Chapter VIII:Protective Services 1409- DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

X. SAFETY PLANNING

Planning for the children’s safety begins with initial contact with the family, and includes all parents or caretakers. The safety of children is the primary goal of safety planning in CPS. The safety of children is closely linked to the safety of the non-offending parent/adult victim; and therefore its purposes are:

• Achieving immediate and long-term safety for children and the non-offending parent/adult victim.
• Providing safety options for the non-offending parent/adult victim and the children.
• Holding the alleged perpetrator of domestic violence accountable for his or her abusive behavior and responsible for stopping the violence.

In working towards these goals, it is important to explore all possible safety options with the non-offending parent/adult victim without forcing any one option or attempting to develop a safety response without him or her. All possible safety options must be explored prior to moving toward separating the children from the non-offending parent/adult victim.

When domestic violence is present and assessed by the Safety Assessment to constitute a safety issue for the child, a safety response must be developed at the initial contact with the family. If a direct threat is heard by the social worker, he or she should take immediate steps to protect himself or herself, the children and/or non-offending parent/adult victim. This may be accomplished by:

• Contacting law enforcement or a probation officer to initiate an immediate protective response
• Providing the non-offending parent/adult victim with information about local advocacy and support services (which may include a crisis hotline, emergency shelter, counseling services and court advocacy).
• Asking the non-offending parent/adult victim if a safety plan has been developed previously, or if the family has been involved recently with staff at the local domestic violence program (If there has been a connection made with a local program, the non-offending parent/adult victim may wish to continue this relationship.)
• Offering the non-offending parent/adult victim options for protection for the child, including the opportunity to apply for domestic violence protection orders

It is important to remember that the non-offending parent/adult victim of domestic violence is the expert at predicting the domestic violence perpetrator’s reactions. Planning for the child’s safety should include a discussion with the non-offending parent/adult victim about what he or she thinks he or she is capable and willing to do to ensure safety for the children and himself or herself. Strategies the non-offending parent/adult victim may consider using as a safety response include:

• Dialling 911 for immediate law enforcement assistance,
• Finding immediate shelter or safe refuge,
• Removing weapons from the home,
• Utilizing a domestic violence agency’s services.

System of Care principles tells us that child and family involvement during domestic violence cases is key to assuring safety. However, children are not responsible for their own safety, and are not to be made responsible for planning. The act of participating in a discussion concerning their safety may serve to empower children who have been negatively impacted by the domestic violence in their homes. The child’s participation should be consistent with their developmental level, willingness and ability.

Planning a safety response for the children’s safety with the alleged perpetrator of domestic violence should include the specific actions he or she will take to stop the violence and ensure that the children are safe. In order to protect the children and the non-offending parent/adult victim of domestic violence, separate safety assessments and responses should be completed with the non-offending parent/adult victim and the alleged perpetrator. Information from the non-offending parent/adult victim’s safety response should not be revealed to the perpetrator of domestic violence.

The planning for children’s safety is a continuous process based on the circumstances throughout the life of the case. As such, the Structured Decision Making Safety Assessment shall require completion at any point safety issues are revealed.