Assessing Child Safety in the Context of Domestic Violence

Assessing Child Safety in the Context of Domestic Violence

Participant Handouts

Learning Objectives

As a result of participating in this workshop participants will:

Know the child safety threats most likely to be present when domestic violence endangers child safety.

Know CA policy regarding screening for DV and managing cases where DV is identified, including what information workers must attempt to collect to properly assess child safety in families impacted by DV.

Improve skills at assessing child safety in cases where domestic violence is occurring.

Safety Threshold

SafetyThreshold:

Athreatofdangerisaspecificfamilysituationorbehavior, emotion, motive, perception

orcapacityofafamily memberthatthreatenschildsafety.Thedanger thresholdisthe pointatwhichfamilyfunctioningandassociatedcaregiverperformance becomes perilousenoughtobeperceivedasathreatorproduceathreattochildsafety.The Safetythresholddeterminesimpendingdanger.

Inorderto determineif asafety threat existsALLofthe5 criteriamustbe met:

1. Severe consequencesto achild.

2. Immediateorwill occur inthenearfuture.

3. Vulnerablechild inrelationto thesafety threat.

4. Out-of-Control–Noresponsibleparentor adultin thehomethat canpreventthe threat.

5. Behaviors,conditions,etc.,arespecific,observable and clearlyunderstood.

DeterminingtheSafetyThreshold

Safetythreatsareessentiallyriskinfluencesthatareactiveataheightendegreeand

greaterlevelofintensity.Safetythreatsareriskinfluencesthathavecrossed athreshold intermsofcontrollability thathasimplicationsfordangerousness.Therefore, thesafety thresholdincludes onlythosefamilyconditionsthatarejudgedtobeoutofacaregiver’s control.

Asfarasdangerisconcerned,thesafetythresholdis consistentwithsevereharm. Severeharmincludessucheffectsasseriousphysicalinjury, disability,terrorand extremefear, impairmentanddeath. Thesafetythresholdisin linewithfamily conditionsthatreasonablycouldresultinharsh andunacceptable painandsufferingfor avulnerablechild.

SufficientFamilyInformationtodeterminetheSafetyThreshold

Threatsofdangeroccurringinfrontofthesocialworkerdemonstratetheneedfor

protectionandurgentresponse.Somecasesaresoobviously dangerousthatitreally doesn’trequiremuchanalysisorthe applicationofsome criteria toknowthatachildis notsafe.Thesepresentsafetythreatsarethebasisforanemergencyremoval decision. Because littleisknown, often the only protection action the agency can make is removingthe child.

Presentdangerisdefinedasimmediate,significant,andclearlyobservable severeharm orthreatofsevereharm occurringinthepresentrequiringimmediateprotective response.Presentdangermaybeabasistodeterminethat"Imminent Harm" under RCW13.34.050(1)existsandthereforemaybeabasistoseekimmediateremovalif otherless intrusiveoptionsforimmediateprotectiveactionswill notassurechildsafety.

Oncepresentdanger isassessed andaction taken (ifthereisan existingsafety threat) informationcollectionmustcontinue.Somecasesarefarmoredifficultto assessa child’ssafety.Oftenthesecasesaremadeharderbythefactthatinformation isless adequatethanyou’dlikeinordertojudge.Whenapplyingthesafetythresholdthereis nosubstituteforsufficientinformation.Themoreyouhavethebetteroffyouareand themore confidenceyouwillhavethatyourjudgmentiscorrect. Getasmuch informationasyou canobtainand understandabout thesesixquestions.

Evaluatethechild’ssafetyintheirownhomeevenifthechildistemporarily placed. Considertheparents,family, whointeractsorrespondstothechildasaparent.So considerbiologicalparents,thesleep-overboyfriend,andlive-ingrandmother.Would thesethreatsexistiftemporarily absentboyfriendreturnshome?Youmayneedto considermore thanonehouseholdifthechildspendstimeinthehomeoftheother parent.

ApplyingtheSafetyThreshold

A familycondition, behavior orsituationis only a threat to safety if it meets the following safety threshold criteria.

1. Severeconsequencesto achild:Thisis consistentwithharmthatcanresult in significantpain,serious injury,disablement,graveordebilitatingphysical healthor physical conditions,acuteorgrievoussuffering,terror,impairment,death.Severity is consistentwith anticipatedharmthatcanresult inpain;seriousinjury; disablement;grave/debilitatingphysical healthconditions;acute/grievoussuffering; terror;impairment;death.

2. Immediateorwilloccurinthenearfuture:Abeliefthatthreatsto child safety arelikelytobecome activewithoutdelay;a certainty about anoccurrence withinthe immediateto nearfuturethatcould havesevereeffects.Imminencerefers to abeliefthatthreatsto childsafety couldbecomeactiveat any time;a certainty about occurrencewithinthe immediateto nearfuture.

3. Vulnerablechildinrelationto thesafetythreat:Achildwho is dependent onothersto ensuretheirprotection,basicneeds andsafety. Withoutthisprotection the child’sphysicaland emotionalhealth issusceptibleto seriousharm. Vulnerable

isjudgedaccording to the child’sphysicaland emotional developmentalability,their mobility,size and dependence.Vulnerabilityisnotjudgedbyage.

4. Outof-Control–No responsibleparentoradult inthehomethatcan preventthethreat:Refersto familyconditionsthatcan directlyaffect achildand areunrestrained;unmanaged;without limitsormonitoring;notsubject to influence, manipulation or internalpower; areoutof thefamily’s control.Primarycaregivers maybepresent in thehomebutincapacitated,so thatnoable,responsibleadult is present to provideprotectionforachildlivinginthehome. Incapacitationmaybe pervasive,periodicorsituationallyinduced.Incapacitationmaybe emotionallyor physicallyrelated.Incapacitationmaybeassociatedwithuseofsubstances.

Thisincludessituationsinwhichbasiccare andsupervision arenotoccurring becauseof theabsenceofprimarycaregivers.Primarycaregivers’ whereaboutsmay beunknown;primarycaregivers’ absencefrom the homemaybefrequent, unpredictable,sporadic,randomor even predictable.

Dangerexistsforchildrenwhen somethingin thefamilyand home isoutofcontrol. Thatmeansthat whatishappeningisnotbeingcontrolledby anythingoranybody within thefamilynetwork. This isthekeycharacteristicabout“control” that supports childwelfareprofessional’s judgmentswithrespect to families(unsafe children)who requirechildwelfareinterventionandthose(safechildren)who do not.

Childwelfareagenciesservefamilieswho are notableto managedanger. Threatsto a child’ssafetyoccur in familieseveryday,yetCPSreports do notoccur andCPS doesnotintervene.Thereasonissimple.Familiesmanagethedanger;they control thethreatsto a child’ssafetyand assurethe child is safe.Anotherwayofconsidering this isto recognizethatsafety doesn’t exist solely becausethereareno threatsor danger presentinthechild’slifespace.Safety exists becauseresponsible adults controlthreatsordangerwhentheybecome apparent.Theseresponsibleadultsact inthesamewaythatCPSdoes.Theysubstituteforthenon-protectiveparent;they controlthe impendingdanger.

5. Behaviors,conditions,etc.,arespecific,observableandclearly understood:Dangerisreal; canbeseen; canbereported;is evidencedinexplicit, unambiguousways.Specificmeansafamilyconditionthatexistsas aimpending danger isobservableandcanbespecificallydescribedorexplained;the danger is real;canbeseen; canbereported; isevidencedinexplicit,unambiguousways.

Closing

Sufficientinformationiscrucialtojudgingwhetherafamilyconditionorbehavioris actuallyathreattoachild.Threats tochildsafetymaybepresentinfamilies whereno childmaltreatmenthasoccurredor is occurring.Maltreatmentcanbemild,moderate or severe.Threatstochild safetyarealwayssevereinnature.Also, it shouldbeevident that whilesomefamilycircumstances arequitesadandconcerningandmayinfactbeCPS related,notall meet thesafety

Safety Plan Analysis Guide

This Guide has been developed to assist in the analysis of information gathered about a family for the completion of a Safety Assessment. Analysis of information includes considering how the safety threats operate in the family. This Guide includes questions that provoke thought and bring forward information about how the safety threats operate in the family. Understanding how safety threats operate in a family’s life is critical. Threats operate differently family to family and the analysis of the information gathered through the safety assessment should result in a clear determination of what type of plan will work best to keep the child safe.

Once a child is identified as unsafe with the identification of safety threats, a Safety Plan Analysis must be completed to determine whether a Safety Planwill control all of the identified safety threats. The analysis consists offollowing four criteria:

There is a parent/caregiver or adult in the home.

The home is calm enough to allow safety providers to function in the home.

The adults in the home agree to cooperate with and allow a Safety Plan.

Sufficient, appropriate, reliable resources are available and willing to provide safety services and tasks.

Important:All four criteria must be answered with a yes or no. If “No” is selected on any of the four questions, the child cannot safely be kept in the home.

There is a parent/caregiver or adult in the home.

Analysis

A home exists and can be expected to be occupied for as long as the safety plan is needed.
Parent, caregiver/adult lives in the home full time.

The home is calm enough to allow safety providers to function in the home.

Analysis

How long have conditions in the family posed a threat?
How frequent or often does the family condition pose a safety threat?
How predictable is the safety threat?
Are there occasions when the safety threat is more likely to be an active influence in the home?
Are there specific times during the day, evening, night, etc that might require increased attention due to the way that the safety threat is manifested?

The adults in the home agree to cooperate with and allow a Safety Plan.

Analysis

“Agree to cooperate” refers to the most basic level of agreement to allow a safety plan to be implemented in the home and to participate according to agreed assignments. Anger, irritation, frustration or impatience should not be confused with an unwillingness to cooperate.

What is the adult’s response to the identification of the safety threat?
Do the adults place blame for the incident on the child? Does the parent/caregiver scapegoat the child?
Do the adults demonstrate the capacity to understand the plan? Do they understand what is being asked of them?
Do the adults demonstrate the ability to follow the plan?
If more than one adult lives in the home, is there dissension about cooperating with a safety plan?
If other safety plan participants are included in the plan, do the adults agree to cooperate with them?
Do the adults appear to be “promising” to cooperate without any evident curiosity or questions about the plan?
Does the information gathered for the safety assessment provide any indication that the adults are participating in activities that require cooperation?

Sufficient, appropriate, reliable resources are available and willing to provide safety services and tasks.

Analysis

This criteria acknowledges certain realities about the limited resources in some communities. If a community is deficient in resources, a safety plan is unrealistic. If the answer is “No” to this question it must clear that safety threats cannot be managed.

What resources are necessary to control and manage specific safety threats?

How can in-home resource, supports, actions control the safety threats? How will the resource, support action work in the home?
What amount of effort is needed from safety plan participants to adequately control and manage threats?
How often during the week will the family need assistance and supervision in order to maintain safety? How many hours a day, a night? Are there certain times of day or night that additional support is needed? What is the frequency of needed support and assistance?
Who is going to assist with monitoring of the safety plan?
Are they suitable and reliable?
Do they have the child’s safety as their priority?
Will they contact the department or law enforcement if the child is in danger?
Are they trustworthy, committed, aligned with CA, supportive, flexible, available?
Can resources, supports, activities and tasks be implemented immediately and how long can they be maintained?

Assessing Child Safety in the Context of Domestic Violence