Before and after Signs of Safety: CHILD PROTECTION IN THE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY:

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Before and after Signs of SafetyCHILD
PROTECTION IN THE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY

• Presented by Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child
  
• Family Services

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Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child Family Services
SocietyWHATS BEHIND THE PICTURE
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• The Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child Family Services
  Society is committed to working collaboratively
  with Aboriginal families and communities of the
  Ktunaxa Traditional Territory to increase their
  ability to fulfill their responsibilities for
  caring for their children in a culturally
  relevant and holistic manner.

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KTUNAXA MEN 1885 (Standing left) Sebastian
Joe (Mounted L to R) Philip Brown Tail, Alpine
Gus, Joe Nana, Skookum Joe, Kootenay Pete.
(Front row L to R) William Paul, Louise Storkn,
Chief Isadore, Kapilo.
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KTUNAXA WOMEN AND CHILDREN/YOUTH (1910-1915)
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Definitions Indians in Canada

• Aboriginal Peoples of Canada
• First Nations
• Metis
• Inuit
• Aboriginal is the term that covers all Indian
  People of Canada

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Similarities - Canada United States

• Canada Federal Government
• Provincial Government Provinces (BC)
• First Nation, Metis, Inuit - Aboriginal
• Department of Indian Affairs
• Indian Bands Nations
• Reserves Off Reserve
• Residential School Industrial School (1873-1970
  97 years)
• Governed by Family Community Services Act
• Kinship Care

• United States
• Individual States
• Native American Indian
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Indian Tribes
• Indian Reservations
• Boarding Schools
• Indian Child Welfare Act
• Foster Care

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Canada
United States
Ktunaxa Nation
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First Nations

• 1818 An agreement between Canada and the United
  States confirming the 49th parallel
• 1876 Dominion of Canada formed legally defined
  Indians different from other Canadians -
  Indian Act established governing First Nation
  people 135 years later - still in effect
• Impacts of Colonization Oppression,
  assimilation, loss of family units, identity,
  language, culture, traditions - Residential
  Schools, Sixties Scoop (Child Welfare removing
  Aboriginal Children and placing in non-Aboriginal
  homes, Adopting out of Aboriginal children).
  Given this impact a Child Welfare system is
  required for Aboriginal peoples.
• Discrimination by removing First Nation womens
  Indian status for marrying non-Aboriginal man
  1981 Bill C-31

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KTUNAXA FAMILY MEMORIES - 1912
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KTUNAXA WOMEN CHILDREN- 1912 - aqamnik Band
1912 Mrs. Sam (Adelle) Gonzaga Mrs. Basil
(Johanna) Andrew Mrs. Martina Ambrose Mrs.
Pete (Elizabeth) Andrew Mrs. Margaret Skookum
Anna Pauline
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1899 Scrip Commissioner with First Nations and
Metis
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Ktunaxa Beliefs

• Everyone has value
• Everyone has purpose
• Children are a gift from the Creator
• It takes a village to raise a child
• Respect one another
• Never take something without putting something
  back Dignity, kindness, self-respect
• Always give thanks
• Custom Adoption

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In the early 1990s Ktunaxa Grandmothers came
together demanding from the government that the
children stop being taken from the
community...Because of these demands Ktunaxa
nation council and Provincial Government entered
into a Transfer agreement.
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British Columbia GovernmentRisk Assessment

• Individual Oriented
• Points out what is going wrong in the family
• Doesnt look at the strengths of the family or
  what positive things are happening for the family
• Paternalistic
• Assesses Risk (whether or not children are safe)

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Signs of Safetyin connection with Ktunaxa Beliefs

• Inclusive of everyone-family, extended family
• Family and community is part of the solution,
  Values family and community knowledge
• Family and community take ownership of issues and
  the solution-Accountability
• Tool that can be adapted into your own style of
  practice
• Can be adapted to be culturally appropriate
• Looks at both the issues and the strengths, you
  look at the family and the individual as a whole
  and not just pieces.
• When you take something you put something back.

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Direction to Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family
Services Staff early 2000s

• The Leaders and Elders of the Ktunaxa Nation
  directed Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family
  Services staff
• to ensure safety of children in a way that was
  inclusive of family and Community
• To build on family strengths, not break families
  down through identification of risks and deficits

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British Columbia Risk Assessment Model

• This model is quite similar to the New York Risk
  Assessment Model
• This model identified 23 areas of risk
• This model ranked level of risk from 0 no
  risk through 4 high risk for each of the 23
  factors
• Families were often left with little sense of
  hope often being told what is not working
  well with no idea what is working well
• The system did not emphasize exploration of
  exceptions when things worked well, sources of
  support, best hopes, extended family and
  community involvement

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Connection to Signs of Signs of Safety

• In 2003 Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family
  Services Managers of Social Work Programs and
  Prevention/Support programs attended a Signs of
  Safety Workshop with Andrew Turnel in Vancouver
  British Columbia
• The philisophical approach of Signs of Safety
  appeared to fit well with the beliefs of the
  Ktunaxa Nation
• In 2006 Andrew Turnel agreed to work with the
  Ktunaxa Nation

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Culturally Relevant Risk Assessment Model

• From 2005 through to today Ktunaxa Kinbasket
  Child and Family Services has been working toward
  utilizing the Signs of Safety Framework at all
  levels of assessment throughout the agency
• This includes intake and investigation, safety
  (risk) assessment and planning, care planning for
  children, and working with residential caregivers
• Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family Services no
  longer uses the British Columbia Risk Assessment
  Model

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• In a very short period of time (last 3 years)
  Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family Services staff
  have moved to using mappings, 3 houses, safety
  plans and words and pictures on a consistent
  basis in working with families
• Staff compliance to the Signs of Safety approach
  has greatly surpassed compliance to the British
  Columbia Risk Assessment model when this was the
  required assessment process
• Despite the continued growth in number of people
  served by Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family
  Services we have not seen a parallel growth of
  children entering/requiring alternate (foster)
  care

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• POST SIGNS OF SAFETY
• Getting the Team on Board

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SERVICES OFFERED AT KKCFS

• Family Support Services
• - Reconnection
• - Cultural Connections
• - Sacred Family Circle
• - Justice services
• - Family Support , etc.
• - Strengthening Families
• Delegated Family Support (Social Work)
• - Child Protection (Intake/Investigations)
• - Guardianship (Children in Care)
• - Kinship Care (Foster Parents)
• Counselling Services/Addictions
• Prevention Services
• - Early Years
• - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Support

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PEOPLE SERVED BY KKCFS

• Ktunaxa Nation
• Shuswap (Kinbasket) Band
• Métis Community
• Urban Aboriginal Peoples
• On/Off Reserve Cranbrook, Creston, Invermere
• All Aboriginal Peoples regardless whether live if
  live on/off reserve (First Nations, Métis, Inuit)

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Recognizing and Building Strength and Safety
with Aboriginal Families in Crisis
Signs of Safety
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In The Beginning

• Getting the Team on board took some effort
• There was some resistance to change
• There were staff who felt we were imposing a
  practice on them
• Then there was the practice element itself how
  does this really work? And what does it mean for
  our clients?
• These were just a few of the challenges we were
  facing as an agency

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What did we do to overcome?

• First we had to
• Accept the resistance
• Allow transition to happen individually
• Dont let go of the vision.
• Practice Daily
• Make it fun
• Challenge the staff

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• But we also had to commit to the work itself
• We visited with the Carver Agency 3 times for
  training.
• We had Carver staff come work with our staff in
  Cranbrook
• We enlisted the commitment of a Signs of Safety
  consultant in the office to
• Ensure the practice is being utilized by each
  team
• Ensure staff have access to consultation on
  difficult cases, and
• To ensure that the community around us was being
  educated about the work we were doing.
• We talk Signs of Safety and We walk Signs of
  Safety
• In the end the work proved itself and staff came
  to see that the model really works. One by one
  they began to embrace it.

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Whats Working Well Today?

• Family/Client Feedback
• Greater respect from staff
• Families/Clients feel that the mapping approach
  creates a mutually respectful environment
• Our clients feel that they are being heard
• Workers are not imposing plans on clients and
  families but rather are walking the journey with
  them
• Clients are showing more signs of hope
• For decades Child Protection practice has removed
  hope from the lives of the families they work
  with leading to a worsening of their situation in
  many cases. Families have expressed that
  hopelessness saying that they did not think they
  were allowed to be a part of their childs life,
  that they didnt believe they would ever be good
  enough to get their child back. They often gave
  up and did not work to improve their situations
  as a result.
• Today clients are buying into the plans that they
  help create and as a result they are really
  doing the work not just attending programs
  but actually allowing it to change their lives.
• There are signs of less conflict
• Prior to Signs of Safety Social Workers
  experienced a great deal of conflict in their day
  to day work with families. This was evident in
  the number of contested court cases. Today not
  only have our reasons for going to court dropped
  but also it is a very rare occasion when workers
  have to go to battle in court more and more
  families are completely on board with plans even
  when it means their children cant live with
  them.

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Staff Feedback

• Fewer calls getting passed the intake stage
  resulting in lower caseloads.
• Fewer return callers
• Less staff involvement more family involvement
  relationship building
• Less re-occurrence of issues as a result of
• Practicing Social Work from a more respectful,
  strength-based and less enabling perspective.
  Families are empowered to do the real work.
  They also have hope!
• Less Perceived Crisis /less fear
• Both staff and families are more at ease working
  through crisis because there is a greater
  understanding/clarity of what the real danger is.
  
• More feedback from clients on the process
• We have had many clients thank staff for the
  respectful way they worked with their families
• More transparency
• Because there is greater trust between client and
  worker both are better able to be open and honest
  about what is happening.
• Less guilt felt by workers for not doing all the
  work!
• Being a lazy worker really can be empowering
  for the clients while relieving workers of the
  stress of doing it all.
• Greater sense of team

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Continued...

• The shift to using Signs of Safety was subtle
  enough that it did not overwhelm staff
• Staff report that they have the ability to be
  more creative with their work using Signs of
  Safety
• Supervisors Feedback
• Using the Appreciative Inquiry approach in
  Supervision with staff gives the Supervisor a
  greater understanding of the work that staff are
  doing and the areas where skill development may
  be required.
• Worker/Client relationship shows through using
  A.I.
• How much the worker knows about their client
  becomes strongly evident.
• How the worker is feeling about their own work
  becomes visible showing where areas of
  encouragement and skill development are needed.
• It allows staff to acknowledge their good work.
• Appreciative Inquiry sets a positive tone for
  staff throughout the agency.

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• Benefits derived from the Mapping process
• mediating Inter-Agency conflicts
• utilized to address co-worker conflict and to
  seek a Strength Based Solution.
• to assess staff performance  yearly evaluation
  and to address staff conduct
• assists with assessing the Team as individuals
  and as part of an overall view of the Agency.
• Its a useful assessment tool working through the
  Agency Complaints Process
• gaining Employee opinion on Agency growth and
  development
• Using Signs of Safety in community development
  and community planning sessions.
• Overall Signs of Safety gives the Supervisor
  direction and understanding about the cases
  leading to less worry about the safety of
  children.

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Community Feedback

• There is a keen interest within the community to
  know more about what it is that KKCFS is doing.
• Our partners are recognizing both a change in
  the families we work with and, they are
  recognising a change in the way we work for
  instance they rarely see us in court!
• School teachers and professionals involved with
  education plans for children report that using
  the Signs of Safety approach in planning for
  children has lead to
• Improved behaviour in the children involved,
• Greater understanding about the life of the child
  involved,
• Greater relationships between teachers and
  parents,
• Greater relationships amongst the community
  partners.
• KKCFS is receiving requests for future
  workshops/presentations within the community
• Community partners are recognising that this new
  approach to working with families really works!
  And they are interested in how it can relate to
  work in their fields.
• In the end we know that Signs of Safety has
  resulted in increased interest within the
  community, less stress for staff and more hope
  for clients!

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Forms

• Some of the feedback from staff was that our
  forms needed to be more culturally relevant. As
  a result we have adapted some of those forms...

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Family Map

• When workers meet with families/clients they
  will do a mapping using the whiteboard and/or
  Family Map form. We have these forms in
  triplicate copy so that as soon as the meeting is
  over the client can be provided a copy of the
  work we have done whether it is done at home or
  in the office...

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• Once the mapping is complete the process follows
  one of two routes
• If there are child protection concerns then a
  Child
• Safety Plan is developed,
• If there are no child Protection concerns and the
  
• family requires support then a Family Support
  
• Plan is completed.

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The Wizards and Fairies forms were also adapted
to reflect our Aboriginal culture...
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And of course, the Three Houses had to be adapted
as well...
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Our Commitment to Signs of Safety

• We are so dedicated to using Signs of Safety that
  we are currently working to educate our community
  and our community partners by providing them with
  various presentations and workshops. To date we
  have provided the following
• Workshops at various conferences throughout
  British Columbia to provide
• other Aboriginal Agencies and partners an
  understanding of how KKCFS is
• practicing
• Local presentations with Band/Council in each of
  the 5 Ktunaxa/Kinbasket
• communities
• Local in-town presentations/workshops with
  community partners (ie.
• Police, Teachers, health Staff, Lawyers etc.)
• Key S o S worker/consultant available to staff in
  the three offices we
• maintain to provide direction and consultation
  on difficult cases
• Weekly Mappings/Appreciative Inquiry with staff
  as a team for on-going
• learning and skill building.