| Family Rounds A monthly series for parents and professionals November 21, 2013 ~ 12 noon - 1:30 p.m. "A Practice Update on the Department of Children and Families: Engaging and Supporting Families" Davenport 4 Board Room, Salem Hospital The Department has implemented a new "Integrated Casework Practice Model" or ICPM. The framework is based on a set of core values and priority objectives that include Family Engagement, Improving Safety/Reducing Repeat Maltreatment and Supporting Permanency for children. Changes in our practice involve a Differential Response at the point of intake, which results in significant changes in timeframes, language and timeliness of service provision. A brief overview of these changes will be provided. Another key element of the ICPM is the Signs of Safety framework. Social workers are trained to identify danger and safety concerns as well as protective capacities within the family and community. Safety Mapping is a concrete, visual tool that clearly identifies the impact of a caregiver's actions on a child. Sample Safety Maps will be presented at this training. Perhaps most exciting is the growing engagement of families in the process of developing safety plans, identifying goals and expanding the use of kinship resources to support families during their DCF involvement and beyond. Parents are included in more and more meetings and planning sessions regarding their children. Greater efforts are made to engage fathers at all points during the case. Fatherhood classes and support groups are up and running in the Cape Ann office on a regular basis. Parents and foster parents are being trained in the effects of trauma on children and their parents. Community agencies are working closely with the Department to support this effort. Our Diversity Leadership Team examines how the agency meets the needs of the diverse populations we serve and where we still need improvement. Finally, the Department has implemented a new Permanency Planning Policy which has the clear directive to 1) Safely Stabilize and Preserve Families 2) Safely Reunify Families or 3) Safely Create New Families. This means involving community and kinship supports early on in a case, serving children after they turn 18 years old and determining realistic goals earlier in the life of a family's case. The goal is to improve the well being of children by supporting safety and permanency through an integrated approach. To date, feedback suggests we are achieving this goal. Lectures are free and held the third Thursday of the month. Registration is necessary 978-354-2670 or ithomson@partners.org Stay in touch with us through the NSMC Facebook page and NSMC Twitter feed! | 
No comments:
Post a Comment