Circuit 7 Department of Children and Families

What About Safety Plans??? Let’s think about it.  Do all safety plans have the same function or purpose?  Once a safety plan is put in place, is that all that is needed for a CPI to close the case? What about services?  Is it reasonable to create a safety plan and close supervision?  How long should a safety plan exist?

Safety Plans and Protective Services?  Are services (community services or protective services) included in a safety plan?  What is the difference between a safety plan and a case plan?  Should the case manager ensure the safety plan is followed throughout the case?  Do safety plans ever change?

When are Safety Plans made? AALL THE TIME!!!! Safety plans not only made between a parent/caregiver and the CPI or Case Manager. Safety plans are made between the worker and the supervisor, the worker and safeguards, and the worker and providers. Sometimes, the parents have made safety plans with others before any contact is made with them!

Safety Planning is far from an exact science. No one is asking you to predict the future.

If we can’t predict the future, why make a Safety Plan?  Predicting human behavior is difficult because humans change!  People may not react the same way to stimulus or consequence!  However, based on knowledge and experience, we can identify risk factors and address them in a safety plan.  That does not mean the safety plan will prevent future maltreatment from occurring.

What is a Safety Plan?  A Safety Plan is a specific and concrete strategy for controlling threats of serious harm or supplementing protective capacities implemented immediately when a family’s protective capacities are not, or may not, be sufficient to manage immediate and serious harm threats.

What is a Safety Plan?  A Safety Plan is a strategy that incorporates the identified safety threats, present protective capabilities of the caregiver, and child vulnerability factors in a manner that controls the threats and/or increases the available protective capacities (whether within the family or from outside services).

Protective Capacity: Defined  Family strengths or resources that reduce, control, and/or prevent threats of serious harm from arising or having an unsafe impact on a child or enable a caregiver to meet the child’s basic needs.

Examples of Protective Capacities:  Parent/Caregiver’s ability to provide basic care  Parent/Caregiver’s mental health  Availability of resources (financial resources, health care resources, social resources)  Willingness to utilize available resources  Parent/Caregivers' relationship with others  Location and availability of extended family or other social supports (ie: friends/church/etc)  Availability of local services

Why Do We Need Safety Plans?  To assure child safety  To provide time and opportunity for on-going assessment/evidence gathering  To ensure the family is willing to take necessary action to maximize child safety  To record and/or document the agreement the parent and the CPI/Case Manager  For evidence, if the parent does not comply and the case becomes judicial.

Child Abuse Data:  Each day in the USA, more than 4 children die as a result of child abuse in the home  More than three-quarters of the children who die are under the age of 4  Homicide is the leading cause of injury death among infants in the United States - Infants are most likely to be killed by their mother during the first week of life but are more likely to be killed by a male thereafter.

More Data…  Nearly one half of substantiated cases of child neglect and abuse are associated with parental alcohol or substance abuse  Among rape victims less than 12 years of age, 90 % of the children knew the offender  29 children were murdered by their babysitters in 2003.

How frequently do we have an opportunity to make Safety Plans?  More than 2.9 MILLION reports of alleged maltreatment involving children were made to Child Protective Services agencies in That means child abuse was reported, on average, every 10 seconds.  Child Protective Services across the country found an estimated 896,000 children to be victims of maltreatment (abuse or neglect) in 2004

Safety plans must… 1. Relate to what is happening in a family at a specific time (ie: during investigation, at a critical junction, etc.) 2. Be resilient enough to accommodate what the worker is experiencing and observing in relation to the interaction with the family 3. Be a result of what the worker knows – not what a specific form requires

Safety plans should also…  Be flexible (with the purpose clear)  Be open to constant adjustment  Be timely - A safety plan made in the first days of a contact with the family may not be appropriate a month later.

Timely??? For example: If the parent makes a safety plan the child to stay with a grandparent while the parent cleans the borderline hazardous home, how long should that safety plan be in effect? If that safety plan was left in effect for two weeks or a month, do you think the family would continue to abide by it? What should happen?

A Safety Plan must… 1. Be Specific - A safety plan needs to include the WHO, WHAT, WHY, and HOW 2. Be Realistic - A safety plan cannot require actions that are not likely to be implemented 3. Address the Problem - A safety plan should address the risk or harm.

The Good…  An example of an acceptable safety plan: “The mother will not use any illegal or unprescribed substances. The mother will submit to a drug test within 24 hours and to a substance abuse assessment within 72 hours and comply with all recommendations. The mother and child will continue to live with the maternal grandmother until the mother has successfully completed treatment. The maternal grandmother will contact the Department if she suspects the mother is using drugs. The mother will submit to random drug testing.”

The Bad…  An example of an unacceptable safety plan: “The mother will not use drugs. The maternal grandmother will contact the Department if the mother uses drugs.”

The UGLY…  Examples of an ineffective safety plan: “The mother will not use drugs around the child.” “The parents will not use excessive corporal punishment while the investigation is on-going.”

How many Safety Plans does one family need?  Answer: - As many as it takes.  Consider domestic violence cases - There could be: A family Safety Plan, A victim’s Safety Plan, A perpetrator’s Safety Plan, A child’s Safety Plan, The safeguard’s Safety Plan, and The worker’s Safety Plan

Why risk making a safety plan? If risk has been established, why not just remove the child? IT IS TRAUMATIC FOR A CHILD TO BE REMOVED FROM HIS/HER PARENT – EVEN IF MALTREATMENT IS OCCURRING!  Florida Statutes (1)(b)(3) states: “The prevention and intervention should intrude as little as possible into the life of the family, be focused on clearly defined objectives, and take the most parsimonious path to remedy a family’s problems.”  Florida Statutes (1)(f) states: “To preserve and strengthen the child’s family ties whenever possible, removing the child from parental custody only when his or her welfare cannot be adequately safeguarded without such removal.

More Reasons to Make Safety Plans  Florida Statutes (10)(a) states: “The shelter hearing order shall contain a written determination as to whether the department has made reasonable effort to prevent or eliminate the need for removal or continued removal of the child from the home. This determination must include a description of which specific services... could prevent or eliminate the need for removal or continued removal from the home...”  Florida Statutes (3)(d)(1) and (3)(d)(3) states: “The petitioner must state in the petition, if known, whether: A parent or legal custodian named in the petition has previously unsuccessfully participated in voluntary services offered by the department;... A parent or legal custodian has rejected the voluntary services offered by the department;...”

Child Welfare Administrative Rules adds:  In 65C , “A child safety assessment must be completed on all investigations for the purpose of identifying any safety threats and develop a safety plan of action.”  65C further states, “The child safety assessment and related safety plan must be updated whenever circumstances change within the family...”

Child Welfare Administrative Rules continues:  65C states, “The purpose of conducting the assessment within 48 hours... is to determine whether a safety plan is necessary. A safety plan shall identify the immediate and long term action that will keep the child safe from harm when a threatening situation is present in the child’s home. This includes, but is not limited to, safety actions to be taken by the child, parent(s), legal guardian, the department, local sheriff’s office, or other identified party. The safety plan may include... providing the family with assistance and oversight by a service provider...”

Children and Families Operating Procedures chime in…  CFOP (Removal and Placement of Children) states, “Before a child is removed from home, the department must ensure reasonable efforts are made to prevent the removal.”  CFOP (Family Assessment) states, “Safety plans must be periodically reassessed and updated. The reassessment of the safety plan must focus on its appropriateness and be reflected in the chronological case notes.”  Under “ongoing assessments,” CFOP states, “If the child has a safety plan, is it appropriate to the child’s current circumstances? If the child does not have a safety plan, does the child’s current circumstances indicate one is needed?”

Sources and Resources  ACTION for Child Protection, Inc., August 2004 “The When and Why of Safety Management”  Child Welfare Institute, 2003, Essential Safety Constructs in Child Maltreatment Cases  American Humane at  The National Center of Victims of Crime at  Childhelp at  Child Welfare Information Gateway at

Good-Bye!!! Thank you!!! Remember: We all have experience with safety planning!