Child and Family Welfare Services (CFWS) In-Service: Assessing Safety

K1. Explain the difference between safety and risk and how each assessment contributes to the case plan.

K2. Explain the nine key decision points when a safety assessment must be completed.

K3. Describe how to document: a. A household based safety assessment using the five threshold criteria b. A safety plan analysis to determine if an in-home safety plan is appropriate or what needs to change to make a safety plan an option. c. A safety plan that includes appropriate safety tasks, suitable and reliable safety plan participants, and the purpose and requirement for signatures. d. Conditions for safe return home.

K4. Identify why Health and Safety Visits are an important part of ongoing safety assessment, including: a. Key requirements for assessing safety during the visit. b. Key requirements for documenting how safety was assessed in the visit.

K5. Explain how to prepare for and utilize Safe Child Consults, and when to request them.

S1. Analyze available information to fully reassess for safety at key decision points. a. Include information from Health and Safety Visits, monthly contact, family time and collaterals. b. Identify the relevant safety threats and apply the threshold questions to each parent’s household and each child. c. Determine and document whether previous threats remain active or have re-emerged. d. Based on the assessment of safety, document a clear and concise statement regarding conditions necessary to support safe return home.

S2. Develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-specific safety plans that are created with the family. a. Utilize the safety plan analysis to determine whether a safety plan can be supported, or what needs to change to support a plan. b. Identify relevant tasks and activities for a safety plan and how those differ from case plan activities. c. Override the safety plan analysis and identify appropriate tasks and participants when the court orders in-home placement, or family time with less supervision.

S3. Apply the safety framework to family time plans, and incorporate family time data into ongoing assessment of safety. a. Use the threshold criteria to determine if threats are active for unsupervised or overnight visitation. b. Reassess safety based on how family time is going, including liberalizing visitation to offer the parent opportunities to practice safe parenting, and to provide information for the worker to assess for safe return home.