Banned from the office. Police on call. Case managers threatened. All parental discussion to occur through the Team Leader. Contact between parents and children ceased for the past four months. Five case managers in the past two years … and now along comes number six, and first day on the case the eldest child absconds and cannot be found. A common scenario for many in this line of work, but where do you start when the situation looks hopeless, too difficult and unmanageable? You get creative, you dig a bit deeper, you find a way to connect in any way you can. Our presentation will look at the way a team worked to establish more than just “engagement” or a “working relationship” – we established a partnership with parents. The parents felt like part of the care team for their children, actively utilised the Signs of Safety approach and were involved in the making of serious decisions about their children that resulted in reunification in May 2014; 10 months after the situation was deemed “hopeless”. (Murchison District)