, Big Impact: Keeping Children at the Center of the Work 4
Solution-focused Inquiry 5
Introduction to Mapping 6
Harm Statements, Danger Statements, and Safety Goals 7
Mapping With Families 8
Safety Networks 9
Safety Planning 10
Landing Safety-Organized Practice in Everyday Work 11
Organizational Environments: Reflection, Appreciation, and Ongoing Learning 12
Summary and Looking to the Future
PURPOSE
To show where we are in the process.

3. Agreements “Try on.” Everyone always has the right to pass.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Agreements
“Try on.”
Everyone always has the right to pass.
Know that silence is a contribution.
We agree to share airtime and stick to time limits.
We agree to speak personally, for ourselves as individuals.
We agree to disagree and avoid making assumptions or generalities.
We agree to allow others to finish speaking before we speak, and avoid interrupting and side conversations.
We will work together to hold to these agreements and authorize the trainer to hold us to them.
PURPOSE
This slide is just to quickly remind people about the purpose of the overall series and to continue to reinforce the idea that safety is an action.
It also helps you catch up anyone who missed earlier sessions.

4. Our Thinking Draws From the Legacy of Others
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Our Thinking Draws From the Legacy of Others
Insoo Kim Berg
Steve de Shazer
Andrew Turnell
CRC Staff
Steve Edwards
Sonja Parker
Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer created the Solution-focused Therapy approach.
Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards created the Signs of Safety approach and wrote the book Signs of Safety.
Sonja Parker created the Safety House and has done a lot of work with safety networks and safety planning.
CRC staff bring the Structured Decision Making® (SDM) system to the table.
Rob Sawyer and Sue Lohrbach brought SofS and the SDM® system to Olmstead County, MN; and Sue created harm and danger statements and they took mapping to a new level.
Susie Essex wrote Working with Denied Child Abuse with Andrew Turnell.
Nicki Weld created the Three Houses.
Carver County, MN, staff have done a lot of work with Signs of Safety.
John Vogel, Sophia Chin and Heather Meitner have brought the SDM system and Signs of Safety to Massachusetts and they created the four-quadrant map.
Rob
Sawyer
Sue
Lohrbach
Susie
Essex
Nicki
Weld
Carver
County
John Vogel
Sophia Chin
Heather Meitner
…and we hope YOU will continue to build
on these ideas and approaches.

5. Essential Question Are the children safe? What are the Worries?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Essential Question
Are the children safe?
What are the Worries?
What’s Working Well?
What Happens Next?
PURPOSE: To show the general components of Safety-Organized Practice
EXAMPLE:
The depth of the inquiry approach lies in the solution-focused questions (SFQ)
We are able to discover behavioral detail and impact to the child through the use of solution-focused questions.
SFQ’s
Impact
Detail
Position
Sort
SDM
SFQ’s
Impact
Detail
Position
Sort
SDM
SFQ’s
Impact
Detail
Position
Sort
SDM

6. Safety Definition Safety is:
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Safety Definition
Safety is:
Actions of protection taken by the caregiver that mitigate the danger
demonstrated over time.
PURPOSE
To remind people about the purpose of the overall series and to continue to reinforce the idea that safety is an action. It’s through the use of solution-focused questions that we are able to get the details we need to make more accurate assessments about safety.
EXAMPLE
Actions = Behaviors taken by the parent or the network that make the child safe. Can anyone think of an example of a safety action?
Mitigate the danger = The action has to address the safety threat, or the harm or danger, that brought the child to the attention of the authority.
Demonstrated over time = How much time? Give some thought to each case you have. How much time does the parent need to demonstrate the behavior before you feel comfortable? What does the parent, child and network say in answer to this question?
Safety is not just a noun—it is a verb, an action. Action we are looking to see demonstrated over time.
Adapted from Boffa, J., & Podesta, H. (2004) Partnership and risk assessment in child protection practice, Protecting Children, 19(2): 36–48. Turnell, Andrew and Susie Essex Working with Denied Child Abuse, Open University Press, 2006. 

7. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Trauma Lens
The impact of abuse and/or neglect on a child can be traumatic.
Many parents with whom we work have been impacted by childhood trauma.
A parent’s response to past trauma can actually lead to repeating trauma patterns in their children.
PURPOSE
To set the stage that awareness of trauma is integral to the work we do with families involved in the child welfare system.
EXAMPLES
Try asking a child or parent, “What happened to you?” vs. “Why are you… (using drugs/running away/getting arrested)?”
Keeping children with safe, familiar people is a trauma-informed intervention.
Using genograms to show the pattern of trauma in a family can be an effective intervention.
What are some of the ways you talk about the
impact of trauma in your work with children and families?

8. Let’s Review and Reflect!
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Review and Reflect!
Let’s Review and Reflect!
What have you tried from the module last month?
What worked well?
What were your challenges?
How did you handle those challenges?
PURPOSE
To review the last module and show how the concepts weave together.
TRAINER NOTE
As people report on their experiences, take note of what they are saying so you can build on their experiences as you share the new content in this module.
Pay particular attention to how they handled their challenges and see if you can make suggestions in this module about where there might be challenges and how they can build on their strengths from last month.
One idea is to have participants write down their experiences on notecards. On one side of the notecard they can write down what worked well when they tried this new practice. On the other side of the notecard they can write down a challenge they had. These notecards can be collected and some can be read out loud, or participants can volunteer to read their cards. The notecards can be collected and posted on a storyboard in your office.

9. What is Solution-focused Inquiry?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
What is Solution-focused Inquiry?
PURPOSE
To show where this practice originated (first of two slides).
EXAMPLE
These are the two founders of Solution-focused Inquiry: Steven DeShazer and Insoo Kim Berg.
They thought that by using questions that get a person to think about a solution to their problem, they could both shorten the time of the intervention and actually help people to solve their problems.

10. What is Solution-focused Inquiry?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
What is Solution-focused Inquiry?
A practice of using questions and having conversations that strengthen an individual or family’s capacity to achieve their own best judgment in difficult times by surfacing and making visible:
People’s past and present capacities (how they survived trauma);
Achievements, assets, unexplored potentials;
Innovations, strengths, high-point moments;
Values, traditions, stories;
Expressions of wisdom; and
Visions of valued and possible futures.
PURPOSE
Continue to help the group understand some initial background on solution-focused practices (second of two slides).
EXAMPLE
Solution-focused Inquiry is a different kind of practice than many of us were socialized in when we went to school.
Solution-focused questions are a shift away from just looking for problems to a search for what works, what helps and times people have been able to keep their children safe.
It’s important to be clear that we are not talking about only using these kinds of questions, but they can be a huge help for people moving out of the problem and into their own best “solution building.”
These questions also help us move away from being the expert and into a place of shared inquiry, openness and collaboration with family members.

11. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Check In
In small groups with someone who has tried some of these practices before:
Can you talk about a time you tried to use a solution-focused practice of some kind?
About that time:
What worked well that you appreciated, felt was effective, would want others to know?
What was hard, confusing, not effective, that you would not want others to repeat?
What, if anything, do you wish you could better understand about solution-focused practice?
PURPOSE
A quick exercise to get people thinking, not just receiving information.
TRAINER NOTE
In this exercise, you want to first identify who in the room already feels they have some knowledge about Solution-focused Inquiry, then create small groups around those people and give them a chance to “show their stuff” and tell some stories about their work. This should be a five-minute activity in the small groups and a five-minute large-group debriefing. In a shortened session you could do this in pairs or as an individual visualization, then do a large-group debriefing.
EXAMPLE
To get us warmed up and grounded in what you already know about this, we are going to start with a short activity.
Can I get a show of hands of who has tried some of these practices before?
It does not matter if they have gone well or not—just who knows they have tried a solution- focused practice at some point?
Please raise your hand.
Can we make some small groups around those people and answer these questions on the slide?
We are going to do these groups for just five minutes, then get back together again as a large group and collect some thoughts on these questions.

12. Why Solution-focused Inquiry?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Why Solution-focused Inquiry?
Single biggest predictor of positive outcomes in child welfare?
Good working relationships between the worker, the family and the other helping professionals.
PURPOSE
Begin to help make a case for why these are important practices to child welfare.
EXAMPLE
Child welfare is still in many ways a young field.
Nursing, for example, has been around since the 1850s.
We are still just beginning to learn what really works in child welfare, what helps and what does not.
One thing that becomes clear in research and common sense is that a good working relationship between family and worker is always one of the biggest predictors of success.
By a good working relationship we do not mean one where workers simply do everything families tell them.
It is one of mutuality, of honesty, of transparency, where we say what we mean, and do what we say we will.
When we can do that, we are taking steps toward a good working relationship, and solution- focused questions are a tool to help us get there.
They help us have a different kind of conversation with clients.
Farmer & Owen, 1995

13. Solution-focused Questions are Your Tools!
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Solution-focused Questions are Your Tools!
PURPOSE
To begin to help people understand that the question is in the intervention in Solution-focused Inquiry (first of three slides).
EXAMPLE
In particular, Solution-focused Inquiry is made up of questions.
The questions themselves are the tool of the practitioner.
But they are a very different way to think about questions than we are used to.

14. Why Solution-focused Inquiry?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Why Solution-focused Inquiry?
Two Conversations
PURPOSE
This slide begins an exercise designed to bring home the point that different kinds of conversations can lead to different kinds of relationships, and, therefore, very different outcomes in our work.
EXAMPLE
We are going to do a quick exercise that brings home this point about the importance of different kinds of relationships have on the kinds of conversations we have, and, therefore, the kinds of outcomes we can get in our work.
TRAINER NOTE
See attached exercise description in trainer notes.
The conversations we have change the kinds of relationships we make. And, the kinds of relationships we make will affect what people tell us and what kind of action they are willing to take (link back to idea that constructive working relationships is best predictor of success in child welfare).
This is different than just being nice to people—it is about a rigorous search for what is really working well. All families have some signs of safety—how do we search for them? That is the question this module (and solution-focused interviewing) is really trying to answer.
Notice that many families are experiencing that latter conversation (things they are not proud of). At these moments, it’s even more important to bring skills that communicate that we ‘get’ them—ALL of them, including what is working well.
Solution-focused questions can help in two ways. First, they can get the person answering to think of times when things were better, or how things can be better in the future, and therefore help them to feel a little better about themselves. Second, if the family perceives that the social worker is judging them, these types of questions set up a conversation where the social worker is more likely to listen to them and really hear what they are saying and the context behind it.

15. Five Types of Solution-focused Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Five Types of Solution-focused Questions
Exception Questions
Past history of protection
Scaling Questions
Sharing judgment, steps to change
Coping Questions
Solutions even in the face of difficulty
Preferred Future Questions
A vision for what could be
PURPOSE
Move into describing five chief types of solution-focused questions.
There is a handout with examples of solution-focused questions you can review.
EXAMPLE
These are the fives types of solution-focused questions we are going to cover today.
Are any of these familiar? (Trainer can take some examples and offer brief feedback.)
We are going to talk through each of these.
Position Questions

16. Recipe for Power Struggles
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Recipe for Power Struggles
Hurtful comment or action
Assumption of malicious intent
Collection of evidence
Determination to be “right”
SFQs Help!
PURPOSE: To mention that we can easily get into power struggles in CWS.
EXAMPLE: Most power struggles are friendly in nature, just unproductive. Below is a list of where you might see power struggles.
Among family members (“She is a drug addict and I will never trust her again!” “I have been sober for 90 days. What more does she want from me?”
Between worker and parent (“I want unsupervised visits! I have done everything!” “But you still live with the guy who abused you.”)
Between worker and supervisor (“You need to close your referrals faster.” “I’m closing them as fast as I can! I have too much work.”)
Among professionals (“That group never brings any kids into custody.” “That group brings every kid into custody!”)

17. Questions in Solution-focused Inquiry
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Questions in Solution-focused Inquiry
Are an intervention (strategic!) and are never neutral in their effects;
Generate an experience for the person being asked;
Can provide new understanding for the person being asked, as well as the inquirer;
Can help people recognize exceptions, solutions and useful moments from their own history they might have otherwise disregarded;
Can create space for critical reflection with minimal blame and shame; and
Require skill, rigor, and practice.
PURPOSE
To begin to help people understand that the question is in the intervention in Solution-focused Inquiry (second of three slides).
TRAINER NOTE
It is OK to read the list, but give examples of a few of these.
It is good to make the point that these questions gather data, but also enable reflection, relationship building, surfacing the history of protection.
The question is an intervention.

18. How is This Different? Two categories of questions:
Last updated: August 10, 2012
How is This Different?
Both are good!
Two categories of questions:
Straight data-gathering questions
Solution-focused questions
We are trying to expand our practice to include both on a regular basis so we stay in a place of INQUIRY rather than EXPERT.
Over-used, data-gathering questions will feel like too much QUESTIONING.
Over-used, solution-focused questions can feel too DIFFERENT.
PURPOSE
To begin to help people understand that the question is in the intervention in Solution-focused Inquiry (third of three slides).
EXAMPLE
We are making this distinction:
Some questions will gather data, which, at times, is our main purpose.
However, solution-focused questions give us another tool that can help people think with us—a tool that helps them realize the foundation they will be standing on when they try to make change; tools that can aid us in the work of helping people address problematic or dangerous behavior and enhance safety for children.

19. Solution-focused Question Tip:
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Solution-focused Question Tip:
Think of what you want to know more about or are hoping to help your client do.
Think of a solution-focused category that might help: example “Preferred Future”
PURPOSE
A last piece of practice advice before going into the questions in detail.
EXAMPLE
Just before we go into these questions, you can think about this as we go though this material (read key points).
Practice! Sometimes you have to reword it a few times until it lands. Don’t be afraid to get tongue-tied the first few times!

20. Exception Questions Last updated: August 10, 2012 PURPOSE
Begin exploration of exception questions.
EXAMPLE
Exception questions are the basic building block of all solution-focused practice.
They have at their core a single idea: That no problem is absolute; that if the child is alive there are always some signs of safety— always some history of protection—that we can find and seek to grow with the parent.

21. Classic Exception Question
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Classic Exception Question
“Can you tell me about a time X (the problem) could have happened, maybe almost happened, but somehow, some way, you were able to do something else instead?”
PURPOSE
Shows exception question basic form.
EXAMPLE
This is the basic form of an exception question.
While the job of the interviewer is to tailor it to the specific moment and content you are asking about, this gives you a sense of the shape it takes and what you are looking for: times the problem could have happened, maybe almost did happen, but did not.
TRAINER NOTE
If time allows, it can be useful to ask the group about the benefits of asking questions like this.
Do you ask these kinds of questions already?
What is the benefit for us as CWS?
What is the benefit for the family?
For relationship building?
For beginning to move toward change?

22. Exception Questions: Basic Assumptions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Exception Questions: Basic Assumptions
Cornerstone of Solution-focused Inquiry;
No problem is absolute in its effects—there are always “signs of safety;”
Seeks to find times when the problem could have done what it always does, but did not;
Gives us a place to begin to look for safety, strengths, resources and alternative actions;
People who know they have been able to change in the past are more likely to be able to do it again; and
Helps family members realize we are not only interested in the problems or failures of their lives, but also how they could repeat their successes.
PURPOSE
To provide some background and assumptions about this kind of question.
TRAINER NOTE
If you had the brief conversation on the previous slide, many of these points may have already surfaced in the conversation and you could refer back to them as you go over these points.
EXAMPLE
Just like you said, exception questions come with some basic assumptions…
The underlying assumption is that no problem, no matter how huge or serious, is absolute in its effects.
‘It always rains in Vancouver.’ Well, it does rain a lot in Vancouver, but are there some days the sun shines?
Exception questions give us a place to begin looking for safety, strengths, resources and things the family did in a different way than usual, even if they were not aware of it at the time.
As important as it is for us to learn about exceptions in making our assessment and creating plans, it is huge for the family. People in trouble often feel stuck. To change requires hope, and nothing builds hope like realizing you have had success in the past.

23. Listen for the Empty Spaces
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Listen for the Empty Spaces
Really look for them.
No problem is ever complete in its effects.
PURPOSE
Begin to describe how to use exceptions.
EXAMPLE
In some families, exceptions will be easy to find.
In others, you will need to look very hard. Do not give up—the exceptions are there.
Whether or not there are exceptions, make sure you consider this on your SDM assessments.

24. Listen for the Empty Spaces
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Listen for the Empty Spaces D E P R S I O N O F
M E D S
Her father:
physically abusive,
dangerous
Suicide attempt by gas
in the kitchen while
the children were home D V
Foster
care
Poverty
PURPOSE
Continues to show how exceptions work.
EXAMPLE
Another way to find openings for exception questions is to “listen for the empty spaces,” moments where there is some exception to the problem implied, but we have not yet asked the right questions.
Can anyone see an exception that is implicit in this story that is not yet spelled out?
TRAINER NOTE
The moment in the timeline where Cheryl is off her meds is actually one of these “absent but implicit” exceptions or empty spaces: If she was off her meds it implies there was once a time she was on her meds. You can ask the group to see if they spot this, and also ask:
What would be some follow-up questions you would want to know about the meds?
What made her decide to stop?
What made her decide to start?
What was she hoping for when she began?
Past
Present
Future

25. Listen for the Empty Spaces
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Listen for the Empty Spaces D E P R S I O N O F
M E D S
Her father:
physically abusive,
dangerous
Suicide attempt by gas
in the kitchen while
the children were home D V
Foster
care
Poverty
Past
Present
Future
PURPOSE
Continues to show how exceptions work.
EXAMPLE
We can be curious about not just the moment when Cheryl began taking the medication, but all the moments that are not storied up yet.
Are there other exceptions to her story here?
Is it important for us to learn about them?
How can we learn about them?
By asking these kinds of questions!
What is the history of protection?

26. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Eliciting Exceptions 1
Persistence is important—exceptions are often hidden, neglected or minimized. 2
Try asking an exception question three different ways before you decide there is no answer. 3
PURPOSE
Give some details on how to use exception questions.
EXAMPLE
If you ask a question that didn’t land, you can say, “Let me try it again.”
Exception questions are different questions than people are used to answering, and sometimes you need to be persistent.
You may need to ask them in different ways, multiple times.
Insoo Kim Berg used to say, “Try it three times three different ways before you give up and assume the exception is not there.”
For example, with Cheryl, who is very depressed, when you are seeking an exception to the depression, she may have a hard time telling you about a time she was not depressed. You may need to:
Go back further in time; or
Adjust the level of what constitutes an exception (i.e., an exception to depression might not be found if you look for a time she was ridiculously happy. You might find it asking if there was a time she felt a little better or more content than usual).

27. With Whom Can You Use Exception Questions?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
With Whom Can You Use Exception Questions?
PURPOSE
Continue showing how these questions work.
EXAMPLE
You can raise exception questions in all the interviews you do because different members of the family and provider system may have different information.
If one family member is stuck in ‘always/never’ thinking, another family member may be able to describe an exception.
It is particularly important to ask the child about times the problem may not have been as severe.
Remember, our purpose is not just to make people feel good, but asking about exceptions helps us know how worried we should be.
If I ask a child who is working with us because his father drinks and leaves him alone for hours if there are times dad is loving and stays home and cares for him, whatever the child says is going to be really useful for us to know.
It can be particularly helpful to raise exception questions with external participants:
It can let you know if they are coming from a place of extremely negative and hopeless views of the family; and
It can help them begin to see that the family has some signs of safety.
…especially the children!

28. Exceptions and the SDM® system
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Exceptions and the SDM® system
PURPOSE
To help make a link between SDM assessments and how the use of exception questions helps to improve the quality of these assessments.
EXAMPLES
You can also use SDM definitions for ideas of exception questions and follow up. This can be helpful in scoring. For example, see SN1 on the FSNA (substance abuse/use). If it has already been established that mom has a substance abuse problem that is negatively impacting family life, ask if any areas are still going well. This can help distinguish between a C or a D response.
TRAINER NOTE
You should spend a few minutes helping workers think about which SDM item definition is likely to be helpful at a particular time. Specifically:
Imminent danger? = SDM safety assessment
Keep a case open after initial assessment? = SDM probability assessment
What to include in a case plan? = SDM FSNA
Whether the family has made enough progress to close a case? = SDM reunification reassessment
Once they are using the right assessment, look for the item that is closest to what the family is discussing.

29. Get Details Behavioral details
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Get Details
Jargon and generalities
Behavioral details
SDM definitions and “impact on the child”
He was “appropriate”
on the visit
What exactly did he do well? What else?
PURPOSE
To highlight the importance of getting details in the exceptions. There are three tips about ways to dig for detail that we will explore in the next three slides.
EXAMPLE
Just as we talked about in the module on the three questions, it is not enough to surface a basic exception like, “There was once a time Cheryl was on meds.”
It’s a good beginning, but we need more details! When was she on the meds? What doctor prescribed the meds? What was going on that she decided to start? What kind of difference did it make to her children? To her care of the children?
We are looking to move away from the jargon and generalities to the details.
If this was an act of protection, what kind of impact on the child did it have?
Use your SDM definitions, too. Does the presence of this exception change the scoring in the SDM item, if it all?
How would you find out? (Trainers: You would actually need to read the definitions!)
TRAINER NOTE
The following slides give the group a chance to practice what they have just been hearing about—both in terms of phrasing a basic exception question and moving into more behavioral detail about impact on the child.
What difference did it make to the child? Would it meet the SDM definitions?

30. Quick Practice Case is Closed (child goes home) Case Opens
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Quick Practice
Case is Closed
(child goes home)
PURPOSE: These slides give people a chance to practice them as a large group (first of three short examples).
EXAMPLE:
Let’s practice these skills for just a moment.
This is another timeline, but here we have very little detail, just a pattern many of us know all too well: a case that opens with a child who comes into care, then is returned, only to find, at some point, the case re-opens and the child comes back into care.
What are some of the most important and basic questions about “the worries” we are going to need to ask?
Trainer, take some examples. Should be some like:
Why did the case open in the first place?
Why did the case re-open again?
What have been the parents’ actions that brought the child into care? What was the impact of those actions on the child?
And if we wanted to be sure we were asking some questions about “what was working well” or exceptions, what would we ask? Trainer, again take some examples and look for:
What allowed the child to return home?
Was the caregiver doing something different during that time? What was he/she doing? What kind of impact did that have on the child?
What went well, if anything, during the time the child was at home? How was the caregiver able to do that? Who helped?
Case Opens
(child comes
into care)
Case Opens Again
(child returns)

31. Quick Practice Sober four Sober again months two weeks
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Quick Practice
Sober four
months
Sober again
two weeks
PURPOSE: (Two of three short examples).
EXAMPLE:
If we were to put all our emphasis on the “worries,” what questions would we ask?
When did he/she drink? Where? What did he/she drink? Where was the child? What kind of impact did the drinking have on the child? (Good place to reinforce that drinking alcohol does not equal harm to the child in and of itself).
And if we wanted to know about what was working well?
How did you manage to stay sober for four months?
You drank alcohol for years, were sober for four month, then got drunk again for a month only to pull it around again the last two weeks. How have you been able to do that?
TRAINER NOTE: Good to debrief second point with the group—how these questions impact the client. You can remind them that these questions are supposed to be an intervention and then ask…
What kind of difference do you think it would make to the client to hear both kinds of questions?
What kind of difference would it make to only hear the questions about the worries?
How would it impact the ability for you and the client to build a good working relationship?
Drunk every night
for years
Drunk again
for a month

32. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Example
“You said that John’s lying (problem) had been happening all the time, but then last week there was one moment when it did not happen. He could have lied and didn’t. Can you tell me more about that?”
PURPOSE
More examples of exception questions.
EXAMPLE
We have a great handout that gives examples of exception questions you can ask families.
These exception questions are broken down for use in the various programs.

33. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Example
“You said that even though Jack’s drinking (problem) had been going on for some time, you still were able to hold onto some hope that things could be better. Is that right?”
PURPOSE
Another example of an exception question.

34. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Example
“I understand that Linda’s running away has been happening a lot, and I do want to hear about it. Can I ask though – has there ever been a time when Linda could have bolted but somehow she managed to stay?”
PURPOSE
Another example of an exception question.

35. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Examples
“What would be good for me to know about you as a family/parent that might be hard for me to see if I were only to talk about X?” “If you were to believe that the [reported danger] was a problem, what, if anything, would you want to do to respond?”
EXAMPLE
Exception questions can help provide insight about a situation by exploring “the other side” that is often left alone.
This approach helps you to focus on a question and dig deeper into what is being said.

36. Let’s Practice Turn to your partner.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Turn to your partner.
Partner A - Pick a goal in your life that is important to you – something that would make you a better person. Pick a goal that you feel comfortable sharing with your partner.
Partner B - Ask your partner an exception question.
Switch
Give feedback
PURPOSE: To practice asking an exception question in an every-day life situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify a time when they were able to exercise/garden/other desired behavior more often?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This excercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

37. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Now, with your same partner, give this a go on Cheryl’s case.
Have one person be Cheryl and one person be the social worker.
Think of an exception question you could ask Cheryl related to her depression.
Switch.
PURPOSE: To practice asking an exception question in an case situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify a time when the mom was able to parent without physical discipline/abuse?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

38. Summary: Exception Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Summary: Exception Questions
Listen for the “empty spaces.”
Use the three questions—have you gotten behavioral detail focused on impact?
Use the SDM definition—does it change what you score?
Have you been rigorous about the history of protection?
Remember: Your questions are an intervention!
PURPOSE
Summarizes information on exception questions.
TRAINER NOTE
You can read main points here.
Do people have thoughts?
There is always a need for balance so we don’t inadvertently move into “naïve practice.”

39. Scaling Questions Last updated: August 10, 2012 PURPOSE
Moving into a discussion of scaling questions.
EXAMPLE
The next kind of questions we will consider today are scaling questions. Scaling questions are also a cornerstone of Solution-focused Inquiry. As a way into this, let me ask you these questions.
Have you ever visited a doctor who asks you to describe your pain level where 10 = the worst pain you can imagine, and 0 = no pain at all? That is a scaling question. Pediatricians use the same scale with children who may not understand numbers very well by showing them an array of faces from a happy smile to a frown to a crying face.
One thing scaling questions do for us is take an abstract idea (like how much pain, or how safe someone feels) and give it a concrete anchor.
They also help us think along a continuum rather than on/off thinking. They turn light switches into dimmer switches.
Have any of you tried these kinds of questions? How does it work for you? How do you think these can be helpful in our work?
TRAINER NOTE
Allow discussion. Look for ideas such as:
We see families as being on a continuum versus all good or all bad;
It creates a way to get incremental change, which is more achievable than moving all the way from on to off.

40. Basic Scale 10 Least Most A perfect 10! Last updated: August 10, 201210
PURPOSE
Being in process of introducing scaling questions.
EXAMPLE
Scaling questions are typically framed using a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is the least of something and 10 is the most of something.
Traditionally, the 10 is the good thing and the 0 is the not-good thing.
Using this pattern helps avoid confusion, i.e., was 10 the good thing or was 0 the good thing?
The numbers on the scale have no ‘real’ meaning.
Scaling question answers are not evidence and are not based in research.
They simply represent each person’s relative notion of how things line up.
TRAINER NOTE
Some workers may notice that SDM assessments do not use the same scale, and in fact on the risk assessment, a bigger number means higher probability, or a 'bad' thing, so the direction of the scale is opposite.
If this comes up, just talk about the role of scaling questions as a way to gather and organize information.
Least
Most
A perfect 10!

41. Four Follow-up Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Four Follow-up Questions
Describe your scale endpoints: 0 = the behavior to be stopped; 10 = the new, desired behavior.
What got you to that number?
Ask a position question: “Where would your daughter scale this if she were here?”
What will it take to move your number up just one point?
PURPOSE
To show the follow-up questions to a standard scaling question.

42. Example for Physical Abuse Case
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Example for Physical Abuse Case
On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 = the most danger, and 10 = the most safety for your child, when your boyfriend hits your child how safe do you think your child is?
Follow-up questions:
What is helping you give it this number and not one below?
What (concretely!) would need to happen to increase your rating by one?
Can I tell you what I think would need to happen so my number would go up?
PURPOSE
Showcase danger/safety scaling question.
EXAMPLE
Scaling questions can be used throughout our work with a family at anytime we need to assess danger or safety.
This includes use at screening, investigations, case management.
A basic danger/safety scale question can be very broad: “On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the most danger, and 10 being the most safe, how safe do you feel right now?”
But they also can be tailored for particular situations (read slide questions here)
How would you feel if asked this question?
How is this different or similar from how we would normally approach people at a moment like this?
What do you notice about the follow-up questions? What do they help to make happen?

43. Example for scaling impact on a child
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Example for scaling impact on a child
Very
happy
Very
sad
EXAMPLE
A scale that could be used with children.

44. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Scaling Questions
Take something abstract and turn it into something concrete;
Take something that is often thought of as an absolute (“he/she is safe or he/she is not’” and put it on a continuum;
Help professionals stake a claim to their judgment in a concrete way;
Allow for dialogue across family/worker, worker and supervisor/manager;
Help professionals consider what family member views might be in supervision and consultation; and
Help identify small next steps.
PURPOSE
Continue introducing scaling questions.
EXAMPLE
Scaling questions are effective for opening dialogue. The importance of the number is NOT the number. The number is not truth. The number is not “real.” The number “holds” a person’s perspective and sets up the most important aspect of scaling questions: the dialogue that follows.
Every scaling question will be followed with a question like, “That’s interesting. What made you choose 7 rather than 6 (or 8)?” or, “Isn’t it interesting that we all had numbers that are so different from one another? I wonder what each of us is seeing that is so different.”
We can say, “You are telling me you see yourself as being about an 8 as a nurturing parent. I see it differently. I would say your nurturing is closer to a 4. Can we talk about what we may be seeing differently?”
What needs to happen? Scaling creates a simple way to begin to discuss incremental change and ultimate change.
Incremental: “You said you were at X. What would it look like if you were at X+1?”
Ultimate change: “If 10 is where [child] is totally safe and risk is reduced, what would that look like? How will we know?”

45. With Whom Can You Use Scaling Questions?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
With Whom Can You Use Scaling Questions?
Ask questions that get the positions of all the family members on the scale…
PURPOSE
Continue introducing scaling questions.
EXAMPLE
You can use scaling questions with all of these people.
Different members of the family system may have different information and/or perspectives.
Each time you get other people’s perspectives on a danger/safety scaling question, for example, you better understand something about the family or how the family is seen.
…especially the children!

46. Scaling and the SDM® System
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Scaling and the SDM® System 10
PURPOSE
Make connections to the SDM system.
EXAMPLE
Scaling questions can also be designed to get at very specific content, such as an item on an SDM assessment or even a phrase in a definition of an SDM item.
For example, to get at the item S1 on the safety assessment, you could ask, “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is where physical discipline has hurt your child, and 10 is where your child has NOT been impacted by your use of physical discipline at all, where would you rank the impact of physical discipline on your child?”
(Then ask other family members the same thing.)

47. You can use these to assess:
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Scaling Questions
You can use these to assess:
PURPOSE
Introduce various ways scaling questions can be used.
EXAMPLE
Scaling questions can be used in many ways.
Five big categories are shown here.
What’s working well?
Danger and safety questions
Progress questions
What are we worried about?
What should happen next?
Willingness, capacity and confidence questions
The danger/safety questions, in many ways, are the most important scaling questions we can ask ourselves, our supervisors, managers and most especially, the family. We want them to be thinking this through with us.

48. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Willingness Scale
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = you don’t feel willing at all to follow this plan, and 10 = fully willing, how willing are you to take this next step?
Follow-up question:
Is there anything we could do about this plan that might help your number go up by one?
PURPOSE
Introduce willingness questions.
EXAMPLE
The next group of scaling questions are most useful in answering the “what needs to happen next?” question.
This can be asked during major planning times like creating behavioral goals on a case plan, or as incremental steps.
Willingness questions get at the extent to which people involved in the plan or aspects of the plan are willing to do what they are being asked.
For example: “The plan is asking grandmother to come and watch [child] every day, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 in the morning when mom leaves for work until 6:00 in the afternoon when mom comes home for the next two months. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = grandma is absolutely committed to do everything the plan calls for, and 0 = absolutely not, I will not do anything the plan calls for, where do you think grandma will be when we ask her?” If it is pretty low, it may not be worth even calling grandma. If it is pretty high, who would we next want to ask? (Grandma!)
Follow-up questions can help surface barriers to willingness that could, perhaps, be resolved to make the plan work (“What would need to happen to help your willingness go up by one?”).

49. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Capacity Scale
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = you do not feel you have what you need to accomplish this goal; and 10 = you have everything you need, where would you say you are on this scale?
Follow-up question:
What could happen to bring your rating up one?
PURPOSE
Introduce capacity scales.
EXAMPLE
Capacity questions get at the extent to which a family or family member (or provider or safety network) has the skills, ability, resources, etc., to do what we are thinking of asking them to do.
Someone can be totally willing but lack the capacity to deliver on the plan.
‘The plan is to ask grandmother to come and watch [child] every day, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 in the morning when mom leaves for work until 6:00 in the afternoon when mom comes home for the next two months. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = grandma has all the time, energy, transportation and ability to do this, and 0 = she is completely unavailable to do this, where is she?”
Note that you would ask grandma as well.
If the number is pretty low, you can ask, “What would it take to [increase by one]?” This will bring out barriers related to resources, including time, money, transportation, etc.
It is much better to have these conversations while planning, rather than six months later when we discover that no one did what was on the plan because the plan assumed capacity that did not exist.
If the worker and the family see things very differently, follow-up questions can explore why.

50. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Confidence Scale
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = you have no confidence at all in your ability to accomplish this goal, and 10 = you have all the confidence in the world that you can do this, where would you say you are on this scale?
Follow-up questions:
What is helping you keep it at that number and not one below?
What could happen that might bring your rating up one?
PURPOSE
Introduce confidence scale.
EXAMPLE
Confidence scales get at the extent to which a person believes he/she can accomplish a plan or part of a plan.
One might think that if someone is willing and has the capacity, there should be no problem. But confidence gets at a different dimension.
Have you ever been entirely willing to change something (like stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more) and had the capacity to do so, but if someone asked you how confident you were to reach your goal, you might have said, maybe a 5?
It would be good to know this at the beginning of a plan—what could you do if confidence was low?
Asking the follow-up questions about confidence might reveal how to support the person in ways that increase his/her chance of success.
Follow-up questions might also be used to explore big differences in confidence scales from different people in the family.
For example, mom says she is a 9, but child is only at a 5. I wonder what makes child have such little confidence that the plan would work?

51. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Progress Scale
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = we are making no progress on the problems that brought you into your work with the agency, and 10 being we are making all the progress that could possibly be made, where would you say we are right now?
Follow-up questions:
If we met again one month from now and this number was up by one in your mind, what do you think would have happened?
How do you understand us getting different results from the different people we ask this?
PURPOSE
Introduce progress scale.
EXAMPLE
Progress questions can be about big-picture progress, like the example shown here or about small parts of a safety plan or a case plan.
Big-picture progress questions can be asked at each visit, and can also be asked at milestone times like reunification or case closing.
Remember that your SDM assessment will also have items here to consider that can help you shape a scaling question, so look at the items on the assessment you need to score before going out.
Notice that follow-up questions can lead you right back into further planning.
Variations of the big-picture progress scale are using the progress scale on elements of the plan rather than the plan itself.
If one element of the plan was that mom would achieve her goal of teaching her child right from wrong using a variety of nonviolent techniques, you could ask how she is doing on that.
If within that, a particular activity was to talk to at least three people she knows and trusts and find out how they have successfully taught their children right from wrong, you could ask how she is doing on that.
If one activity within that was to call her Aunt Betty and ask for an hour to talk with her, you could ask about her progress on that.

52. Incorporating Scaling Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Incorporating Scaling Questions
PURPOSE
Beginning to pull together themes.
Choosing moments when scaling questions are most useful is an art you will learn over time. Watch people reacting when you ask scaling questions.
If they appear engaged by them, if the question triggers thoughtful dialogue and helps bring out important information, then you are using them well.
If people start rolling their eyes and responding that everything is a 10, you have probably gone too far!
Good places for scaling questions:
You are having trouble gauging how serious or likely something is.
You have a sense that different people involved see things in very different ways. (Here are examples you can use in your life as practice):
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = the best dinner I’ve ever made, and 0 = I should never ever make this again, where is tonight’s dinner? (danger/safety)
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = you are absolutely willing to have my parents come spend the weekend with us, and 0 = if they come you go, where do you stand? (willingness)
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = we can afford that with absolutely no worries, and 0 = if we buy that we better forget about eating for the rest of the year, where would this purchase be? (capacity)
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = you are going to get into the college you want, and 0 = you are certain to be turned down by any college, how confident are you about getting into college? (confidence)
On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 = you are completely done, and 0 = you have not started, where are you on your science project?
A little goes a long way...

53. Let’s Practice Turn to your partner.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Turn to your partner.
Partner A - Pick a goal in your life that is important to you – something that would make you a better person. Pick a goal that you feel comfortable sharing with your partner.
Partner B - Ask your partner a scaling question.
Ask the four follow-up questions.
Switch
Give feedback
PURPOSE: To practice asking a scaling question in an every-day life situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify how they were able to exercise/garden/other desired behavior more often?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This excercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

54. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Now, with your same partner, give this a go on Cheryl’s case.
Have one person be Cheryl and one person be the social worker.
Think of a scaling question you could ask mom related to Cheryl’s depression.
Switch.
PURPOSE: To practice asking a scaling question in an case situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify other strategies mom has used to parent without phsyical discipline/abuse?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This excercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

55. Summary of Scaling Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Summary of Scaling Questions
Scaling questions help us talk about abstract things in a more concrete way.
Scaling questions help us think about things on a continuum instead of on/off.
The important part of scaling questions is not the number, but using the number to have a conversation that follows.
Scaling questions can be used to help answer each of the three main questions (What are we worried about? What is working well? What needs to happen next?) and can help with any SDM assessment.
Scaling questions should be used strategically—they are useful at many, many points but do not need to be used at all points.
PURPOSE
Summary of scaling questions.

56. Position Questions Last updated: August 10, 2012 PURPOSE
To shift into talking about position questions.
EXAMPLE
We have covered two kinds of solution-focused questions in some detail. We are going to look at the next three briefly.
The next kind of solution-focused question we are going to cover is the position question.
Position questions can be very powerful in helping people begin to see their own situations through other people’s eyes.

57. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Position Questions
These questions are designed to help someone shift perspective and see things through another’s eyes.
“If your son was here right now and heard everything we have been talking about, what do you think he would be most worried about?”
“When your daughter is older, what would you want to tell her if someone she was dating started doing to her what your boyfriend has been doing to you?”
PURPOSE
Continue introducing position questions.
EXAMPLE
What do you notice about these?
Position questions that involve parents wrestling with their child’s position can be very powerful.
Has anyone tried anything like this before?

58. Let’s Practice Turn to your partner.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Turn to your partner.
Partner A: Pick a goal in your life that is important to you—something that would make you a better person. Pick a goal that you feel comfortable sharing with your partner.
Partner B: Ask your partner a position question.
Switch
Give feedback
PURPOSE: To practice asking a position question in an every-day life situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify what other’s in the person’s network feel about the need for your partner to exercise/garden/other desired behavior more often?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

59. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Now, with your same partner, give this a go on Cheryl’s case.
Have one person be Cheryl and one person be the social worker.
Think of a position question you could ask Cheryl related to her depression.
Switch.
PURPOSE: To practice asking a position question in an case situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify mom’s ability to try on another’s perspective? Did this question help her to identify some other strategies, through another’s eyes?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

60. Summary of Position Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Summary of Position Questions
Position questions are a great tool to help ourselves and the families we work with to take on the perspective of another.
These questions help to build empathy and to increase perspective about a given situation.
Position questions help to build partnerships that can be used to build more safety for a child.
PURPOSE
Summary of position questions.
TRAINER NOTE
Quick summary, take questions.

61. Coping Questions Last updated: August 10, 2012 PURPOSE
Introduce coping questions.
EXAMPLE
The fourth kind of solution-focused question we will look at briefly is the coping question.
People are often familiar with these questions.

62. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Coping Questions
Most people never would have been able to survive what you have survived. How do you think you were able to do it?
Follow-up:
What specifically have you done to survive this?
Who or what has helped?
How have you managed to keep things from getting worse?
What would your child say he/she is most proud of that you are doing?
PURPOSE
Continue describing coping questions.
EXAMPLE
When dealing with difficult behaviours or situations, you can ask questions in a way that demonstrates empathy and compassion.
These questions acknowledge your understanding of the pain, fear or frustration that the family member may be experiencing.
It also helps to point the way toward behaviours they may be engaged in that are helping but have not actually been recognized yet.
Have people tried questions like this? Have you been able to get these kinds of details from the follow-up questions? How does it affect your work when you ask this?
Notice the position question thrown on the bottom of the slide. Are you beginning to see how these might all work together?

63. Exercise: Invisible Suitcase
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Exercise: Invisible Suitcase
For children who have experienced trauma, they can have an invisible suitcase that is often filled with overwhelming negative beliefs and expectations.
How could you ask a coping question to help a child deal with these beliefs?
“It’s all my fault.”
“I never know when something bad is going to happen around me.”
“I can’t count on the people who take care of me.”
PURPOSE
To link elements from trauma-informed practice to the solution-focused questions.
EXAMPLE
People who have experienced trauma can carry an “invisible suitcase” of pain and fear.
They may have developed faulty beliefs, such as that they are bad, or the cause of the trauma.
See if you can think of a question that might surface some of the thoughts/beliefs they have about themselves or about life.
See if any of their thoughts/beliefs are an indication of resiliency or unresolved trauma, or both.
This is an exercise that again can be done if you are doing the full three-hour session. It can be done in a longer way in pairs or just as a full-group “shout out.”

64. Let’s Practice Turn to your partner.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Turn to your partner.
Partner A: Pick a goal in your life that is important to you—something that would make you a better person. Pick a goal that you feel comfortable sharing with your partner.
Partner B: Ask your partner a coping question.
Switch
Give feedback
PURPOSE: To practice asking a coping question in an every-day life situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify how they are coping with the fact that they have not been exercising/gardening/other desired behavior more often? Is this answer uncovering a strength or a barrier?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

65. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Now, with your same partner, give this a go on Cheryl’s case.
Have one person be Cheryl and one person be the social worker.
Think of a coping question you could ask Cheryl related to her depression.
Switch.
PURPOSE: To practice asking a coping question in an case situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify ways mom has been managing her stress? Could there be a link to how she is managing her stress and how she might build on this strategy to keep her son safe?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

66. Summary of Coping Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Summary of Coping Questions
Coping questions are a good starting place to build a partnership with a parent, child or caregiver.
A good coping question relies on an astute sense of observation to determine what the person has been struggling with and how they have been managing that struggle.
Coping questions can show a person that you see him/her more as a survivor than a victim.
PURPOSE
Summary of coping questions.
TRAINER NOTE
Review the summary points.

67. Preferred Future Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Preferred Future Questions
PURPOSE
Introduce preferred future questions.
EXAMPLE
The last solution-focused question we are going to cover today is the preferred future question.
While we are not going to spend a lot of time on them today, they are actually really important and useful questions.
Think about it this way: When things are bad, when you are stuck in a really bad place, it is really important to have a vision of where you want to go instead.
In fact, it is going to be really hard to move anywhere if you do not have a sense of where you are going.
These questions are a vehicle or tool for beginning to imagine where that place would be—where you want to go.

68. Preferred Future Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Preferred Future Questions
These are questions that help someone imagine a future they want/do not want and compare it to the present.
Examples:
You are pretty clear that this isn’t how you want things to be. How would you like things to be instead? (DETAILS!) What would need to happen to get things there?
Ten years from now when your child is older, what story do you hope he/she tells about this time? About what you do or don’t do?
PURPOSE
Provide examples of preferred future questions.
TRAINER NOTE
It is OK to read the examples.
Ask the group who has used questions like these.
What have they found?

69. Last updated: August 10, 2012
PURPOSE
To provide a visual tool of how to use preferred future questions.
EXAMPLE
People tend to understand what is expected of them when they are provided concrete, visual tools.
This chart can be used to write down what needs to happen so that a child can safely return home in the future.
This chart can also be used to write down concrete actions that the parent might take that could stop the child from coming home.

70. Let’s Practice Turn to your partner.
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Turn to your partner.
Partner A: Pick a goal in your life that is important to you—something that would make you a better person. Pick a goal that you feel comfortable sharing with your partner.
Partner B: Ask your partner a preferred future question.
Switch
Give feedback
PURPOSE: To practice asking a preferred future question in an every-day life situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify a potential plan they can make to be able to exercise/garden/other desired behavior more often?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

71. Last updated: August 10, 2012
Let’s Practice
Now, with your same partner, give this a go on Cheryl’s case.
Have one person be Cheryl and one person be the social worker.
Think of a preferred future question you could ask Cheryl related to her depression.
Switch.
PURPOSE: To practice asking a preferred future question in an case situation.
EXAMPLE:
Encourage the person asking the question to listen and pay attention to what the answer is.
Does this answer identify a potential plan mom might be able to use to parent without physical discipline/abuse?
Point out there is no need to be perfect here. Just have fun with this.
This exercise should last no more than 10 minutes.

72. Summary of Preferred Future Questions
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Summary of Preferred Future Questions
Preferred future questions help develop a vision for where they wish to be or where they want to go. It’s very hard to make a change if you don’t have a vision of where you want to be instead.
Preferred future questions can help a parent, child or caregiver to identify what they think should happen next, and identify small steps they can take to reach that destination.
Preferred future questions are helpful for people who have experienced trauma. They are a way to get a person thinking about how things can be, and actions they can take to start to feel better without using a substance or something else to cope with their pain.
PURPOSE
Summarize key points about preferred future questions.
TRAINER NOTES
Review the summary points.

73. U.S. National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
Last updated: August 10, 2012
At the Heart:
“Motivation for change may be linked to the degree of hope that change is possible.”
U.S. National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
PURPOSE
Begin to summarize all of this module.
EXAMPLE
If we had to pick one way to summarize how solution-focused questions can help or why they are useful, it might be this:
People will not change if they do not feel a sense that change is possible. They need hope.
These kinds of questions—and the good working relationships you will make—help our families find that hope.

74. Solution-focused Question Tip
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Solution-focused Question Tip
Describe the purpose of the interview
I want to get your best thinking about how we can keep your child safe.
Discuss context
I am learning a new way to ask questions to help us get answers and ideas about how we can keep your child safe. This is new to me.
Agreements
Is it OK with you if I sometimes re-ask a question a few times so we can be sure the question is clear?
PURPOSE: To give participants some talking points they can use when meeting with families as they practice using solution-focused questions.
EXAMPLE:
By acknowledging that you are trying a new approach to interviewing and having conversations with people, you can be transparent with families and show your ongoing willingness to make accurate assessments and build partnerships.

75. Application Examples Activity Possible Question First Contact
Last updated: August 10, 2012
Application Examples
Activity
Possible Question
First Contact
Coping: “It must be a little hard having me in your home right now.”
Investigation/Assessment
Exception: “Can you tell me about a time when this problem was not happening?”
Case Plan Formation
Future: “Let’s say it is six months from now and this problem is solved. What would it look like?”
Ongoing Safety Assessment
Scale: “On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = it’s not safe and 10 = your child is now safe, where would you scale this?”
Adoption
Position: “I know how you feel about Tony’s birth parents, but if Tony was here right now, what questions or worries do you think he might have about his birth parents?”
See worksheet for examples of questions by activity.

76. What’s going well? What are your worries? What should happen next?
Last updated: August 10, 2012
What’s going well?
What are
your worries?
What should
happen next?
Exception Questions
Coping Questions
Position Questions
Scaling Questions
Preferred Future Questions
Scaling (confidence, capacity and willingness)
In the next module we will talk about mapping. You can see how solution-focused questions drop nicely into this three-column mapping format.

77. *Turnell, A. and Edwards S. (1999). Signs of Safety. New York: Norton
Last updated: August 10, 2012
PURPOSE
To link principles from Signs of Safety to this module.
EXAMPLE
Consider posting these signs around the training room before the training.
*Turnell, A. and Edwards S. (1999). Signs of Safety. New York: Norton

78. Opportunities for Practice
Last updated: August 10, 2012
EXAMPLE:
It is important that you commit to or look at attempting some of these suggestions for practice over the next “x” weeks
Your Early Adopter, coach and/or supervisor is available for support via phone or s during that time
Your Early Adopter, coach and/or supervisor can also provide a more formal in-person follow up in “x” amount of time through attending a unit meeting or providing opportunities for lunch and learn, etc.
HANDOUT
Provide the “Things To Try” handout to the social workers and the Coaching and Supervision Tips to the supervisors.
Explain that at each session, a similar handout will be provided with ideas for simple things to try.
Participants can use this to keep track of what they have tried, and maybe even note what went well and what did not so they can learn from their experiences.
TRAINER NOTE
Some trainers like to move this slide to the front of the presentation so trainees can be thinking about which thing they will try during the next month.

79. One Last Thing—Thinking Ahead
Last updated: August 10, 2012
One Last Thing—Thinking Ahead
In pairs:
What is one thing you heard today that you value or makes sense to you?
What are you already doing to put that into action in your work?
What else would you like to do to ‘land it’ even more in your work between now and next time?
PURPOSE
Help people make the transition from training to actual work.
TRAINER NOTE
After all the exercises you may have a group of tired people, so make this an ‘in-the-moment’ decision.
But this is a useful slide on which to end these small modules when folks have energy to do it.
It can be a very brief conversation (two minutes).
See if you can get two to four people to share their thoughts or just share as a large group.

80. Last updated: August 10, 2012
References
Berg, I. K. & Kelly, S. (2000). Building Solutions in Child Protective Services. New York: Norton. de Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy. New York: Norton. Madsen, W. (2007), Collaborative therapy with multi-stressed families: from old problems to new futures (2nd Edition). New York: Guildford. Turnell, A. & Edwards S. (1999). Signs of Safety. New York: Norton. Child Protection Messages from Research.(1995). Studies in Child Protection HMSO: London. Creating Trauma Informed Systems (2012). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Retrieved from trauma-informed-systems