Safety
IN ALL THE WORK WE DO, THE SAFETY OF THE CHILD AND FAMILY MUST REMAIN AT THE FOREFRONT.
Here are some ways that we focus on keeping children safe in all elements of the Core Practice Model:
Transparency and full disclosure.
We communicate clearly about worries among the family and the Department. Building our partnership from shared goals helps keep children safe.
Teaming with people who know the child, youth, and family.
Building rapport with team members as well as the family means more people are looking out for the children – including those who know the safety worries in the family. Building a ‘village’ and safety net pays off, even when we are not around, and enables us to develop a deeper understanding of the family.
Working the team agenda.
The team agenda addresses child safety in multiple areas:
Ongoing engagement and teaming.
This allows the worker and team members to track when things go well and when times get tough. Tracking and adapting is central to our work, so the ongoing meetings allow the team to deepen their commitment to child safety as well as their ability to support the family after the case is closed.
Non-negotiables should be minimal to allow the family team to generate ideas within the brainstorming part of teaming and planning work. CSWs and other staff should know the non-negotiables for each case, through consultation with the SCSW and input from any transferring staff (ER, DI, prior worker, etc).
Adherence to court orders should be a given.
The team, worker or parent may decide to return to court to get court orders changed, but for now the team members must all uphold what the court has ordered for the family. Of particular importance:
When there are no court orders, state the safety standards that the agency is going to set. These could include:
The primary non-negotiable is always, the children must be safe.
Facilitators should enlist the family and team to support this goal, possibly by saying: