Child welfare's primary mission is to ensure that children are safe, and that
their family and systems of care provide a safe environment free from abuse
and neglect. Safety-organized practice puts this primary mission at the
forefront of every decision and intervention made with a family.
their family and systems of care provide a safe environment free from abuse
and neglect. Safety-organized practice puts this primary mission at the
forefront of every decision and intervention made with a family.
Safety-organized practices are both practice strategies and concrete tools
for "on-the-ground" child welfare workers, supervisors and managers to
enhance family participation and foster equitable decision making. The main objectives consist of:
for "on-the-ground" child welfare workers, supervisors and managers to
enhance family participation and foster equitable decision making. The main objectives consist of:
- Strategies for the creation of effective working relationships and a shared focus to guide casework among all stakeholders (child, family, worker, supervisor, extended community, etc.). These strategies include facilitated family meeting, the development of family safety networks, group supervision and family finding.
- Enhancing critical inquiry and minimizing the potential for bias by workers through a rigorous "mapping" of the safety, danger and risk undertaken collaboratively by all stakeholders.
- The development of a joint understanding by workers, families and extended community as to what the attendant dangers, risks, protective capacities and family strengths are, and what clear, meaningful, behavioral changes and goals are needed to create safety.
- Application of research based tools to enhance consistency, validity, and equity in the key case decisions that child welfare practitioners have to make every day.
What is Safety-Organized Practice?
Safety-organized practices are child welfare approaches focused on the safety of the child within the family system. The SOP methodology is informed by a variety of best- and evidence-informed practices, including group supervision, Signs of Safety, Motivational Interviewing, and solution-focused treatment. Safety-organized practice brings a common language and framework for enhanced critical thinking and judgment on the part of all involved with a family in the pursuit of a balanced, complete picture of child welfare issues.
