ASSESSING CHILD SAFETY

Central to our core mission

Competencies• Ability to complete a safety

assessment by identifying specific safety threats and determining safety threshold

• Ability to identify family developmental stages and everyday family management tasks that interrupt family functioning and create safety threats

Child Safety Framework

Informs and guides child safety decisions throughout the life of a case.

Provides precise language and clear definitions.

Strengthens child safety assessmentsand planning.

Guides appropriate placement decisions.

Child Safety Framework

The likelihood (chance, potential, prospect) for parenting behavior

that is harmful and destructive to a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and/or physical development and those with parenting responsibility are unwilling or unable to behave

differently.

Maltreatment

of

Safe Child

Children are considered safe when there are no present danger or

impending danger threats or the caregiver’s protective capacities control all known safety threats.

Definition:

Protective Capacities

Behavioral, cognitive and emotional characteristics that can specifically and directly be associated with a person’s

ability and willingness to care and keep a child safe.

Definition:

Unsafe Child

Children are considered unsafe when they are vulnerable to present or

impending danger and caregivers are unable or unwilling to provide

protection.

Definition:

Present danger is immediate, significant and clearly observable

severe harm or threat of severe harm occurring in the present.

Definition:

Present Danger

Immediate and significantClearly observableOccurring in the presentChild MUST be protected from thepresent dangerChild may or may not need ongoing protection – Assess for Impending Danger

Present Danger

Impending Danger

Parenting behavior that is harmful and destructive to a child’s cognitive, social, emotional or physical development that is likely to occur in the immediate or near future that could result in one or more of the following outcomes:

Serious or severe harm

Injury requiring medical attention

Life endangering illness

Death

Definition:

Threats to a child’s safety are not immediate, and may not be obvious or occurring at onset of CPS intervention

Threats are identified and understood through individual and family relationships and functioning

Without safety intervention one could reasonably judge potential for severe harm

Impending Danger

Safety Threshold

In order to determine if a safety threat exists ALL of these five criteria must be met:

1. Severe consequences to a child2. Immediate or will occur in the near

future3. Vulnerable child in relation to the

safety threat4. Out of control5. Behaviors, conditions, etc., are

specific, observable and clearly understood

Responding to Present Danger vs. Responding to Impending Danger

1. Present danger threats are controlled by immediate protective actions

2. Impending danger threats are controlled by safety plans:

Impending danger threats are identified through a comprehensive safety assessment

Safety plans are developed with families and other child safety supports

“Risk” versus “Safety Threats”Risk is concerned with… Safety is concerned with…

Whether a family is more or less likely to have another incident of abuse or neglect without agency intervention

Current dangerous family conditions and behaviors

The assessment of future maltreatment on a continuum from low to very high

Severe forms of maltreatment only and the certainty of the severe effects on the child

Characteristics of family functioning Family conditions that meet the safety threshold

Current and historical information, patterns, and behaviors

Specific threats to a child’s safety now or in the near-future

Family conditions and behaviors that impair parenting capacity

Family conditions and behaviors that are currently out-of-control

Evaluation of conditions and behaviors that may need services and treatment

Conditions and behaviors that require control and management

A limited number of validated characteristics that are related to the likelihood of future abuse or neglect

A limited number of specific factors threatening child safety

Parent parks her car in front of the pharmacy and leaves her 2-year-old and 6-month-old in the car in their car seats while she gets prescriptions filled for the children. She watches them from the front door of the pharmacy while she waits for her prescription.

Risk or Safety Threat?

Dad is depressed. He is reluctant about taking his medication because it makes him feel “out of it.” He can’t stand his job; doesn’t see how things will be different; has little energy to spend time with the children. Dad is inconsistent in providing some meals but the children are generally fed. Children go to school dirty and tired because the Dad is inconsistent about cleaning their clothes and getting them to bed.

Risk or Safety Threat?

Parent is picked up by police for drunk driving and has children ages 2 and 3 years in the car. There is no other driver available.

Risk or Safety Threat?

A dependent six-year-old was last seen by a teacher four days ago. At the last parent-teacher conference, the foster mother appeared to be intoxicated (slurred speech and smell of alcohol), but was not driving the child. The foster mother also had bruises on both arms in the shape of finger prints. There have been four prior screened in intakes for neglect on this family.

Risk or Safety Threat?

Single mother has two children, ages 2 and 6. The children were placed last year when the older child had bruises around his face, up and down his back, and required surgery to remove his spleen caused by a blow to his abdomen. Children were returned after the mother stopped drinking and was able to show utilization of skills learned in parenting instruction. She stopped using corporal punishment. Mother has relapsed and the older child reports that she yells a lot at both the children and spanks them hard.

Risk or Safety Threat?

A 14-year-old boy in special education classes comes to school with redness and bruising on his jaw and cheek. He tells the teacher that his father hit him last night. He says that his father hits him a lot and has been telling the boy that he likes to fight him. The boy says that usually he doesn’t mind but this time his dad hit him all over his head “really hard” and that he doesn’t want to go home.

Risk or Safety Threat?

Children in Licensed and Unlicensed Care

When children are determined to be unsafe in licensed or unlicensed care, children are removed.

CA is responsible for the safety of children and this responsibility cannot be delegatedto others.

Protective actions, safety planning and continuous safety management are the strategies used by CA to keep children safe.

Responsibility for Safety

Supporting Best PracticeMoving Away from Incident Based Practice

Information Based Safety Assessment

Child Safety Framework

Gathering Information to determine if ImpendingDanger Exists

1. What is the nature and extent of maltreatment?

2. What surrounding circumstances accompany the maltreatment?

3. How does the child/children function on a daily basis?

4. How does the parent/caregiver discipline the child?

5. What are the overall parenting and child care practices?

6. How does the parent/caregiver manage his/her own life on a daily basis?

Child Safety Framework

Weigh all gathered information

Assign significance tothe information

Determine if safety threats exists

Assessing

Let’s look at your cases:1. Developmental stage of the

family2. Gathering questions3. Safety Threats4. Safety Threshold5. Assessing danger