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Respect
During safety intervention respect is accorded to all who are involved which includes caregivers, children other family members and those who are part of the family network, community members and those who are part of the professional community. This practice principle is applied through communication and behavior that acknowledges the worth and resource that a person can contribute to the safety intervention process.
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Courtesy in All Interaction
During safety intervention all exchanges with those who are involved in the process occur in an equalitarian and considerate manner. This practice principle is part of valuing what others – in particular caregivers and family members – can contribute to safety intervention and supports their importance.
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Personal Meaning
During safety intervention attempts occur to understand the personal meaning that the safety intervention process stimulates for caregivers and family members. This practice principle acknowledges that individuals experience things in unique and personal ways which are important to understand and respect.
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Interest and Curiosity
Effective safety intervention requires an elevated intention to understand events, circumstances, emotion, social connections, behavior, functioning and perceptions which create pictures of caregivers and families. This practice principle emphasizes the importance of depth and breadth during safety intervention.
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Patience
Safety intervention requires a calm and settled responsiveness that trusts the process and trusts caregivers and family members, in time, to communicate and invest themselves in productive ways.
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Empowerment
During safety intervention practice and decision making includes consideration of caregiver personal power and esteem. In particular this practice principle acknowledges the conundrum CPS intervention creates between taking away parental authority in order to restore parental authority.
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Empathy
Seeking to understand the circumstances associated with safety intervention and the emotion that it stimulates is an over arching, continual issue. This practice principle encourages worker understanding and sensitivity, caregiver involvement and support to safety intervention objectives.
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Competence
Safety intervention requires the application of knowledge and skill in fifteen distinct competency areas. This practice principle reinforces the importance of what is at stake and the value and worth of those who are involved in the process.
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Adherence to Ethical and Professional Standards
Safety intervention incorporates state of the art as well as ministerial standards (i.e., law and policy.) Additionally safety intervention requires the norms and ethics associated with professional behavior (such as the Social Work profession.) This practice principle helps to assure maintenance of appropriate boundaries and expectations with all those participating in the safety intervention process.
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Child Safety as Paramount
The mission of CPS and the objective of safety intervention is to assure children are protected. This practice principle reinforces that no other child, caregiver, family, agency or community need, interest or concern surpasses the priority for effectively assessing and managing child safety.
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Permanency as an Integral Part of Child Safety
Normally permanency is not thought of as a safety concept. This practice principle emphasizes that the essence of permanency is child safety and assures the safety intervention takes into account and seeks to achieve a child’s permanency.
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Rights
During safety intervention total regard and alertness is given to acting and deciding respectfully of the rights of children and caregivers. This practice principle acknowledges and supports full acceptance of the nature and effects of safety intervention as governmental and non voluntary interference in the lives of individuals and families.
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Family System and Family Centered
Safety intervention operates with an appreciation for the sanctity and purpose of the family which includes awareness of the significance that relationship, interdependence and connectedness among family members has in understanding and assessing child safety. This practice principle results in intervention behavior that recognizes strengths; seeks to involve caregivers and family members in meaningful ways; and reinforces the role of caregivers as the executives of the family system.
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Least Intrusive
In safety intervention the idea of least intrusive is profound with respect to the nature and quality of what occurs during intervention and to specific worker communication, behavior and interaction with caregivers and family members. This practice principle acknowledges that safety intervention is a government, non voluntary intervention. This practice principle emphasizes only action and decision making that is necessary to achieve safety intervention objectives.
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Diligence
Safety intervention demands behavior and a mental orientation that proficient and effective performance characterized by thoroughness, timeliness, availability and responsiveness. This practice principle reinforces the importance of what is at stake and the value of understanding events, circumstances and behavior.
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Individualization
Safety intervention focuses assessment and treatment on caregivers. Each caregiver is considered a unique person with unique experience living in a unique context, This practice principle emphasizes the significance that difference plays in each safety intervention.
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Cultural Diversity
Safety intervention is best when it considers caregivers and families within the context of their culture. This practice principle reminds workers that specific behavior, action, choices, emotions, relationships and so forth are best understood within the
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Purposeful Expression
Throughout safety intervention continual attempts are made and opportunities supported for caregivers and family members to personally share and express their thoughts, concerns, feelings, frustrations, fears and hopes. This practice principle is essential to successfully involving caregivers and family members in the safety intervention process.
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Controlled Emotional Involvement
Safety intervention includes a balance between the worker’s personal involvement and his or her objective involvement. This practice principle supports maintenance of professional boundaries in relationships with caregivers and family members while being supportive of demonstrations of genuineness, compassion, caring and self disclosure.
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Self Determination
Self determination is the cornerstone of safety intervention. This practice principle supports caregiver involvement in the safety intervention process by reinforcing empowerment, choice making, motivation and readiness.
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Acceptance
Safety intervention occurs as a non labeling, non fault finding, objective endeavor. Caregivers regardless of the circumstances are viewed as people worthy of the investment of time and effort to change. This practice principle operates within an understanding that while certain behavior cannot be tolerated the person responsible for the behavior can be valued, understood and accepted as someone capable of better.
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Reality Orientation
All activity and decision making happening during safety intervention occurs within a reality oriented perspective. This practice principle supports reality testing with caregivers and routinely describing reality in particular with respect to the reasons for CPS involvement.
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Collaboration
In definitive ways during safety planning and case planning involvement, sharing, forming alliances and reinforcing mutuality are crucial to safety intervention. This practice principle operates as a continual priority.
