Transcript Slide 1

204: Assessing Safety in Out-of-Home
Care Overview
Ground Rules
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Be on time
Training schedule: 9 – 4
Document your presence - sign-in sheet
Provide constructive/motivational feedback
Be respectful
Take risks
Practice makes permanent
Ask questions
Focus on learning - no cell phones/text messaging
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Name Tents
County
Unit/
Department
Name
Length of time in
current position
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center
Describe what a safe
home looks like for
a child
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Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment
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An absence of or control of threats of severe harm.
Presence of caregiver Protective Capacities.
A safe home is experienced as a refuge.
Perceived and felt security.
Confidence in consistency.
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Information Explored to Identify
Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment
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How the children are behaving in the home.
How caregivers are performing.
How the family is operating.
The caregiver(s)’ capacity to sustain continued safety.
How community connections sustain continued safety.
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Goal and Purpose of the Training
• To review the Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment
and Management Process.
• To provide updates/changes to the Out-of-Home Care
Safety Assessment and Management Process.
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Learning Objectives:
• Participants will be able to:
– Define “caregiver(s) of origin” and “informal care”.
– Recall what ends must be reached in each step of the
Pennsylvania Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment and
Management Process and how those ends are met.
– Recall how the Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment connect to the information gathering
process and help to inform analysis and decisionmaking regarding safety of children in out-of-home care.
– Describe the updates/changes to Pennsylvania’s Out-ofHome Care Safety Assessment and Management
Process.
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Agenda:
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Welcome and Introductions
What Happens before the Child is Placed?
Present Danger
Intervals and Worksheet Updates
Safety Indicators
Safety Analysis and Decisions
Communicating Safety Concerns
Workshop Closure and Evaluations
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Definitions
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Caregiver of Origin
• The adult(s) who holds the primary responsibility for
the child’s care and safety.
• A person who operates in the capacity of a child’s birth
parents.
• Resides with the child.
• Does NOT include people who care for a child
temporarily.
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Informal Care
• Child is not in the custody of Children and Youth
Agency.
• Child goes to live with an alternate caregiver
temporarily.
• Arrangement made by the parents or agreed upon by
the parents and Children and Youth Agency.
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Informal Care Considerations
• Are there dependency issues that necessitate the filing
of a dependency petition?
• Does the informal living arrangement caregiver(s)
wish to be approved as a resource family?
• Considering the definition of “informal care”, is the
intent that the informal living arrangement becomes a
permanent arrangement? If so, is the caregiver(s) now
considered the “caregiver(s) of origin”?
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Informal Care Considerations, cont’d
• Are there sufficient supports for the informal living
arrangement caregiver to maintain the placement on a
longer basis (e.g. childcare, financial support, etc.)?
• Does the informal living arrangement caregiver(s)
have the legal authority to make medical and
educational decisions regarding the child?
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• OVERVIEW OF THE OUT-OF-HOME CARE SAFETY
ASSESSMENT PROCESS
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GLOBAL LOOK AT…
The Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment Process
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KNOWING THE CHILD TO
BE PLACED
IDENTIFYING THE
PLACEMENT SETTING
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The Six (6) Assessment Domains
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Type of Maltreatment
Nature of Maltreatment
Child Functioning
Adult Functioning
General Parenting
Parenting Discipline
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Action Planning
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
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DEFINING PRESENT
DANGER IN OUT-OF-HOME
CARE
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Present Danger Defined
• An immediate, significant, and clearly observable
family condition (severe harm or threat of severe
harm) occurring to a child/youth in the present tense,
endangering or threatening to endanger a child and
therefore requiring prompt response.
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Safety Responsibility Standard
• In no instance should a child be placed in or remain in
an informal or formal placement setting if Present
Danger is apparent and cannot be immediately
addressed.
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PRESENT DANGER:
DEFINITIONS AND
EXAMPLES
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DOCUMENTING PRESENT
DANGER
Out-of-Home Care
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Documenting Present Danger Assessments
• Key transition points for children in out-of-home care:
– At the time of the initial placement and
– At the time of any subsequent placement changes.
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County Policies Surrounding Present Danger
Assessments
• State provided Present Danger Assessment Worksheet
(or comparable tool) OR structured case note
• The county worker, a qualified worker, or the private
provider worker is required to conduct and document
a Present Danger Assessment at the key points.
• Counties should establish policy surrounding
completion of the Present Danger Assessments.
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Action Planning:
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
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INTERVAL UPDATES
Out-of-Home Care
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Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment
Intervals
• The Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment Worksheet
must be completed at the following intervals:
– Within 60 days, or 2 months, from the date of placement
in the current setting.
– Within 180 days, or 6 months, from the previously
completed worksheet.
– Within 72 hours upon the identification of evidence,
circumstances, or information that suggests a negative
change in the safety indicators yet the child remains in
the home.
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Old Interval #3:
• Within 72 hours upon the identification of evidence,
circumstance, or new information that suggests a
change in the child’s safety. This includes:
– New adult household members who are in the home
longer than 30 days within the calendar year. Note:
young adults who are already family members but are
returning home from college would not be included in
this interval.
– Whenever there is a significant loss/change in the
household that may impact child safety e.g. separation,
divorce, serious illness, death, etc.
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Old Interval #3, cont’d
– Information is received from another county that may
impact a child’s safety.
– In conjunction with a Regional Office investigation:
• If the child remains in the home throughout the time of
the investigation.
• If the child is returned to the home following an
investigation.
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OUT-OF-HOME CARE
SAFETY ASSESSMENT
WORKSHEET
Out-of-Home Care
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Out-of-Home Care Safety Assessment
Worksheet – Updates
• Section I. Identifying Information, “Date
Completed” was added.
• Section V. Safety Analysis, item number five was
removed
• Under Section VI. Safety Decision
– Unsafe
• Second bullet was changed
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Action Planning:
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
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INDICATORS OF SAFETY IN
OUT-OF-HOME CARE
Out-of-Home Care
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Safety Indicators
Positive
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Concerning
Negative
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Positive Characteristics
• Describe for us those
traits that we attribute
to caregivers who are
effective, caring, and
protective caregivers.
• Similar to the
Protective Capacities
but within the context
of out-of-home care.
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Characteristics of Concern
• Family conditions or
circumstances that tell
us that functioning is
– compromised,
– marginal, or
– deteriorating from a
previously higher
level.
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Negative Characteristics
• Those traits, attributes,
or conditions that
indicate that a
placement setting may
be unsafe.
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EXPLORING THE SAFETY
INDICATORS AND
CHARACTERISTICS
Out-of-Home Care
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Small Group Activity
• For each of the two (2) assigned Safety Indicators,
answer the following:
• Describe what is being assessed in the Safety Indicator.
• Identify which of the Six Assessment Domains helps to
inform the Safety Indicator?
• What information gathered in those domains helps to
inform the Safety Indicator?
• What general themes run throughout the Safety
Indicator?
Record answers on a flip chart.
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Rating the Indicators
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Action Planning:
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
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SAFETY ANALYSIS
Out-of-Home Care
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Safety Analysis Questions
1. Have any changes (positive or negative) occurred
within the out-of-home family since your last
assessment? Describe the changes and explain what
prompted the change. Include in the explanation whether
or not the change in the family resulted in a change in
response to the 10 Safety Indicators.
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Safety Analysis Questions, cont’d
2. Considering all of the 10 Safety Indicators, are there
sufficient positive Safety Indicators present and in
operation that give you confidence that the child will
remain safe in the setting? Provide your rationale for this
judgment.
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Safety Analysis Questions, cont’d
3. Describe in behavioral terms, any Negative
Characteristic and/or Safety Indicators that are present.
Include intensity, frequency, and duration of the
Characteristic and/or Safety Indicator and the impact on
this child. If there are negative Safety Indicators and the
decision is to leave the child in this home, describe the
rationale and justification for this decision. Supervisory
signature below indicates agreement with this rationale.
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Safety Analysis Questions, cont’d
4. A) Consider and describe any Safety Indicators that are
rated as “concerning”.
B) Are there supports (e.g. respite care, child care,
training on the child’s specific needs, etc.) that will
enhance the resource family’s ability to provide a safe
environment for the child? Provide your rationale for this
judgment. For supports already in place, describe the
effectiveness/impact/continued need for that support.
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The Safety Decision
• Safe
• Unsafe
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Safe:
– Sufficient Safety Indicators exist that cause the
undersigned persons to confirm that the setting
remains safe for this child.
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Unsafe
• Sufficient Safety Indicators exist that cause the
undersigned persons to conclude that the setting does
not remain safe for this child. Child must be removed
from the setting. When this decision is made, the
following additional steps must occur within the
designated timeframe:
– Review the child’s current Safety Plan to determine
modifications needed and document any and all
necessary changes.
– If children from another county are placed in the home,
concerns, as they relate to those children, should be
communicated to the appropriate entities according to
your County Children and Youth Agency’s policy.
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STRUCTURED CASE NOTE
Out-of-Home Care
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Structured Case Note Details
• Information gathered related to the Six Domains and
any or all of the 10 Safety Indicators.
• The Safety Decision and analysis for that decision.
• Supports put into place to address concerns (not a
safety plan).
• If the decision was made that the child is unsafe but
the child is court ordered to remain in the placement,
documentation should be included to reflect how child
safety will be assured. This would be considered a
Safety Plan.
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Structured Case Note Details, cont’d
• Judgments about changes within the family that reflect
on safety.
• The status of child safety.
• Changes to the out of home caregiver’s ability to
provide a safe home for the placed child.
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Action Planning
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center
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COMMUNICATING SAFETY
CONCERNS
Out-of-Home Care
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Concerns About Other Children in the Home
• Information gathering - not only your identified child
but other children in the home.
• Does not mean a formal assessment on the other
children.
• May result in the identification of concerns for the
other children.
• Communication of these concerns is necessary –
among county workers; to another county; to a private
provider; and/or to the Regional Office.
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THE ALERT PROCESS
Out-of-Home Care
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Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment
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An absence of or control of threats of severe harm.
Presence of caregiver Protective Capacities.
A safe home is experienced as a refuge.
Perceived and felt security.
Confidence in consistency.
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center
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Considerations for County Alert Process
Policy:
• The agency policy should include:
– Who will be notified?
– Who will be responsible for notification? What
information will be communicated?
– How will notification take place ?
– How and where will the notification be documented?
– Where will records of notification be maintained?
– What timeframes will be associated with notification?
– How will the type of concern present influence above
considerations?
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Action Planning
• Take a moment to identify:
– Something new I learned…
– Something I need to know more about…
– Something I will apply to my job…
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Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment
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An absence of or control of threats of severe harm.
Presence of caregiver Protective Capacities.
A safe home is experienced as a refuge.
Perceived and felt security.
Confidence in consistency.
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Information Explored to Identify
Characteristics of Safety and a Safe
Environment
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How the children are behaving in the home.
How caregivers are performing.
How the family is operating.
The caregiver’s capacity to sustain continued safety.
How community connections sustain continued safety.
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REVIEW OF ACTION PLAN
Outstanding Questions…
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WRAP UP AND
EVALUATIONS
Out-of-Home Care
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