Enhanced Advocacy with Child Welfare Practice Scripts
Leaving messages for child welfare staff:
My name is ______. I am an advocate from ______working with ______. I wanted to call regarding my client’s case. Please call me back at your earliest convenience as I’d like to talk with you about some important information I have regarding the safety and well-being of the children in this case.
Describing your role as a domestic violence advocate and agency services:
Are you familiar with my role as an advocate and what my agency does? I know most people know about our shelter, but many people don’t understand what we do. Our mission is to help adult and child survivors of domestic violence by providing support and advocacy in helping them to navigate the various systems they come in contact with and provide peer counseling, safety-planning, shelter, transitional living, (etc). We take adult and child safety very seriously, and helping survivors to stay safe paramount to us. Our role is somewhat different from therapists and social workers in that our founding philosophy is based on a survivor-defined, empowerment model. We do not take case notes, for example, and we also do not provide assessments or diagnoses. We do, however, spend a lot of time helping survivors to identify and build on their strengths, including promoting safety, stability, positive parenting, nurturance and routines for their children.
Our role is also unique in that we have privileged communication protected by statute, which means we can only release information about a client if she signs our release saying we can. Sometimes there has been confusion about this, and I wanted you to understand that we value our partnerships with child welfare and other agencies and we want to work with you to promote safety for all families, but there are times we may not be able to share specific information.
Discussing barriers of confidentiality:
Because part of my role as an advocate includes privileged communication that is protected by state statute, I can only acknowledge and discuss a client if she signs a release to do so. Right now I cannot confirm or deny that this person is a client. I understand that may feel frustrating to you, and I know you are concerned for the children’s safety. Please know that my agency takes child and adult safety very seriously and if I can help in any way regarding information about domestic violence, non-specific to this particular person, I would be happy to help provide you some strategies for working with domestic violence survivors…
Asking questions of child welfare staff/supervisors:
How can I best help you document Ms. ______’s strengths as they relate to providing safety, nurturance and stability for her children?
Is there information you need about Ms. ______’s efforts at developing safety plans that protect her children?
What are your goals for her receiving services at (Your Agency)? Are you aware of our agency and the services we provide?
Are you aware of the perpetrator’s pattern of coercive control and actions he has taken to harm the children?
Have you met with the perpetrator?
What are your expectations of the perpetrator in this case?
What are your concerns about the safety of the children based on the perpetrator’s behaviors?
What specific impact of Mr. ______’s violence on the children have you identified?
What are your goals for the children being involved in services?
February 15, 2010 | David Mandel & Associates, LLC