This presentation focuses on how child protection workers in the Child Centred Family Support team work to try and build relationships with clients who are often angry, aggressive, frightened or avoidant, withdrawn and mistrustful.
The challenges of engagement and relationship
building are often underestimated and this presentation seeks to unpack the difficulties and complexities.
The Child Centred Family Support Team in Armadale seeks to work with high risk families in an attempt to stop children coming into care after harm has been substantiated, or where harm has been unsubstantiated but serious concerns remain. The team works medium to long term with families and constructive relationships are the heart of our work.
Engagement and relationship building with parents and family members is a process not an event, and is often a bumpy ride for the worker. Signs of Safety is a relationship based approach to safety organised practice, but before clients can even hear about Signs of Safety, workers need to get a “foot in the door”.
Child Centred Family Support workers describe the range of strategies and skills they call on to try and gain “buy in” with families who are often resistant and avoidant for a range of complex reasons.
Workers use Signs of Safety creatively and with emotional intelligence in contexts that are often unpredictable and dangerous. (Armadale District)
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