New Courses Coming Soon

Additional trainings in Safety-organized practice are being scheduled for March, April, and May, covering such topics as safety planning, family meeting facilitation (another opportunity for this continually waitlisted class!), and cultural sensitivity. Please subscribe or check this page for further details as they are available.

January 25 Course in Redding CANCELED

Due to low enrollments and logistical issues, the Redding follow up training on January 25 has been canceled. We are coordinating schedules to try to find time to reschedule this training later in the spring.

For those of you who were signed up to attend, you are welcome to attend the January 26 session in Davis if you are able to make it.  That will take place at the Putah Creek Lodge from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Videos are up!

Recorded trainings and interviews with Heather Meitner and Sonja Parker are now available on our videos page (link above), YouTube, and for free, permanent download from iTunes.

Thanks for your patience--future videos should move much more quickly through the process now that we're all set up!

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.