Transcript Charting the Course towards Permanency for Children in

Module 5: Risk Assessment
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program
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Be on time
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Training schedule: 9 – 4 w/ breaks
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Sign/initial the Sign-in Sheet each day
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Provide constructive/motivational feedback
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Be respectful
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Take risks
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Ask questions
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No cell phones/text messaging
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Position
County
Length of time in
current position
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program
Name
Amount of
experience in
Child Welfare
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Recognize the importance of doing a thorough and
accurate risk assessment to evaluate the future risk of
harm.
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Explain the importance of linking the results of the
assessment of risk to case planning and service
provision.
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106-1: The child welfare professional knows the personal,
interpersonal, family, and environmental factors which increase
risk.
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106-2: The child welfare professional knows investigation and
interviewing strategies to assess and determine the degree of
risk to a child.
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106-3: The child welfare professional knows how to use the risk
assessment tool.
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106-4: The Child Welfare Professional is able to gather pertinent
information and can make an initial assessment of risk and
appropriate case disposition.
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106-5: The child welfare professional understands the ways in
which cultural variables can confound an assessment of child
maltreatment, and can conduct investigation activities that are
congruent with a family’s cultural background.
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Introduction
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What Risk Assessment Can and Cannot Do
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The Need for Accurate Assessments of Risk
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Matrix and Continuum
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Understanding and Rating the Risk Factors
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Completing and Documenting an Assessment of Risk
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Case Transfer
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Wrap-Up
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WIIFM
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Safety
Family
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Risk
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To evaluate risk of future harm to a child.
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To assess risk to determine if maltreatment is likely to
occur or reoccur in the future.
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To apply the identified risk factors to case planning.
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Three ways in which we hope to meet that goal are:
◦ Thoroughly assess risk through a comprehensive
evaluation.
◦ Means to document a decision regarding level of risk.
◦ Supports facilitation of the delivery of services by
focusing resources, and efforts on moderate and high
risk factors.
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What is different about hearing a forecast of a
thunderstorm; hearing thunder and seeing lightning in
the distance; and standing outside in a thunderstorm?
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What is different about a house with a four-year-old
where matches are kept in a kitchen drawer; a house
with a four-year-old child who has matches in his
dresser drawer; and a house where you see a fouryear-old trying to light a match?
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What is different about a house with a six-year-old
without heat in the summertime; a house with a
thirteen-year-old without heat in the wintertime; and a
house with an infant without heat in the wintertime?
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Risk
Safety
Likelihood of future maltreatment
Current dangerous family conditions
Family functioning
Severe forms of dangerous
conditions and maltreatment
Child well-being
Family conditions that meet the
safety threshold
Unlimited time-frame
Present to immediate – near future
time frame
Judgment about negative effects of Judgment about the certainty of
future maltreatment
severe effects
Onset progressing to seriously
troubled
Family situation and behavior that
are out of control
Family situations that may be
treated
Family situations and behavior must
be controlled/managed
All aspects of the family life relevant A limited number of safety threats
to future maltreatment
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Child Maltreatment
Parenting behavior that is harmful and destructive to a child’s cognitive,
social, emotional and/or physical development; and
Those with parenting responsibilities who are unable and/or unwilling to
behave differently
Risk of Child Maltreatment
The likelihood (chance, potential, or
prospect) for parenting behavior
that is harmful and destructive to a
child’s cognitive, social, emotional,
and/or physical development and
those with parenting responsibility
are unwilling or unable to behave
differently.
Unsafe Child
Children are considered unsafe when
they are vulnerable to safety threats
and caregivers are unable or unwilling
to provide protection.
Safe Child
Children are considered safe when there are no safety threats, or the
caregivers’ are able to provide protection and/or control existing threats.
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Video & Group Exercise
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Introduction
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What Risk Assessment Can and Cannot Do
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The Need for Accurate Assessments of Risk
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Matrix and Continuum

Understanding and Rating the Risk Factors
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Completing and Documenting an Assessment of Risk
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Case Transfer
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Wrap-Up
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Overall severity is determined by reviewing two of the
factors in the Child Factor category. Overall Severity
represents the severity of the current abuse or
neglect.
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Only two factors are considered to determine overall
severity.
◦ Factor 2: "Severity/Frequency/or Recentness of abuse Neglect"
◦ Factor 4: "Extent of Emotional Harm"
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Represents the likelihood of future abuse/neglect,
within the near future.
◦ Based on the interplay of all the factors.
◦ The risk to the child, absent intervention by the agency.
◦ Balance between factors, which increase risk and
diminish risk.
◦ Assess how strengths/protective factors impact risk.
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High Risk: severe abuse/neglect
◦ A significant likelihood that a severe form of
abuse/neglect will occur in the near future.
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Moderate Risk: serious abuse/neglect
◦ A significant likelihood that a serious form of
abuse/neglect will occur in the near future.
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Low Risk: minor abuse/neglect
◦ A significant likelihood that a minor form of abuse/neglect
will occur in the near future.
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Specific evidence supporting all high and moderate
risk conclusions.
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Justifies all "unable to assess" ratings.
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Provides rationale for Overall Severity rating.
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Provides conclusion regarding Overall Risk ratings.
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Transitional Interview
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Safety
Family
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Risk
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To evaluate risk of future harm to a child.

To assess risk to determine if maltreatment is likely to
occur or reoccur in the future.

To apply the identified risk factors to case planning.
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Three ways in which we hope to meet that goal are:
◦ Thoroughly assess risk through a comprehensive
evaluation.
◦ Means to document a decision regarding level of risk.
◦ Supports facilitation of the delivery of services by
focusing resources, and efforts on moderate and high
risk factors.
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Remaining Questions
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The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program
Review of WIIFM
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