Integrated Safety-Organized Practice

Integrated Safety-Organized Practice
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Integrated Safety-Organized Practice Module Nine: Safety Planning PURPOSE: Introduce Module 9 – Safety Planning EXAMPLE: In this module we will examine the safety planning process. Today we will describe how to co-create a plan that will take us from where we are to where we want to go. All of the tools, strategies and practices we have learned about in earlier modules leads to the safety plan. We will draw from safety-organized practices already covered such as solution-focused questions, harm and danger statements, goal statements, and safety networks. Today we’ll see them as steps along the course of planning. Children’s Research Center A nonprofit social research organization and division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency

Our Thinking Draws From the Legacy of Others
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Our Thinking Draws From the Legacy of Others Insoo Kim Berg Steve de Shazer Andrew Turnell Steve Edwards Sonja Parker CRC Staff Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer created the Solution-Focused Therapy approach. Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards created the Signs of Safety (SofS) 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; Sue created harm and danger statements; and Rob and Sue 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 SofS. John Vogel, Sophia Chin, and Heather Meitner have brought the SDM system and SofS 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.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Definition Safety is: Actions of protection taken by the caregiver that mitigate the danger demonstrated over time. PURPOSE: To remind people about the key organizing principal. Module 9, Safety Planning, talks about how we can work with the family to identify exactly which acts of protection the caregiver will take, and how they will demonstrate those actions over time. EXAMPLE: Once again, just a quick reminder, in many ways this is what this series is about. It is about imagining what would happen is this really became our definition of safety – in what ways our practice might change, in what ways our thinking or decision might be effected. Remember in this definition that safety is a VERB – an action. It is more than the absence of danger. Adapted from Boffa, J., and Podesta, H. (2004) Partnership and risk assessment in child protection practice, Protecting Children, 19(2): 36–48. Turnell, Andrew & Susie Essex Working with Denied Child Abuse, Open University Press, 2006.

Agreements “Try on.” Everyone always has the right to pass.
Last updated: August 23, 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 all work together to hold to these agreements and authorize the trainer to hold us to them. PURPOSE: This slide is 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! FOR EXAMPLE: As always, our time together will be shaped by our shared agreements. Any questions or comments?

Interviewing for Safety and Danger 2
Last updated: August 23, 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 the General Authority Practice Model 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.

Let’s Review and Reflect!
Last updated: August 23, 2012 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 from Kim Giardina, a manager in San Diego County, is to have participants write down their experiences on notecards. On one side of the notecards they can write down what worked well when they tried this new practice. On the other side of the notecards 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.

What are we going to cover today?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 What are we going to cover today? Safety as more than a list of services Sample safety plans Building safety plans Collaborative Rigorous Action-Driven Practice! PURPOSE: To introduce the idea that there are different things that require planning (1 of 2). EXAMPLE: There is no doubt that you are already doing safety planning in many forms in your work. What we hope to be able to do in this module is to showcase ways these plans can be even more rigorous, even more collaborative, and even more focused on action steps. We will show you some examples, look at a process for creating these kinds of plans, and then get a chance to practice.

What are we going to cover today?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 What are we going to cover today? + + SFQs + Rigorous Collaborative = Action-Based SAFETY PLANS Who is worried About what potential caregiver actions/inaction Possible impact on the child PURPOSE: To introduce the idea that there are different things that require planning (2 of 2) EXAMPLE: Here is another way to say it. Everything we have worked on so far--from the solution-focused questions, to the voice of the child, the collaborative inquiry that is a three-column map, the consistency of the SDM assessments, the danger statements and safety goals, the use of a network--can lead to the kind of rigorous, collaborative, action-based safety plans we want to make. + + Who is a part of the network/plan What will caregiver DO differently For how long?

Safety Plans as More Than a List of Services
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Plans as More Than a List of Services PURPOSE: To provide concrete information about safety plans and to talk about some different types of safety plans. EXAMPLE: Let’s step back now and look at the kinds of plans we are trying to create here and how they might be a little different from how we usually think about plans.

Checking in: What’s the difference between these two plans?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Checking in: What’s the difference between these two plans? Plan #1: Cheryl needs to go to the therapist weekly to work on depression, the causes, and the impact it has on her life. Cheryl needs to go to the psychiatrist at least monthly to make sure that she is taking her medication and that it is working properly. Cheryl needs to attend a therapeutic group for “women facing depression” weekly so she can hear how other women have responded to this. Cheryl needs to go to job retraining course. Cheryl needs to go to parenting class. PURPOSE: To help the group begin to get introduced to the difference between the kinds of plans we want to make and the kinds of plans workers have usually gotten trained to make (1 of 2). FOR EXAMPLE: Usually we begin these modules with a small chance for folks to check in and think in small groups about a subject. Today we are beginning by staying as a large group, but we want to have a conversation with all of you. Everyone will remember Cheryl who turned on the gas with the kids at home. What kind of plan do we need to work with Cheryl? Let’s look at two different plans. Here is plan one. TRAINER NOTE: Read to group or allow time for group to read, and then advance.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Plan #2: Cheryl agrees to present the following to her children and to her safety network: Neighbor Paul, sister Sarah, foster mother Trina, and outreach worker Betsy all agree to be a part of Cheryl’s safety network. Cheryl will ask for help with the children if she is feeling more than a seven on a 10-point scale for depression. Cheryl will not be alone if she is thinking about hurting herself again and will ask for help from someone in the network if this happens. Cheryl agrees to keep a logbook of her work in resisting the worse parts of the depression. She will scale the impact of the depression every day in the book and write details of everything that is helping her reduce that impact. Paul, Sarah, and Trina all agree to call or visit once daily (once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening). They will talk to Cheryl, ask how she is doing, and also scale the impact of depression on her. They will also talk to the kids and ask them how they are doing. When the network visits they will also write in the logbook and ensure the children have their phone numbers as well. Betsy will perform two to three visits a week to the home and either she or her team will be available 24 hours a day if Cheryl want to call. During her visits she will also scale the impact of depression with Cheryl and write in the logbook. Betsy will work with Cheryl to make sure she get to the MD. Cheryl, the safety network, and CPS will meet to review this plan again in three weeks. PURPOSE: To introduce the group to the difference between the kinds of plans we want to make and the kinds of plans workers have been trained to create (2 of 2) EXAMPLE: Now, read this plan (allow time). TRAINER NOTE: These two slides really constitute an exercise and a discussion. Feel free to keep flipping back and forth between them to help create some discussion. POTENTIAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you notice about each? What works well in each? What do you worry about in each? How is Cheryl talked about in each of these? How is the “philosophy” different in each of these? CRITICAL POINTS: We are not going to eliminate ever using services in plans. Sometimes services are essential, and the only way a family can reach their goal. What we do hope to accomplish, though, is to never mistake a list of services for a safety plan. Also attempt to bring out how detailed the guidelines are in plan 2 is, and how it doesn’t attempt to “get the depression out” of the family--we can’t do that. It does help create a path to safety even with depression. The point is not to replace plan 1 with plan 2, but to incorporate them together, making sure we don’t make plans on people but with people.

Effective Safety Plans Are…
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Effective Safety Plans Are… …detailed plans of ACTION made in response to SPECIFICALLY identified dangers (behavioral and action driven) PURPOSE: To point out that safety plans are detailed and focused on identified dangers. EXAMPLE: Safety plans are detailed. We will not settle for vague notions of change. Safety plans are about ACTIONS. Plans will not be about the absence of, or merely time passing without, an adverse event. Plans will state clearly what caregivers DO. Safety plans will not require caregivers to take actions, no matter how noble, desirable, or good, unless those actions specifically address the identified danger. By focusing on things that directly respond to the identified danger, we are more likely to protect the child from repeated trauma. DISCUSSION: What are some things we often throw into case plans that sound great, and we’d love ALL caregivers to do them, but may have absolutely nothing to do with the danger that brought the family to CPS (e.g., get your children to school, keep house clean, don’t break the law, stay clean and sober)? There is nothing wrong with these goals IF they directly relate to danger, but we want to keep plans clear of extraneous requirements that may serve only to distract from the real issues, increase defensiveness, and overwhelm families in ways that make hope impossible. Ensure no future trauma for the children

Effective Safety Plans
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Effective Safety Plans Create clear and observable guidelines about: Contact between the children The potential danger How they are to be protected from the danger PURPOSE: To point out that safety plans are detailed and focused on identified dangers. EXAMPLE: We will be real. Most of the time we can’t eliminate a danger entirely from a child’s life. When we naively think a plan on paper accomplishes this, we actually may create more danger for the child. For example, our plan calls for mom to keep violent dad out of the house. Great, right? Without violent dad in the house the children are obviously safe. We feel great, the courts feel great. But what really happens? (E.g., dad comes back and everyone hides it from the worker, thus undermining the honest working relationship we need. At best, dad stays away until the case is closed.) There are rare, extreme instances when an absolute prohibition of contact is the only option. Most of the time, however, the reality is that there will be contact. What if we plan with that assumption in mind, and work with the family to think through how to work toward that contact in a safe way, and how to have that contact happen while keeping the child safe? Ensure no future trauma for the children

What Does the SDM® P&P Manual Say?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 What Does the SDM® P&P Manual Say? A SAFETY PLAN IS REQUIRED WHEN SAFETY DECISION IS #2 “Safe with a plan.” The following must be included in any safety plan: Each safety threat identified in Section 1A. Information written in a family-friendly manner. Detailed information for each planned safety intervention. Information that describes how the safety plan will be monitored (e.g., who is responsible for each intervention action). Signatures lines for family members, the worker, and his/her supervisor. Note: The safety plan should be documented in in CWS/CMS, MUST be completed with the family, and a copy should be left with the family. PURPOSE: To show that the SDM system not only supports this idea but has pushed for this for a long time EXAMPLE: While people may not be aware, these ideas are all supported and are a part of the SDM P&P manual. While we don’t always associate the SDM system with family-centered work, the manual has called for translating those “safety threats” on the safety assessment into “a family-friendly manner” for a long time. POTENTIAL DISCUSSION TOPIC: Are there people here who make safety plans as a part of their work with the SDM safety assessment? What do those plans look like? What works? What doesn’t?

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Plans Are… Collaboratively made with the family, child, and network; A process, not an event; A roadmap to achieve our hopes, not a guarantee; A method for keeping children safe; AND A intervention and change strategy. PURPOSE: To continue description of this kind of safety planning. EXAMPLE: A few other things we’ll say about safety plans that may challenge our thinking: Plans need to be made collaboratively with the family, child, and network. We can come up with the best plans, but if the family doesn’t “own it,” all the plan becomes is an act of CYA. (Trainer note: It’s a provocative statement but may be worth saying and discussing.) Plans are a process not an event. A plan isn’t something you can set and then set sail--you will need to keep coming back to it time and again. Plans are a roadmap not a guarantee. The plan provides direction, but we should not fall into naive practice: We are always assessing safety and danger at whatever point in the process we are at. Finally, these are not just a method of keeping children safe--these are an intervention themselves, a way to help people begin to make change. (Trainer note: Can advance slide on this point – next slide helps to flesh this out.)

A Shift in How We Think About Change?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 A Shift in How We Think About Change? ACTION INSIGHT PURPOSE: To propose a different way to think about the relationship between action and insight and the role safety planning has in creating insight. EXAMPLE: Many of us have been trained with the idea that you need insight in order to create change. But 25 years of Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment, 12-step programs like AA, etc., will tell a different story. Sometimes you need to start taking new action to see the value in the change. Sometimes it’s not until you begin to make new changes that you can see the benefit. BRIEF DISCUSSION: Does anyone remember the video of Julie from last module? Does she see the value of the networks when she is first asked by the folks at Carver to create a network? What happens along the way? Have any of you had this experience? Sometimes we need to take some action-steps to begin to see why they might be good for us. If we can design safety plans that both keep the children safe and help the family start to see what another kind of life might be like, our plans become both a way to keep the kids safe and a change strategy. “Fake it ‘til you make it!”

Safety and services are not the same thing!
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Don’t Forget: Safety and services are not the same thing! PURPOSE: To remind people that plans need to be composed of action-steps. EXAMPLE: Remember this “bumper-sticker” phrase from Safety-Organized Practice? If safety and services are not the same thing, then what will our plans be composed of? Action-steps. And by the way – there is still a role for services for sure – but it supports this movement toward action and safety, not the other way around. This must be reflected in the kinds of plans we create!

Sample Safety Plans And SDM’s Role! Last updated: August 23, 2012
PURPOSE: To provide concrete information about safety plans and to talk about different types of safety plans. EXAMPLE: Let’s step back now and look at the kind of plans we are trying to create and the purpose we hope they serve.

After-Care Safety Plan
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Terminology CURRENT PROPOSED Safety Plan Immediate Safety Plan Case Plan Ongoing Safety Plan ? After-Care Safety Plan PURPOSE: To show how new terminology lines up with existing terminology. EXAMPLE: We are not creating NEW documents. We are challenging ourselves to deepen what we already have. You already have an SDM document called a safety plan. It can be a little confusing as we shift our thinking because we are proposing that ALL planning is safety planning. We want to be sure that every stage of planning stays laser-focused on child safety. It’s important to think about planning that can be done at different stages in our work with families, and for different purposes. While we will refer to all plans as safety plans, we will differentiate immediate safety plans (which correspond to what you currently call a safety plan), ongoing safety plans (which correspond to what you currently call a case plan), and after-care case plans. There is no formal document for an after-care case plan, but we often have at least informal conversations about this with families as we terminate CWS involvement. These are things the family can continue to do so the child stays safe even after CWS is gone. POTENTIAL DISCUSSION QUESTION: What difference might it make for us and for families to talk about an ongoing safety plan instead of a case plan?

Another way to think about this:
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Another way to think about this: What we used to call “the safety plan” What we used to call “the case plan” The Ongoing Safety Plan PURPOSE: To describe what an ongoing safety plan might be. EXAMPLE: One way to think about this is that what we are inviting you to call “the ongoing safety plan” is really a combination of what had been “the safety plan” plus what had been “the case plan.” We want to keep thinking through all the elements of a safety plan, but we want that front and center in our new “ongoing” plan. We want the services that used to be in the case plan, but we want those services to directly support the family and network in demonstrating that they can do that safety plan “over time.” Whether or not your agency decides to call these “ongoing plans” or not, you can still think through this idea: How will we keep planning for safety throughout the life of the case? How do we continue to ensure that the services we come up with are relevant and help to increase the likelihood that safety is going to increase? And how do we keep coming back and refining the plan so it really is a process and not an event? We are aiming for “sustainable safety”

Safety Planning Safety plans develop sustainable safety in order to:
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Planning Safety plans develop sustainable safety in order to: Immediate safety plan Keep the child home Ongoing safety plan Return a child home or move to enough safety to close the case After-care safety plan Keep the child safe in the future PURPOSE: To illustrate the different purposes of immediate safety plans and ongoing safety plans. EXAMPLE: The immediate safety plan is what must happen for the child to remain home and avoid the need to enter care. The ongoing safety plan is about what must happen to return the child home and/or to close the case. If, at any point, a child is unsafe, the family needs to know that the child could come into protective custody whether the safety plan is referred to as “immediate” or “ongoing.” CWS INVOLVEMENT

An Immediate Safety Plan An Ongoing
Last updated: August 23, 2012 An Immediate Safety Plan An Ongoing SDM Safety Threat Items Danger statement (Safety goal) Acts of protection Demonstrated NOW IMMEDIATE SAFETY and/or High or Very High Risk Level Safety goal Demonstrated over time SUSTAINABLE SAFETY Risk reassessment Reunification assessment PURPOSE: To show the difference between an immediate safety plan and an ongoing safety plan. EXAMPLE: You will see that in each of these cases, the work begins with a safety threat or finding of high or very high risk level. It then proceeds to creating danger statements, safety goals, and actions of protection that respond to those dangers. In some immediate safety plans, especially in the beginning of our work with a family, it may be too soon determine if a safety goal will be needed. Notice the difference between the two safety boxes.

Good safety plans = trauma-informed practice?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Good safety plans = trauma-informed practice? We want to intervene at just the right level to keep the child safe when we make immediate safety plans. PURPOSE: To discuss how immediate safety plans can be an example of a trauma-informed practice. EXAMPLE: Remember the Goldilocks story? She is looking for a bed that is not too hard, not too soft, but is “just right.” If we remove children for every safety threat item, we could be “too hard” in our intervention. When we over-intervene, the system can inadvertently cause more trauma to a child and a family. If we don’t pay attention to safety threats, and if we are “too soft” in our intervention, we can inadvertently allow the trauma to continue in the child’s life by not keeping him/her safe. Remember, one of the first principles of trauma-informed practice is to stop the trauma from happening in the child’s life. Immediate safety plans can help us, in some situations, to find the “just right” level of intervention – where we stop the trauma from happening to the child, and where we buy some time to make a more lasting plan that will ensure safety in the long run. Typically, an immediate safety plan involves safe, familiar adults working together to make sure that a child is safe.

Immediate Safety Plans
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Immediate Safety Plans What actions of protection need to be taken immediately that directly mitigate the danger, in order for the child to remain safely in the home? PURPOSE: Immediate safety goals and safety plans are about action. EXAMPLE: Safety plans express actions (not the absence of something). Immediate safety goals and safety plans must include actions that can be taken immediately to directly mitigate the danger. This can include actions that maybe the family would not want to do for a long time, or maybe could not do for a long time, but could do temporarily, until we can come up with a better, long-term plan. Immediate safety goals are the first aid of safety planning. We would not treat a broken leg with a crude splint for eight weeks. But for a couple of hours, it can make a huge difference. DISCUSSION: Why might it be necessary to create an immediate goal/plan rather than just going on to the ongoing goal/plan? (E.g., in a single visit, because there is so much information, it’s hard to work out what would support long term safety.) If there is danger, you can’t just walk away and hope everything is OK until you get back. You have to plan for safety in the mean time. The alternative is to remove the child to be cautious. (That could add more trauma to the child unnecessarily.)

Sample Immediate Safety Plan
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Sample Immediate Safety Plan Bill (Tonya’s brother) Tonya Matt PURPOSE: To show an example of an immediate safety plan. EXAMPLE: Note that this sample safety plan in the handout has both the danger statement and safety goal, and a space for the safety threat items. It is up to you, on a case-by-case basis, if you want to include the SDM language, or if you think it would be more useful to have only the danger statement and safety goal on the plan. It is also up to you if you want to use a safety goal on these immediate plans. Sometimes that is a lot to create in a very short period of time. Having the danger statement may be enough to get you started. You could build a safety goal as time goes on, if you open the case for ongoing services, etc. Notice how detailed immediate safety plans are. Great attention is paid to possible contingencies, setbacks, or safety threats that could happen over the short run. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (Trainers: You don’t need to use all of these – choose the ones you think are most relevant.) What about this plan stands out to you? What about it works for you? What concerns do you have? How is this similar or different from the “safety plans” you have right now? What would have to happen for the parents to be included in the creation of the plan? What are some of the likely reactions parents might have to this? Note: Safety Plan Worksheet is a training example only. it’s not a county-approved form. Adam Age 8 Let’s take a look at a sample immediate safety plan for Adam. See handout!

When do you need an ongoing safety plan?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 When do you need an ongoing safety plan? and/or Unresolved Safety Threats and Ongoing Danger Any Open Case Needs an Ongoing Safety Plan SDM Risk Is High or Very High PURPOSE: To know when on ongoing safety plan is required and to see the different types of ongoing plans. EXAMPLE: If we proceed to an ongoing case (because either there is an unresolved harm or danger item or the SDM risk level is high or very high), we should have an ongoing safety plan. If we have an ongoing plan, we need to figure out what the focus of the plan is. It is either a “return home” plan or a “close the case” plan. Return the Child Home Close the Case

Sample Ongoing Safety Plan Return Home
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Sample Ongoing Safety Plan Return Home Visits are a critical place to see if early signs of “acts of protections” are being demonstrated!!! Let’s take a look at a sample ongoing safety plan for Cheryl and her daughters – written both in a safety plan format and in a case plan format. PURPOSE: To show an example of an ongoing safety plan – return home, and to have a discussion about including this in a case plan (1 of 4). TRAINER NOTE: Note that the next three slides ask the group to look at three different plans. The “Ongoing - Return Home,” the “Ongoing – Case Close,” and the “After Care” plans have a lot of overlap, as they are supposed to. Each tries to think through what actions of protection are needed at that particular point in the case process. The fourth slide then gives the group a chance to discuss. TRAINER NOTE #2: There are different versions of these case plans, written both as a “Safety Plan” on a horizontal sheet and as a case plan on the vertical sheets. Your purpose here is to both make sure your trainees review the content of these plans (so they can see how action-based and specific they are trying to be) and to talk about how to include these as part of the case plans. One way to get the group to really look at the plans is to have them pick out the item they think will have the greatest impact on Cheryl and the girls to create sustainable safety. EXAMPLE: We are going to start by looking at a plan that would focus on working to return Cheryl’s children. In particular, focus on how the plan must keep a tight focus on the visits. These visits are both where we want to make sure the girls are safe…but is also a place to see if Cheryl can demonstrate acts of protection. It is at your discretion if you want to keep the SDM language on the case plan. With some families, it will appear as agency jargon; with others, it might ground the plan in the seriousness of the initial harm or danger that the child experience. See handout! In pairs, pick the safety item that you think has the best chance for sustainable safety.

Sample Ongoing Safety Plan Case Closure
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Sample Ongoing Safety Plan Case Closure Here we are looking for sustainable safety… demonstrated over time! Let’s take a look at a sample ongoing safety plan for Cheryl and her daughters. PURPOSE: To show an example of an ongoing safety plan – case closure, and to have a discussion about this works as something that get included in the case plan (2 of 4). TRAINER NOTE: Again, see how the plans are not so different from each other. EXAMPLE: Compare this plan with the “return home” plan, as well as with Adam’s immediate safety plan. The format is virtually the same. Notice how the focus shifts on Cheryl’s plans from return home to case closure. On the plan for case closure, there is increased attention on the SDM harm and danger item regarding preventing further physical harm to the girls. Again, by asking the group to select one safety action that has the best chance of sustainable safety for Cheryl and the girls, this is a way to get them to really look at the content on the safety plan. Also note that there are examples of how to write this simply as a safety plan and also how to write it as a case plan (the case plan version shows how this could look on the case plan, while the safety plan version could stand alone and even be hung on the family’s refrigerator). What do you think of these both? See handout! In pairs, pick the safety item that you think has the best chance for sustainable safety.

After Care Safety Plan How will we know safety will be sustained
Last updated: August 23, 2012 After Care Safety Plan How will we know safety will be sustained over time? What will people do to keep the children safe once we leave? Let’s take a look at a sample After Care Safety Plan for Cheryl and her daughters. PURPOSE: To show an example of a post-CPS safety plan. (3 of 4) EXAMPLE: Here again we see many of the same features (the network, etc.) but now some things have changed (we don’t have a monitoring plan, mostly action steps). Do those of you who work with cases through case closure usually have plans when you close cases? What would be the benefit of something like this? See handout!

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Let’s Chat Get into pairs and discuss this question: How is this different from or similar to what you are doing now? PURPOSE: To discuss these plans, how they apply to practice, and how it could apply to practice in the future (4 of 4). EXAMPLE: Highlight themes related to becoming clearer about what the actual harm and danger is, and how workers can get more attuned to ensuring that there will be actual safety for a child, not just service completion by the parents. Also highlight the importance of us of a network. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (Trainers: You don’t need to use all of these – pick the ones that you think are most relevant) What about these plans stands out for you? What about them works for you? What concerns do you have? How is this similar or different from the “safety plans” you have right now? What would have to happen for the parents to be included in the making of the plan? What are some of the likely parent-reactions to this going to be? What do you think about how the network is being used? What would be the same and what would be different about your work if we actually made plans like this?

Building Collaborative, Rigorous, Action-Driven Safety Plans
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Building Collaborative, Rigorous, Action-Driven Safety Plans PURPOSE: Create opportunity to discuss underlying themes for all safety planning, and show that they already have a foundation for many of these. EXAMPLE: If we want to strive toward plans that embody the ideas just mentioned, how do we begin? In the next several slides, we will concrete steps for building plans like this.

Steps in Building Safety Plans
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Steps in Building Safety Plans Building relationships, assessing danger and safety Get clear on the danger statements and safety goals Orient the family and the children to the task Identify and involve the network Address the critical concerns Reach agreement on the plan Bring it back to the children Monitor, build on it, and continue to assess PURPOSE: To show steps in actually making these plans EXAMPLE: Here are some steps that we can take in actually making collaborative, rigorous, action-driven safety plans. While “eight steps” may seem like a lot, you will recognize a lot, and show how all the work we have done in the modules up to now has really led to these kinds of plans. We are going to talk through these steps one at a time. TRAINER NOTE: The next 30 slides walk through this process.

Safety Planning Is a Process, Not an Event
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Planning Is a Process, Not an Event Building relationships, assessing danger and safety Get clear on the danger statements and safety goals Orient the family and the children Identify and involve the network Address the critical concerns Reach agreement on the plan Bring it back to the children Monitor, build on it, and continue to assess PURPOSE: To highlight again that safety planning is a process. EXAMPLE: Just to begin with a reminder: In all of this work, these plans are a process, not an event. If a plan is made in ER, it will need to be updated in continuing. If you have made one plan in continuing, you will likely have to review and tweak as you go.

1. Building relationships, assessing danger and safety
Last updated: August 23, 2012 1. Building relationships, assessing danger and safety PURPOSE: Showcase the importance of relationship, and how three-column mapping and the SDM safety assessment help with this. EXAMPLE: We have talked many times in these modules about starting with relationships, and how this is where this work has to begin. We can’t make any change without having a good working relationship with the families we are working with. The relationships we are making, though, are not just any relationship. They have a purpose, which is to continually assess safety and danger with the goal of leading to more safety for children. Beginning with a three-column map helps families to participate as we showed in Module 7. But it is critical to remember that the most important information we are looking for are the items on the SDM safety assessment. And don’t forget to use your solution-focused question to help with both of these! Does anyone have examples of solution-focused questions you have tried when assessing safety and danger? USE YOUR SFQs!

2. Get clear on the danger statements and safety goals
Last updated: August 23, 2012 2. Get clear on the danger statements and safety goals Who is worried About what potential caregiver actions/inaction Possible impact on the child Who is a part of the network/plan What will caregiver DO differently For how long? PURPOSE To introduce the link back to danger statements and safety goals. EXAMPLE: The next step is to use what you are learning to construct danger statements and safety goals. Notice that we are purposely only focusing on danger statements and safety goals because danger statements and safety goals allow for “forward” discussions. Harm statements are useful but can get us stuck in the past. Let’s do a quick review of these. Trainer Note: These five slides contain material that was covered in Module 6. In our experience, trainees benefit from reinforcing this material. And these skills do build on each other – if you can’t make danger statements and safety goals it will be very hard to make the kinds of plans this module asks trainees to make. One thing a trainer can do here is assess how familiar the group is with danger statements/safety goals, how often the group has been using them, and then decide how much time to give the following four slides.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Danger Statements Simple behavioral statements of the specific worry we have about this child now and into the future. Who is worried Potential caregiver actions/inaction Potential future impact on child PURPOSE: To reintroduce danger statements. EXAMPLE: We’ll start with the danger statements. (READ DEFINITION) What do folks remember about these? Has anyone tried these? What might be the benefit of putting these on a safety plan?

The Question That the Danger Statement Answers
Last updated: August 23, 2012 The Question That the Danger Statement Answers What is CWS most worried will happen to the children if they are in the care of their parents and nothing else happens to mitigate the danger? PURPOSE: To remind people what purpose the danger statement serves. TRAINER NOTE: It is important to make the distinction that this is not the same question as, “What is the worst that could happen if the children remain in their parents care?” The danger statement is an extension of the questions, “What is likely to occur?” or “What is reasonable to worry about?” if the children remain in the parents’ care.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Goal Statements Clear, simple statements about what the caregiver will DO that will convince everyone the child is safe now and into the future. Who is a part of the network/plan What will caregiver DO differently For how long? PURPOSE: To remind participants of the formula for safety goals. Actions of protection taken by caregiver that mitigate the danger Demonstrated over time

The Question That the Safety Goal Answers
Last updated: August 23, 2012 The Question That the Safety Goal Answers What does CWS need to see the parents and their network doing differently with their children so everyone will know the children are safe? (not services) PURPOSE: To remind people the question that the safety goal answers. TRAINER NOTE: It is important to make the distinction that this is not the same question as “What is the safety plan?” or “What services are needed?” This is a deceptively simple question that actually tries to help us do something very complex: to think about what behavioral changes the agency would need to see the parents make with their children in order to feel that the danger was addressed.

The safety plan gets us from the danger statement to the safety goal!
Last updated: August 23, 2012 The safety plan gets us from the danger statement to the safety goal! PURPOSE: To provide a visual of how the danger statement and safety goal help drive the safety planning process. EXAMPLE: These danger statements and safety goals end up really driving and framing the safety planning process. Think of danger statements as the start line in a race. Think of the safety goal as the finish line in a race – when we can actually close the case. Think of the acts of protections (and, ultimately, the safety plan with those actions of protection listed clearly) as the steps along the way to get to the finish line. TRAINER NOTE: When you explain this, consider standing on one side of the room when you explain danger statements, then walk to the other side of the room and explain safety goals. Then point out that the space in between is where the social worker and the family and the network will “collect” acts of protection that accumulate to get the family to the safety goal. Danger Statements (What we are worried could happen without intervention) Acts of Protection (Taken by the caregiver that mitigate the danger, demonstrated over time) Safety Goal (What we need to see to know we can close the case – not services)

Why? What? How? 3. Orienting the family
Last updated: August 23, 2012 3. Orienting the family My job is to make sure children are safe, and I am worried because… You and the people around the child are going to need to do some new things. We will include other people in the plan. This will not be easy! We are all going to ask hard questions to make sure the plan will work. We are going to keep refining this. Everyone involved, especially you and CWS, will need to approve. Why? What? How? PURPOSE: Showcase the critical importance of orienting the family and about the purpose and process of the safety planning. EXAMPLES: We have highlighted the need for these plans to be collaborative. In order for the family to participate they have to understand these three questions: Why are we talking about this? What are we going to do about it? How are we going to do it? Making sure you take this step before getting down to the business of making the plan will help set the stage and will give the family a better idea of what is to come. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think of the speaking points on the right side? How are they different or similar from what you already say when you are making safety plans? What do you like/dislike about it? Where would you see the danger statement being shared in those speaking points? Where would you see the safety goal get introduced? What about the idea of networks?

Orienting the Family Here’s an idea! Step 1:
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Orienting the Family Here’s an idea! Step 1: Take your provisional danger statements and the safety goal to the family and the network. What acts of protection could they come up with to move their family toward the safety goal? Don’t forget agency bottom lines. PURPOSE: To show another specific step in helping to orient the family. EXAMPLE: (Read slide.) DISCUSSION: What do you think it would be like to do this? Has anyone made these provisional statements and taken them out to families? What is that like? What has worked? What has been hard? Amanda Wyatt, a supervisor in San Diego County, had her workers craft initial danger statements and safety goals for each of their families during a unit meeting. Then her workers took these danger statements and safety goals to the families to get their input on the wording. As a result, three things happened: Her social workers were CLEAR about the goal posts The families were clear about what was expected of them. They started to work together to build safety.

Orienting the Family Safety is:
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Orienting the Family Step 2: Share the Safety Definition with the family Safety is: Actions of protection taken by the caregiver that mitigate the danger demonstrated over time. PURPOSE: To show how the definition of safety can be used to plan safety with families and networks to help them get oriented to the process of safety planning. EXAMPLE: The social workers in Amanda Wyatt’s unit then showed the families the definition of safety. They used this definition to start thinking about potential acts of protection that the parent could demonstrate to mitigate the danger. DISCUSSION: What do you think this conversation would be like with your families? What might get easier by sharing this definition with families? What would be harder? Adapted from Boffa, J., and Podesta, H. (2004). Partnership and risk assessment in child protection practice, Protecting Children, 19(2): 36–48. Turnell, Andrew & Susie Essex. (2006). Working With Denied Child Abuse, Open University Press.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Orienting the Family Step 3a: Map for Past and Current ACTS OF PROTECTION What is working well? What are the worries? What should happen? Look for potential acts of protection that have been working already. Look for things that could get in the way of safety, that the parents, children, and safety network can be on alert for – that they can plan around. Look for the parents,’ children’s, and network’s ideas about what could be done to increase safety. PURPOSE: To show how a three-column map can be used to launch the conversation with the family about the safety plan. EXAMPLE: Just as a reminder of what we talked about in Module 7, these three-column maps are great ways both to help structure a conversation, continue to orient the family about what the interview will be about, and create a group memory of the conversation. They also can help launch us into a direct conversations about the safety plan. While there is no one right way to do a three-column map or have this conversation, when you do these kinds of maps and have a particular conversation about safety plans: It might make sense to start with the “What’s working well?” question to unearth any existing or past actions of protection. It might make sense to jump to the “What needs to happen?” question to generate a list of future actions the parent could take to build safety. It might make sense to finish with the “worry/challenge/barrier” line of questioning to discuss what could get in the way of the safety plan being completed successfully.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Orienting the Family Step 3b: Capture the conversation on the safety plan worksheet Safety Plan Worksheet Danger Statement(s): Safety Goal(s): Who What action will be taken How will we know it worked? PURPOSE: To show how a safety plan worksheet can be used to launch the conversation with the family about the safety plan. EXAMPLE: Social workers might prefer to use the three-column map, the safety plan worksheet, or both forms to capture this conversation.

4. Identify and Involve the Network
Last updated: August 23, 2012 4. Identify and Involve the Network “It takes a village to raise a child.” PURPOSE: Understand that safety plans need to involve a network. FOR EXAMPLE: As we talked about in Module 8, safety planning involves wrapping a network of informed people around the child (family members, friends, other professionals who regularly see the child) who are fully aware of the concerns, who have been part of the safety planning process, and who will monitor the child’s ongoing safety. These networks, or villages, are immensely important for children who have experienced trauma. Keeping in close contact with safe, familiar people is healing, while separating a traumatized child from the people he/she knows can add further trauma. Keeping a child in close contact with safe, familiar people is an example of a Trauma-Informed Practice!

Eliciting local cultural wisdom
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Eliciting local cultural wisdom You can’t engage the village if you don’t understand the village. Our safety plans have to fit the culture of the family we are working with. The best plan won’t work if the plan does not fit with the culture. PURPOSE: To highlight how culture of the network continues to be important in safety planning EXAMPLE: Can you think of an example of a family you worked with in the past six months where their culture had an enormous impact on the family’s safety plan? Think of examples where the family’s cultural connections HELPED the family in their safety planning efforts. Think of examples where the family’s cultural connections HINDERED the family in their safety planning efforts. What factors made the difference? DISCUSSION: How can a social worker understand the family’s culture so that they can effectively monitor the safety plan?

NO Network Plan A Bottom Line You can’t make safety only with
Last updated: August 23, 2012 A Bottom Line NO Network Plan PURPOSE: Continue to highlight the importance of networks in these kinds of plans. EXAMPLE: Remember that with these kinds of plans, a network isn’t a “nice thing to have if we can get it.” It is a critical element both to making sure that the child is safe and to helping a change process to occur. No network, no plan. You can’t make safety only with the people you are worried about.

5. Address the critical concerns: Asking hard questions
Last updated: August 23, 2012 5. Address the critical concerns: Asking hard questions A rigorous plan! On a scale from 0–10 where 10 is safe and 0 is danger, where do you think things are right now? What would be have to happen to increase the number by 1? What will get us to the 10? What if his father won’t stay away? What would Adam say if he was here? How willing and able are you to do this? What will we do if the network member doesn’t come through? How are we going to know any of this is really working??? PURPOSE: To showcase the kind of detailed questions you need to ask to make these plans rigorous. EXAMPLE: Once you have the information you need, you have the danger statements and safety goals, and the family and network understand what you’re trying to accomplish, you then need to get into creating the plan. You are going to address the critical questions by asking really tough questions (which is why it is important to warn the family that we are going to do this!). Andrew Turnell calls this process asking “jugular” questions. They are the “what if” questions, the “what else might go wrong” questions. It is important to identify triggers and times when the children will be most vulnerable and build the plan around them.

Keep the plan focused on ACTS of protection
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Keep the plan focused on ACTS of protection Who? Will do what? How will we know it is working? PURPOSE: Again highlights the need to make these plans action-plans and reinforces the key areas you need to address on the safety plan. EXAMPLE: As you ask these tough questions, think about these major areas, because they are going to form the basis of your plan. Who is going to help take actions? What will they be doing to help keep the children safe? And how will all of us in the network (personal and professional) know it is working? A list of services is not a safety plan!

What is the role of services?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 What is the role of services? Services are to support caregivers to take steps toward safety. People do need help. When you want families to start attending services, be clear to yourself and the family: What actions within the family are you hoping will change as a result of this service? Remember, services are a means to an end. That end is sustainable safety for the children! PURPOSE: To show the role services can and do play. EXAMPLE: You may have noticed that this module is pretty tough on services! It’s not that services don’t play a role or that we won’t keep referring families to services. It is that the services need to be in support of something, and that something is the safety of the children, and really, the safety plan. DISCUSSION: What if the services were really a way to help families take these safety plans and run them longer, deeper, and more intensely? What if services were about helping people to learn how to do these kinds of plans? What if services were a means to an end?

6. Reach agreement on at least a provisional plan
Last updated: August 23, 2012 6. Reach agreement on at least a provisional plan PURPOSE: To understand that plans are best when they are co-created with the family (1 of 2) EXAMPLE: When the person being asked to make a change helps define the change and the way to get there, he/she is most likely to commit to the change. Think about an example in your own life. Are you more likely to follow an action plan that someone made for you and told you to do, or an action plan that you created for yourself or with someone’s help? It’s important to understand that by saying these plans need to be collaborative or using tools like the gradients of agreement in the next slide, we are not saying you should give up your “bottom lines.” There will always be some clear things the family and network need to do to keep the child safe in the community that may be non- negotiable, without which we may need to think about putting the child in care. But this is a process that recognizes that without parent and network collaboration, we are unlikely to make plans that are really meaningful or actionable. “People support what they have a hand in creating.” - Margaret Wheatley

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Reach Agreement on at Least a Provisional Plan: GRADIENTS OF AGREEMENT (Kaner, 2011) I won’t do that plan. I don’t like it, but I am willing to try it. I don’t have strong feelings either way. I really like this plan. I love this plan! VETO NEUTRAL FULL ENDORSEMENT 1 2 3 4 5 RELUCTANT BUT WILLING SUPPORTIVE PURPOSE: To understand that plans are best when they are co-created with the family (2 of 2) EXAMPLE: One very concrete way of helping this to occur is with the Gradients of Agreements Scale. This scale asks people to consider where they are with the plan we are making. Showing this to families and networks before we start indicates that we care about what they think, and that they will play a big role in agreeing to these plans. Note the different numbers. Just like other kinds of scales like the safety/danger scale, this takes something that usually is thought of as a “yes/no” questions (“DO you agree with this?”) and turns it into a continuum. If the family and network are at the “1,” it lets us ask them, “What would we have to do to make this at least a 2?” DISCUSSION: What would it be like to try this with a family? What do you think would work about it? What would you worry about?

7. Bring it back to the children
Last updated: August 23, 2012 7. Bring it back to the children PURPOSE: Understand that planning needs to involve the children. EXAMPLE: The children need to be involved as much as possible throughout the safety planning process, in helping them to understand the concerns and asking for their views about what needs to change in the family for everyone to agree that they will be safe in the future. The more children are included in planning, the more control of their own lives they experience. This is an essential aspect of healing from trauma. DISCUSSION: Imagine being a child who has been abused, and now a stranger is involved in the family, telling your parents what to do. You know your parents don’t like this, but you don’t even know what they have been told to do. What is that like? Now imagine being asked about what makes you feel safer. Imagine being given some things you can do. Imagine being told what it is that your parents are going to do to keep you safe and you can see them doing those things. Empowering children and giving them a voice is an example of a Trauma-Informed Practice!

Present the safety plan to the children and let them draw!
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Present the safety plan to the children and let them draw! Let’s review an example! PURPOSE: Discuss importance of making children aware of the plan. EXAMPLE: Too often, the grownups do a great job of coming up with a great plan, and no one remembers to tell the child about it! Why is it important for the child to know the plan? (Answer: It’s ABOUT THEIR safety!) They may be worried and need to know what is being done. They may have a part to play in it. We need to be sure it works for them. One way we can help kids understand the plan is an idea called “words and pictures.” This can get complicated, but a simple way to do this with a safety plan is to go over the guidelines with the child and ask him/her if he/she could drawn a picture of what it would look like when people do that. This not only includes the child, but it also gives you a way to see how the plan looks through the child’s eyes. You can start with a picture of the harm or danger statement and then a picture of the safety goal. This allows the child to see that everyone is working together. You can then have the child draw pictures of the safety guidelines. Let’s look at an example.

8. Monitor and Refine Network: Who, what, when, how?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 8. Monitor and Refine Network: Who, what, when, how? Journals, log books Safety objects “Dry Runs” Supervision Check the SDM Reassessments PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (1 of 7) FOR EXAMPLE: Once we make the plan and get the agreement from the people involved, we need to have some sense if they are going to work. Here are a few ideas. None of these are perfect. Remember in the beginning that we said no plan was a guarantee. You can see these as items that are confidence builders and ways for us to keep the rigor and focus on these plans. These are not the only ways; they are just “starter dough.” Many of these can be incorporated into all the different types of plans we have talked about today.

Networks Remember Module 8.
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Networks Remember Module 8. How is the network going to help monitor the plan? What will they do if things don’t go well? What are our agreements on this? Scale your ongoing relationship with the network and your ability to accurately monitor their ability to keep the child safe. Troubleshoot as needed. PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (2 of 7) EXAMPLE: We have said it before today: One of the best ways to get feedback is to have a network involved. This network helps to make sure the children are safe; it also has agreements with us and the family on when they would step in and when they would call for help.

Journals, Log Books Who will journal the progress? The parent?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Journals, Log Books Who will journal the progress? The parent? The caregiver? The child? Other members of the safety network? What is the plan to ensure that progress on the safety plan guidelines are being documented? How will the journals or log books be shared with the network and with you? PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (3 of 7) EXAMPLE: Journals can be used when we expect a child or parent to keep some self-awareness, or pay attention to how something is going. (We know they can be faked, but it’s a start!) Log books are useful if more than one person is playing a particular role. For example, mom’s cousin June and friend Carol take turns checking the house after school to make sure mom is there. They keep a log book in a central place, and they each jot down the date and time of their visit. The worker can look at this book on visits and see if everything is working out.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Objects If the child to sends a signal to her network that she feels unsafe, such as turning a light on at night, or bringing a safety object toy to school, or sending a text message, how will you know about it? PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (4 of 7) EXAMPLE: A safety object is sort of a secret signal a child can raise to let people know she is not feeling safe without actually having to say it. For example, if before the worker visits, she wants to let the worker know she isn’t feeling safe, she puts her rainbow unicorn on the table in the kitchen. Now, if the worker sees this, he knows to make sure to get time to talk to the child and see what is happening. And how could you test this? A dry run!

Dry Runs Try a dress rehearsal.
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Dry Runs Try a dress rehearsal. Stage a false safety threat and see how the network responds. Debrief how it went: What worked? What were the challenges? How can the safety plan be adapted? PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (5 of 7) EXAMPLE: Dry runs are simply rehearsal for putting contingency plans into place. Have IF statements in our plans…. If X happens, so and so will do Y. During a crisis is not the best time to try something new. If the plan is that if mom starts drinking, 14-year-old Debbie will call her aunt Linda, who will come over and take Debbie to her house until mom is sober again, make it part of the plan that one day, before mom drinks, we act as if it happened. Debbie calls Aunt Linda and says mom is drinking (Linda knows this is a drill). Did we find out Debbie doesn’t have Linda’s phone number? Or Linda isn’t at home and doesn’t have a cell phone? Or did it work? Linda comes right over, gets Debbie, and they go to Linda’s house. Linda can take Debbie right back home. What did we learn from this? This is why we do fire drills, earthquake drills, and mock disasters.

Things to Focus on in Supervision
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Things to Focus on in Supervision Genogram What are they all doing to keep the kids safe? SDM safety assessment How will we know it is working? Danger statement Safety goal When is the date of next review? Who is in the network? Who is in the plan? SDM risk reassessments PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (6 of 7) EXAMPLE: Another component to the rigor of these plans is what gets talked about in supervision. There are some specific areas listed here that we can focus on in supervision to help each other stay on top of these plans and make sure we have the kind of depth we want.

Check the SDM® Reassessments
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Check the SDM® Reassessments PURPOSE: To show examples of ways to effectively measure progress or keep the rigor in these plans (7 of 7) TRAINER NOTE: You might want to ask half of the group to pull out the family risk reassessment and the other half to pull out the reunification reassessment and look at them while you talk about this. EXAMPLE: Finally, we come back to the “gatekeeper” and the SDM tools and their way of helping to keep us on track. Let’s take a look at the risk reassessment tools. DISCUSSION: Where do you notice these plans come in? How might making these kinds of plans help get an accurate risk score at this stage?

Summary – Steps in building safety plans
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Summary – Steps in building safety plans Building relationships, assessing danger and safety Get clear on the danger statements and safety goals Orient the family and children to the task Identify and involve the network Address the critical concerns Reach agreement on the plan Bring it back to the children Monitor, build on it, and continue to assess PURPOSE: Review, quick discussion, and get feedback SECTION CONCLUDING DISCUSSION: What stands out to you about this process? How is it different or similar from what you do now? What do you think of this process?

Let’s Practice! Last updated: August 23, 2012 PURPOSE:
To transition into practicing what we have learned so far. TRAINER NOTE: Ask people to take out the Safety Planning worksheet and the Mapping for Acts of Protection three-column worksheet. This activity corresponds with slides 41–45, where we talked about orienting the family.

Mapping for Acts of Protection
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Activity Worksheets Mapping for Acts of Protection Well? Worries? Happen? Safety Plan Worksheet Danger Statement(s): Safety Goal(s): Who What action will be taken How will we know it worked? PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module (1 of 7). EXAMPLE: We are going to practice what we learned today, with the goal of drafting a complete, rigorous, collaborative, action-based plan you could bring back to a family to help start a discussion. While it is in this particular format, many different formats could work. What is important is that the danger statement and safety goal are clear, as is who is taking what action, and how we will know if it is working.

Let’s Practice! (Safety Plan Worksheet)
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Let’s Practice! (Safety Plan Worksheet) In pairs: One of you think about a family who is on your caseload right now who would benefit from the kinds of plans we have talked about today. Ideally, think of a referral or case where you are feeling stuck or unsure of what to do next. But don’t pick your most challenging family. What are the initial safety threats from the SDM safety assessment? What counts were filed on the petition? PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module (2 of 7). EXAMPLE: Let’s begin by getting into pairs. One person is going to choose a family they are working with right now who would benefit from the kinds of safety plans we have talked about today. It’s important that you select a referral or case that is not overly challenging to you. Pick a relatively straightforward case as this is a learning exercise. Depending on where the worker is on this case, he/she can narrow his/her focus to a particular decision in the case, or to the case as a whole. Complete the top four sections of the Safety Plan Worksheet: Name, date of plan, etc. Craft a provisional danger statement. Craft a provisional safety goal. Write down the SDM safety threat, risk level, and WIC Code, if a petition was filed. (Much of this may have to be done by memory.) When you are making the safety goal, think about where you are in the process since your safety goal may change accordingly. If it is an immediate plan, your safety goal might be a “get through the weekend” safety goal. If the child is in care, it will be a “what we need to do to return the child home” goal. And if it is a case you are thinking about closing, it is a “to close the case” goal. Allow about five to 10 minutes for this activity. Who is worried About what potential caregiver actions/inaction Possible impact on the child Who is a part of the network/plan? What will caregiver DO differently? For how long?

Mapping for Acts of Protection
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Mapping for Acts of Protection Now have a three-questions conversation, with one of you documenting answers to these questions on the Mapping for Acts of Protection worksheet: What is working well to move the family toward safety? What are the biggest worries you have right now about the children? What is at least one thing you would like to see happen that would make you feel that the child would be safer and the family is moving toward the safety goal? PURPOSE: To show how the three-column map can be used to look at the family’s progress from the danger statement to the safety goal. (Slide 3 of 7) On the blank map that you have in your handouts, sketch out a few things in the “working well” and “worried” columns that are happening in the family to move them from their danger statement toward their safety goal. Just go “top of mind.” Don’t spend more than five to seven minutes on this part of the activity.

Search for Existing Acts of Protection
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Search for Existing Acts of Protection PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module (4 of 7). EXAMPLE: Go back over the map you just worked on. Take a look in the “working well” column for any actual “acts of protection” you have written down. Looking over the map, do you see actions of protection that would help respond to the danger? If so, circle those. In most cases, the acts of protection might not be clear, but with some more follow-up questions, potential acts of protection could be seen just underneath the surface. The more we map, the quicker we will get right to the meat and potatoes – the actions of protection we need to see from the family to ensure child safety. If there are no acts of protection on the worker’s initial map, what could the worker ask the parent on his next visit to identify some? TRAINER NOTE: Allow about three to five minutes for this activity. Take a moment and look at your map. Circle anything on this map that could be an act of protection that would respond to the danger if it was repeated or enhanced. This is your first step in making a plan! Next, write those down on your Safety Plan handout.

Drop Those Actions on the Plan!
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Drop Those Actions on the Plan! Safety Plan Worksheet Danger Statement(s): Safety Goal(s): Who What action will be taken How will we know it worked? PURPOSE: To show how mapping and safety planning become interchangeable. (Slide 5 of 7) EXAMPLE: Drop those actions into the middle column. If you can tell who will do the action, go ahead and write that in the first column. Note: A social worker can do this prior to meeting with the family to get his/her thinking started about the safety he/she has seen so far, OR the social worker could do this entire activity with the family and think it through together. Either way, it’s critical for this discussion to happen with the family and their network. A good place for this sort of discussion is in a family group conference or TDM.

Identify Network Members
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Identify Network Members This will require some assumptions. Who do you know the family already has contact with? Who do you think the family might be willing to include? Who do you wish they would include? PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module (6 of 7). EXAMPLE: Do some quick thinking about the network. This will require you to make some assumptions, but consider what people family has contact with. Who are the people who most care about the children? Who might be willing to be a part of the plan, and what do you hope they do? At this point this is just a discussion, but you can write this in the “what needs to happen” part of the three-column map. TRAINER NOTE: This is just a short conversation. Allow three minutes for this section.

Wrapping it Up Who will do this action of protection? The parent?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Wrapping it Up Who will do this action of protection? The parent? The network member? The child? (in some cases) What exactly will they do? How will we know it worked? Complete this on your Safety Planning Worksheet PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module (7 of 7). Shows the three big questions that should be answered on all safety plans. EXAMPLE: With your partner, go ahead and finish the safety plan worksheet. Pay attention to the column about “how we will know it worked?” Be careful about drifting into a list of services! Services are not unimportant, but what we are focusing today is on the list of “action-steps” the family can take in response to the danger. Once you start to get clear about the “acts of protection,” you can begin thinking about who else would participate in making this happen and how would we know it worked, what other actions they need to do, and then do some thinking about how we will know it is working. Again, for the purposes of this exercise, it’s okay to make some assumptions about what the network can do (but try to keep it real!). You are likely to need the network when you try to think through how will we know it worked. TRAINER NOTE: This section should take 10 to 15 minutes. You may want to wander around and offer some help.

Debrief What stood out? How could you include the children?
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Debrief What stood out? How could you include the children? What was different or the same from how you regularly do safety plans? What would it be like to take this back to the parents? PURPOSE: Engages the group in an exercise based on what they have learned in this module. DISCUSSION: What was this like? What do you think of your plan? How is it different or similar from what you usually do? In particular, spend some time focusing on how they would want to include the children in this plan. Do the children know the safety plan? What would need to happen to include the children? ALSO: What would it actually be like to take this back to the parents as a draft plan for ‘starter dough’? What would work about that? What would be hard?

Summary: Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Summary: Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth Goal: What future safety looks like. Future PAST PRESENT PURPOSE: To begin summarizing the whole module and this approach of safety planning (1 of 4) EXAMPLE: We are going to begin to sum up our work from today. We all have a past--there it is. For better or worse it’s always there. There is nothing we can do to change it. It is what it is. Right now we are here, in the present. And then there’s the future. What do you notice about the three boxes? Yes, they grow from small to large. How does that happen? (next slide) Dorrinton & Saunders and Associates 2006

Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth Goal: What future safety looks like. Future PAST PRESENT PURPOSE: To begin summarizing the whole module and this approach of safety planning (2 of 4). EXAMPLE: In order for us to keep moving forward, we must have a vision for what the future could be. We also create a plan with small steps to get there over time. When a safety plan has been agreed upon, network members can tell the parents that they love them, and they’ve noticed that they appear to be temporarily off the path toward their safety goal. Think of the blue dot on a GPS map. When it goes off the path, that’s an indication that a meeting with the network is needed to “recalculate the route.” It doesn’t have to be the end of the world. It is just an opportunity for some supportive redirection toward the goal. Dorrinton & Saunders and Associates 2006

Sometimes… PAST P Last updated: August 23, 2012 PURPOSE:
To describe begin to summarize the whole module and this approach of safety planning (3 of 4). EXAMPLE: Have you ever met a family or someone you know who lives like this, where their past is all they can see and feel? They can barely function in the present and there is no vision for the future. What keeps some people stuck in the past? (TRAUMA) Our job with families as facilitators of change is to paint the picture of what could be and help the caregivers build their network of support people to enhance future safety. How does the “past box” shrink to the correct size over time? (next slide)

Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Safety Planning as a Model for Change and Growth Internal Barriers External Vision of the Future PAST PRESENT PURPOSE: To describe begin to summarize the whole module and this approach of safety planning (4 of 4). EXAMPLE: During the strengths-based process of our intervention, we help people make a plan for building safety based on current strengths, and simultaneously, the past incidents begin to shrink when healing and forgiveness takes place. Sometimes our therapeutic services provide an atmosphere where caregivers can forgive themselves and others for past traumatic events. Other times, such services are not in place. Our work with the family and the network can go a long way to be: Honoring Educational Healing To hold a space for forgiveness and gratitude And evaluative – to demonstrate progress Honor Learn Evaluate Heal Forgive Gratitude Strengths and Opportunities Dorrinton & Saunders and Associates 2006

Last updated: August 23, 2012 Some Cautions Safety plans are only words on paper Real work comes in creating, implementing, monitoring, and adjusting safety plans as time goes on Expect safety plans to develop and change over time PURPOSE: To remind us of some important cautions. EXAMPLE: We’ve covered a great deal of ground in a short time. Solid safety planning is something we develop not in hours, or days, but over the course of our career. Good work depends on good plans, but good plans don’t automatically create good work. What are you going to DO with a plan? Will it sit on the computer? Was its primary function to keep our supervisor from asking us yet again where the case plan is? Or will this plan be our north star as we work with the family? Will it be something that gets full of coffee stains on the family’s kitchen table because we’re going over it all the time? No matter how good the plan feels, we have to be willing to ditch all or parts of it if it turns out it isn’t working. If it’s a court case, that might mean going back to the judge to explain why the plan is changing. The plan needs to be our constant guide, so the plan can’t be so rigid it no longer makes sense. The plan is going to change over time.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 PURPOSE: To tie back to Signs of Safety principles and elements. FOR EXAMPLE: We close, as always, by linking our work today with the relevant elements/principals we first discussed in Module 1. It really does all tie together! Consider printing this visual before the training and posting it on the wall. *Turnell, A. and Edwards S. (1999). Signs of Safety. New York: Norton.

Opportunities for Practice
Last updated: August 23, 2012 Opportunities for Practice EXAMPLE: It is important that you commit to or look at attempting some of these suggestions for practice over the next “x” weeks. Your LPS is available for support via phone or s during that time. Your LPS 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 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 things they will try during the next month.

One last thing…thinking ahead
Last updated: August 23, 2012 One last thing…thinking ahead In pairs: What’s 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 to end these small modules on when people have energy to do it. Can be a very brief conversations (two minutes). See if you can get to two to four people to share their thoughts or just share as a large group.

Last updated: August 23, 2012 References Children’s Research Center. (2008). Structured Decision Making®: An evidence-based approach to human services. Retrieved from Department of Child Protection. (2011). The signs of safety child protection practice framework. Department of Child Protection, Perth. Retrieved from Essex, S., Gumbleton, J., & Luger, C. (1996). Resolutions: Working with families where responsibilities for abuse is denied. Child Abuse Review, 5, 191–202. Lee, M. L., Sebold, J., & Uken, A. (2003). Solution-focused treatment of domestic violence offenders: Accountability for change. NY: Oxford University Press. Turnell, A., & Essex, S. (2006). Working with ‘denied’ child abuse: The resolutions approach. Buckingham: Open University Press. Child Protection Messages from Research. (1995). Studies in child protection. HMSO: London.

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