Transcript Slide 1

Signs of Safety Implementation
18 months into a 5 year
journey
Natalie Hall, Director Case Practice – DCP
Ready for Reform
• Children & Community Services Act 2004
– Best interest of the child are paramount
– Guiding principles – role of parents, family & community in
promoting child's wellbeing
– Child Participation
– Cooperation & assistance
– Exchange of information
– Initiating inquiries to determine role and actions
– Child abuse & neglect to be addressed through
Voluntary services, child centered family support, care
services, taking court action if child is in need of protection
• Review of the Department for Community Development Ford
Review January 2007 – 70 Recommendations
• Department for Child Protection : Reform Agenda 2007 Signs of
Safety adopted as the consistent, evidence based child protection
practice framework.
.
2008-2009
In Western Australia:
• 3857 children in the care of the CEO for some
period of time compared to 3589 in 2007-08
• 3157 in care at 30 June 2009 6% increase since
30 June 2008.
• 44% of children in care are Aboriginal
(less than 4% of the Western Australian population is Aboriginal)
• 5% of DCP overall customer base from CaLD
backgrounds
Implementation Phases
Phase One – June 2008 – June 2009
• Training of Staff & key stakeholders by
Andrew Turnell
– 2 day Introduction
– 3 days Safety Planning & Working with
Children
– 5 Days Practice Leader Training
• Transition to DCP delivering all core
training
Implementation Phases
Phase One: June 2008 – June 2009
Development of Related Policies & Documents
• Background Paper on the Adoption of Signs of
Safety as the Department for Child Protection’s
Child Protection Practice Framework (2008)
• Case Practice Manual entries for Field Workers
• Duty and Intake prompts within SoS Framework
• SoS Meeting Pamphlet for families & agencies
Implementation Phases
Phase One: June 2008 – June 2009
Development of Practice Leaders
• Senior Practice Development Officers (SPDO) and Team Leaders (TL)
• Recommendation by Andrew for 2 in each district/practice unit
• 90 Practice Leaders trained (3-4 in each work unit)
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‘Map’ cases using the Signs of Safety Assessment and Planning Framework.
Undertake Appreciative Inquiry consultations with practitioners to build a
constructive culture around frontline practice in their office and teams.
Practice Leader Facilitators.
• 5 from Case Practice Directorate, Learning & Development Centre a
Metropolitan and a Country office to work alongside Andrew
• Project Management & creation of ongoing group learning processes for
consolidating and refining the Signs of Safety mapping and AI work as the
central activities to deepen the practice culture of DCP’s practitioners.
Implementation Phases
Phase Two June 2009 – June 2010
Sustaining the Learning Journey
• commitment by everyone, from the Director General to
the front-line practitioner, to maintaining, nourishing and
growing the use of the model through an organisational
learning journey that will need to be at least five years in
duration.
• Development of training workshops in key areas:
Working with Children, Safety Planning
• Practice Leader sessions (monthly) & workshops (4 per
annum)
• Implementation within Specific Projects
Where we are at
• Implementation at different phases across
the organisation
• Consolidating strong practice leadership
• Developing practice depth
• Building on practice experience
• Innovation (training, country, aboriginal
communities) to support implementation
• Engagement with stakeholders in journey.
Specific Projects
• Consistent Duty & Intake processes: SoS
consistent assessment framework
– ASSIST recording system embeds key
framework questions within Intake process
– Duty Prompts based on SoS developed
• Early Interagency Intervention (pre-birth
planning)
• Pre-Hearing Conferences within Children’s
Court processes (cp applications)
Early Interagency Intervention
What’s working well:
• Pre-birth meetings are well accepted by professionals
and are seen as an effective process.
• Participants support the role of “independent” facilitator
• Signs of Safety is well accepted and generally well
understood
• Participants report that the new process is having a
positive influence on outcomes for families, with results
achieved in some cases than may have not been
achieved otherwise.
• Participants report an improved relationship between
KEMH (maternity hospital) and DCP.
Early Interagency Intervention
Feedback from families:
• "Before it was just me and the DCP worker. I felt like I
could not speak-up and they were not listening.
Sometimes I would get angry and then decisions would
just get made. These new meetings are much better.
People were listening to me and I had support too.
These are the best meetings I have ever had with the
Department.“
• “I was scared but I realized at the end there was no
reason”
Early Interagency Intervention
Feedback from Legal representatives
• “Provision of information to the parents
throughout the meeting was fantastic, every
concern, issue, potential risk and view of DCP
was discussed with them. There is no way the
parents could say they didn't know what the
issues were”.
• “Parents were encouraged to think of their own
solutions, the ball was in their court. Parents had
the opportunity to say what they could put in
place”.
Broader Outcomes of Project
DCP:
• Positive engagement of parents has also assisted in
reviewing plans for other children already in care of CEO
• Young pregnant women in care of CEO very well
supported
• Skills Facilitators now utilising skills in other complex
cases, including Pre-Hearing Conferences
• Improved relationships with families
• Improved referral pathways and agency collaboration for
at-risk families
Broader Outcomes of Project
KEMH:
• Less avoidance of attendance for antenatal care-healthier and safer
outcomes for mother and baby
• Women who have participated in the meetings and know ahead of
delivery that their baby will be placed in care are calmer at delivery
and process is smoother and less traumatic
• Have a clearer pathway with legal representation and support of
family or support agencies
• Pregnant women with a history of other children in care actually
initiate contact and request a meeting process-having heard of it
through their networks or through involvement with other agencies
such as FIN WA
• Hospital staff/Midwives are less traumatised-virtually no security
issues
• Social Work morale improved-practice more in line with ethical
principles- due process and natural justice
Challenges ahead
• Developing the foundation skills:
– understanding of child abuse & neglect,
facilitation skills, questioning approach,
appreciative inquiry
• Video recording to share the learning
• Moving towards reliance on safety
networks and safety planning
• Maintaining the momentum
Outcomes
Aiming for :
• Improved Professional Identity and Job
Satisfaction
• Case and System Change Data
– More children safe with family and networks
• Practice-based evidence