Going, going, gone!

The January 19-20 Family Meeting Facilitation course with Heather Meitner is now completely full.  Thank you for your interest! This is the third time we've held this training this year, and we have been packed each and every time.

We hope to schedule this training at least once more before the end of the current training year in July.  Stay tuned for updates and feel free to leave a comment if you are interested in more information or have some feedback regarding this training.

If you are interested in the experiences of those using Signs of Safety in family meetings and interviews, but are unable to take the Family Meeting Facilitation course, please consider attending the Signs of Safety Reunion scheduled for April 17-19 in Davis.  Elements of the approach will be discussed and counties using the practice will have an opportunity to share their experiences.

The "Part II" followup trainings for the October classes are still open for those of you who attended Part I this past October.

Update on the 2-day Family Meeting Facilitation Training for January 2012

The two-day training on Family Meeting Facilitation with Heather Meitner scheduled for January 19 and 20, 2012, is down to just two open seats as of December 13.  We anticipate the class reaching capacity by the end of the week, so if you have been planning to attend and have not contacted the Academy yet to register, please don't delay!

The Academy will take names for a waitlist, but due to the nature of the curriculum for this course, we will not be able to add additional participants unless there are cancellations once the class is full.

The one-day part II followup classes remain open and available for all of those who attended the October trainings.

Videos are on their way!

Additional videos recorded with Heather Meitner, Sonja Parker, Phil Decter, and Raelene Freitag will soon be available through the UC Davis iTunesU library as well as posted on the UC Davis YouTube channel.  Links will be available through the "Videos" tab in the navigation bar at the top of the site.

Thank you for your patience! We know many of you have been waiting to drop in on the recorded trainings from earlier this year.

January 2012 Family Meeting Facilitation with Heather Meitner

Good news, everyone!
For those of you unable to attend Heather Meitner's excellent (and over capacity!) family meeting facilitation trainings in October, please mark your calendars for January 19-20, 2012, for an encore performance here in Davis.  Registration will be available shortly through our website, but please feel free to comment on this post to voice your interest!  Invitations will be extended to waitlisted participants from October before general registration is opened.

For those of you who did attend the family meeting facilitation training in Davis or Redding, there will be a special followup session on the following dates:  January 25 in Redding and January 26 in Davis.  Enrollment in Family Meeting Facilitation: Part Two will be limited to participants who attended the October trainings, although attendees are welcome to switch locations from Redding to Davis or vice versa.

Join us on December 6!

Our next safety-organized practice event will take place on December 6, 2011, at Putah Creek Lodge on the UC Davis campus:

The Art of Asking Questions: the Best of Motivational Interviewing, Signs of Safety, and Solutions-focused Practice.

This one-day workshop provides participants with concrete skills, not only to receive necessary information from clients for case/safety planning, but also to engage and empower the client to direct their own change process while in the child welfare system.  Topics include: questions/skills to utilize when engaging clients in case planning, how to frame questions so that clients are not put on the defense, and how to appropriately honor clients’ success and strengths to promote further success.

Participants should have experience in Signs of Safety, motivational interviewing and/or solution-focused therapy prior to attending this workshop.

To register:

If you are a training coordinator, please enroll via our website.

For other registrations, please contact the Academy at (530) 757-8725 or email us.

Signs of Safety Photos

Thank you to all of those who participated in and/or supported the event.
Click the image above to view photos!

Signs of Safety Convening, November 8

Please note: The location for this event has been moved due to high turnout--it will now be held at Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis campus (for a map, see here).

The goal of this convening is to bring together California counties that are implementing (or considering implementing) a coordinated use of Signs of Safety with other risk and safety tools like CAT and SDM. The convening is a unique opportunity for counties to share their experiences and results over time with each other and to inform child welfare supportive organizations, showing them how public child welfare agencies are expanding their practice to better assess child safety and improved family engagement. 

Objectives 

• Understanding the importance of organizational leadership and readiness for successful implementation 
• Identifying elements of effective implementation strategies and the critical nature of coaching throughout the implementation process 
• Describing the current landscape of safety and risk assessment practice and current findings from California evaluation 
• Exploring the issue of capacity building within CWS agencies and within the state 

Who should attend 

All California counties that are (and are interested in) implementing Signs of Safety, specifically county leadership and staff who plan for capacity, sustainability and spread, Regional Training Academies, coaches and trainers. Foundations and community providers are also invited. 

This convening is sponsored by Casey Family Programs and the Northern California Training Academy.

To register:
If you are a training coordinator, please enroll via our website.
For other registrations, please contact the Academy at (530) 757-8725 or email us.

Our teaching and coaching team!

Left to right: Brad Seiser, Tom Taylor, Chellie Gates, Raelene Freitag, Sonja Parker, Marty Wang, Nancy Goodman, Phil Decter, John Vogel, Karen Lofts-Jarboe.  Not pictured: Geri Wilson, Mike McIver.

Materials on our site

It has been a busy time for us at the Academy.  Over the past two months, we have held several trainings, special events, and county visits with experts and instructors.  After courses end, any materials we can redistribute from our projects will be posted on the pages linked along the top of our blog.  Here's your quick guide to the pages on this blog:

Our videos page contains interviews and recordings of select trainings by Heather Meitner, Sonja Parker, Phil Decter, and others.

On our webinars page, you will find recorded versions of online classes discussing techniques and ways to implement and integrate components of the safety-organized practice model in social work.

Finally, our dedicated resource library is loaded with handouts, presentations, worksheets, and other tools and documents that accompanied trainings and have been made available by instructors for general use.

Check back periodically for updates or subscribe to our blog by email (enter your email address in the box to the right) to be informed of updates automatically.  If you prefer RSS feeds to keep up to date online, or if you are a Google Reader user, our feed is available for you to subscribe at the bottom of this page.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new online resource for implementing and discussing safety-organized practice models and approaches.  The Northern California Training Academy has embraced the Signs of Safety approach as an integral part of the foundation of safety-organized practice and has helped bring Signs of Safety to child welfare practitioners throughout Northern California.

In the weeks and months to come, this site will be home to posts written by people involved in both the development and application of Signs of Safety and other safety-organized practice tools.  The postings here will also be enriched with video and documentary components, as well as updates on trainings and events organized by the Northern California Training Academy at UC Davis Extension and other partner organizations.

Thank you for visiting.

Susan Brooks
Director
Northern California Training Academy