SOP Interviewing Children

This skills-based class will provide an opportunity to practice bringing the voice of children and young people into safety and permanency assessments and case planning utilizing a variety of tools and strategies for interviewing children in a trauma-informed way. Considerations and approaches for sharing the information gathered from children with parents and other network members, as well as Child and Family Teams, will be explored as a group.

After attending this training, participants will be able to:

• Describe stages of an interview with a child and strategies for engagement of children.
• Explain how to share the information gathered in The Houses with a parent and/or a Child and Family Team.
• Given a case example or scenario, demonstrate how to complete the Three Houses or Safety House tool with a child.
• Model partnering with children to engage in safety planning or permanency planning, using the Three Houses or Safety House with a child/youth.
• Articulate the value of being trauma informed when interviewing children. 
• Value using the child’s perspective (including their words and cultural lenses) to create a shared meaning of complicated terms such as harm, danger, safety, permanency, and well-being.