Prerequisite: Completion of the SOP Foundational training is required.
Emergency Response social workers have a significant ability, and responsibility, to consciously minimize trauma to children and families wherever possible during the child welfare services investigation process. “Best Practices for ER: A Safety Organized Practice Perspective” offers participants advanced and hands-on training in the use of best practices designed to enhance family engagement and balanced assessments during investigation, assessment and front-end intervention services. Improve outcomes and long-term safety for children by utilizing SOP best practices with families. After attending this class, participants will be able to:
After attending this training, participants will be able to:
- Deepen their knowledge of and familiarity with SOP key practices and concepts.
- Explore what they bring to initial conversations/home visits with families during an emergency response investigation, both in terms of initial approach and potential bias (i.e., how we knock on the door, body language, introductions), and examine those choices through an engagement lens.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to utilize harm and danger statements/safety goals to ensure rigorous and balanced assessments.
- Describe the key difference between a safety goal and a safety plan.
- Consider Solution Focused Questions to ask youth and families to help with comprehensive assessments, engagement and expansion of the safety network.
- Demonstrate an ability to engage in culturally humble and trauma-informed teaming activities with the family and their support network to conduct balanced assessments and effective case/safety plans.
- Understand and value the family as the best source of information about their lives and culture.
Additionally, participants will be able to understand that a Child Welfare investigation is a likely source of trauma for a family and value a trauma-informed, culturally humble approach to their work with families during the investigation phase.