Arizona Department of Child Safety: Policy and Procedure Manual |
Chapter 2: Section 7
Safety Planning
Safety Planning
When a child is assessed as unsafe, the DCS Specialist will develop and immediately implement a safety plan to control all identified impending danger safety threats.
A safety plan will not be implemented for children assessed as safe. Refer to Providing Services for Families with Children Assessed as Safe for information on assessment and service planning for families in which the children are determined to be safe.
A safety plan is a written arrangement between the parent, guardian, and/or custodian; the responsible adult(s) who will take action to control danger threats; and the Department. The safety plan establishes how impending danger threats to child safety will be controlled. The safety plan describes safety actions that must be taken in order to control anticipated danger and prevent harm to the child.
Safety plans are not the same as case plans. Safety plans describe actions to control danger threats and may describe supportive resources (such as child care or nurse home visiting services) to support those actions. Case plans describe services and supports to effect long-term behavioral change by enhancing parental protective capacities to eliminate the need for a safety plan.
Safety plans must:
Sufficient, feasible, and sustainable are defined as follows:
The written safety plan must:
A safety plan must be in place until the impending danger threat is no longer active or the parents have been able to enhance protective capacity in order to manage all impending danger threats, and the child has been assessed as safe.
In-home Safety Analysis
The determination that a child is unsafe does not always mean that the child must be removed from the home. In some cases, the danger can be sufficiently controlled, and the child can remain in the home, with help and support from family members, other responsible adults, and other people or resources that support safety actions.
Safety plans can use in-home, out-of-home, or a combination of actions. For a safety plan to effectively use in-home actions, or a combination of in-home and out-of-home actions, the DCS Specialist must know how the impending danger occurs uniquely within the family, and what must be controlled. The DCS Specialist must know the following about each identified impending danger threat that occurs in the home:
The DCS Specialist must complete an analysis of whether an in-home or a combination safety plan can be implemented by determining the answers to the following questions.
If all five criteria are present, an in-home safety plan option will be considered and typically can be used.
If any of the following criteria are not present, an out-of-home safety plan must be implemented, and the Department must take custody of the unsafe child either through a Voluntary Placement Agreement or filing a dependency petition and placing the child in out-of-home care. Follow policy and procedures outlined in Voluntary Placement and Out-of-home Dependency.
An in-home safety plan will be considered and is typically appropriate when all five of the following questions are answered yes (indicating the criteria is present):
Question #1: Is there a combination of safety actions and supportive resources capable of sufficiently controlling the identified danger threats, and are there sufficient resources within the family network or community to control the identified threats?
To answer this question yes, the DCS Specialist must know the duration, consistency, pervasiveness, influence, effect, and continuance of each impending danger threat in the home. In addition, the safety actions must occur at the necessary days, times, and locations, and must be sufficient to control the identified danger threats. Responsible adults must have the knowledge, skill and ability to address the danger threats, and be immediately available whenever the danger threats are or could be present.
Question #2: Are the parents, guardians, or custodians willing for an in-home or combination safety plan to be implemented and have they demonstrated that they will cooperate with the responsible adults, safety actions, and supportive resources identified in the safety plan?
Willing to accept and cooperate means that the parent(s), guardian(s) and/or custodian(s) allow a safety plan to be implemented in the home, to participate according to agreed assignments, and to allow the Department access to the home to actively manage the safety plan. The parents, guardians, and/or custodians do not have to agree that a safety plan is the right thing, nor are they required to like the plan; but they must be willing to accept and cooperate with the plan in order for it to be effective.
Question #3: Is the home environment calm and consistent enough for an in-home safety plan to be implemented and for responsible adults to be in the home safely?
Calm and consistent refers to the environment, routine, how constant it is, and its predictability to be the same from day-to-day. The environment must accommodate plans, schedules, and safety actions and be non-threatening to those participating in the safety plan.
Question #4: Can an in-home safety plan and the use of in-home safety actions sufficiently control impending danger without the results of outside professional evaluations (psychiatric/psychological or medical)?
To answer this question yes, it must be clear how each impending danger threat is occurring in the household. This question is answered no when 1) specific information is needed to understand impending danger threats, caregiver capacity or behavior, or family functioning related to impending danger threats in order to know what is required to control threats, and 2) a clinical or forensic evaluation by a professional is needed to obtain the necessary information. Evaluations that are concerned with treatment or general information gathering (not specific to impending danger threats) can occur in tandem with in-home safety plans.
Question #5: Do the parents, guardians, or custodians have a suitable place to reside where an in-home or combination safety plan can be implemented?
A suitable place to reside means a home/shelter exists and can be expected to be occupied for as long as the safety plan is needed, and the caregivers live there full time. A domestic violence or other shelter, or a friend’s or relative’s home, qualifies as a suitable place to reside if other criteria are met (e.g., expected to be occupied for as long as the safety plan is needed, caregivers live there full time, etc.).
If any of the above five questions are answered “no,” an out-of-home safety plan is established and in most circumstances, conditions for return must be developed and recorded within the safety plan. For circumstances in which conditions for return are not developed, see Conditions for Return.
In investigations with a criminal conduct allegation, where a child has a severe injury that is likely an inflicted injury and the perpetrator of the abuse is unknown, an in-home safety plan cannot be established in a household where an adult resides who has not been ruled out as a perpetrator of the abuse because there is insufficient information about how the impending danger occurs and the circumstances that must be controlled.
An in-home safety plan may not be sufficient and appropriate in a household where any of the following are true:
The parent, guardian, and/or custodian has expressed an unwillingness to care for the child.
The child is profoundly afraid of a caregiver who continues to live in or have access to the home.
An in-home safety plan would violate the child’s victim rights, such as when the non-offending parent does not believe the child’s description of abuse or neglect, placing the child at risk to be coerced.
Medical child abuse is suspected (see Investigating Munchausen by Proxy).
Any of the aggravating circumstances listed below are present (for more information on aggravating circumstances, refer to: Selecting the Permanency Goal).
The child previously was removed, adjudicated dependent due to physical or sexual abuse and, after the adjudication, the child was returned to the parent or guardian and then removed within eighteen months due to additional neglect or abuse.
The parent, guardian, or custodian has expressed no interest in reunification with the child.
The parent or guardian is suffering from a mental illness or mental deficiency of such magnitude that it renders the parent or guardian incapable of benefiting from the reunification services. This finding shall be based on competent evidence from a psychologist or physician that establishes that, even with the provision of reunification services, the parent or guardian is unlikely to be capable of adequately caring for the child within twelve months after the date of the child's removal from the home.
The parent or guardian:
committed an act that constitutes a dangerous crime against children as defined in A.R.S. § 13-705; or
caused a child to suffer serious physical injury or emotional injury; or
the parent or guardian knew or reasonably should have known that another person committed an act that constitutes a dangerous crime against children as defined in A.R.S. § 13-705; or
caused a child to suffer serious physical injury or emotional injury.
The parent's rights to another child have been terminated, the parent has not successfully addressed the issues that led to the termination, and the parent is unable to discharge their parental responsibilities.
The child has been removed from the parent on at least two previous occasions, reunification services were offered or provided to the parent/guardian after removal, and the parent/guardian is unable to discharge parental responsibilities.
The parent or guardian of a child has been convicted of:
a dangerous crime against children as defined in A.R.S. § 13-705; or
murder or manslaughter of a child; or
sexual abuse, sexual assault or molestation of a child; or
sexual conduct with a minor; or
commercial sexual exploitation of a minor; or
sexual exploitation of a minor; or
luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
The parent or guardian of a child has been convicted of aiding or abetting or attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit any of the crimes listed directly above.
A child who is currently under six months of age was exposed to a drug or substance and the exposure was not the result of a medical treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant by a health professional and both of the following are true:
The Department may file an In-Home Intervention or In-Home Dependency Petition for court supervision and oversight (See In-Home Intervention and In-Home Dependency Filing).
The DCS Specialist will schedule and hold a Safety Planning Team Decision Making (TDM) meeting as required per Team Decision Making.
Safety Actions and Supportive Resources in Safety Plans
Safety actions are active and intentional efforts made by responsible adults (family members, informal supports, or other members of the family network) who take responsibility for assuring that a child’s basic needs and need for safety are met.
Supportive resources may also be included in the safety plan to assist responsible adults in the completion of safety actions.
Developing a safety plan that is not full time out-of-home placement requires knowledge about other actions or methods that might immediately control threats of danger. Safety actions and supportive resources can provide practical resources, crisis management, social support and connection, behavior management, and separation of the child and parent. The following safety actions and supportive resources may help substitute for a parent/caregiver’s diminished protective capacities:
Practical Resources
These actions and services provide practical help to the family in order to mitigate threats of danger to the child. Examples include:
A crisis event or situation overwhelms the caregiver’s and family member’s emotions, abilities, and resources so that the caregivers are unable to solve problems and manage their lives. A crisis for families may not necessarily be a traumatic situation or even in actuality, but a perception of those individuals involved.
Crisis management aims to halt a crisis and mobilize problem solving to return a family to a state of calm. Appropriate crisis management handles precipitating events or sudden conditions that immobilize parents’ capacity to protect and care for children. Examples include:
Social Support and Connection
These actions and resources may be useful with young inexperienced parents who are not meeting basic protective responsibilities; anxious or emotionally immobilized parents; parents needing encouragement and support; parents overwhelmed with parenting responsibilities; and developmentally disabled parents. Actions and resources include, for example:
Control or Manage Threatening Behavior
This type of service in a safety plan controls aggressive behavior, passive behavior, or the absence of behavior – any of which can threaten a child’s safety. Actions and supportive resources include, for example:
Separation of Parent and Child
Separation as a safety action may range from one hour, to a few days, to extended out-of-home care. Separation may involve hourly babysitting, temporary out-of-home placement, or both. In addition to child safety, separation may provide respite for parents and children to reduce stress and provide opportunities for social connection. Separation creates alternatives to family routine, scheduling, and daily pressures. Separation also can serve a supervisory or oversight function. Examples include:
If the least intrusive intervention necessary to keep the child safe requires a parent, guardian and/or custodian to leave the home for longer than the duration of the present danger plan, and there are no current court orders that already restrict or deny contact between the parent guardian, and/or custodian who is leaving the home and the child, a dependency petition must be filed with the juvenile court. Refer to In-Home Dependency: Filing and Out-of-home Dependency for procedures related to filing a dependency petition.
Identifying Responsible Adults to Implement Safety Actions
In order to implement a safety plan, a responsible adult must be identified who is able to carry out the required safety actions. The responsible adult(s) may be a parent, guardian, and/or custodian in another household, a family member, or another adult who meets the criteria listed below. The responsible adult(s) must be present and immediately able to take action at any time a threat of danger is present. The DCS Specialist may not be assigned as a “responsible adult.”
Engage the family members and ask for their assistance in identifying appropriate individuals who are relatives or have a significant relationship with the child and can assist to control threats of danger to the child. Obtain information to determine if the prospective responsible adult(s) and members of their household (if applicable) are appropriate for this role. Meet in-person with any identified prospective responsible adult to assess their ability to be responsible for safety actions, to include whether they:
If the safety plan includes a child remaining in the home of his or her parent, guardian, and/or custodian, complete a search for prior AZ DCS involvement and a criminal records check of public records for the responsible adult(s).
Gather information from the prospective responsible adult(s) regarding criminal history, complete a public records check, and contact local law enforcement to complete a records check. If appropriate, request history from out of state child welfare systems (when the responsible adult(s) has resided in another state and there is an indication that there is a history of out of state child welfare involvement).
If the safety plan includes the placement of a child in the home of an unlicensed relative or non-relative, follow the procedures for background checks located in Kinship Care.
Parents as Responsible Adults
If a child has been determined to be unsafe due to impending danger in the household where the alleged abuse or neglect has occurred, and an in-home safety analysis reveals that an in-home safety plan cannot sufficiently manage the safety threats in that home, and the child is placed with a parent, guardian and/or custodian in another household, a safety plan must still be developed and implemented. Placement of a child with a parent, guardian and/or custodian in another household does not, in and of itself, resolve the safety threat in the household of the abuse or neglect.
If the safety plan includes the child residing with a parent, guardian, and/or custodian who resides in a different household from the home of the alleged abuse or neglect, and this household was not comprehensively assessed using the Family Functioning Assessment - Investigation, consider the following:
Responsible adult in a safety plan who is a qualified patient of medical marijuana
If a potential responsible adult identified in the safety plan is also a qualifying patient, designated caregiver, or cultivator of medical marijuana, the following factors should be addressed in evaluating the person’s suitability, reliability, and ability to control threats of danger to the child(ren):
Safety Plan Oversight and Management
The DCS Specialist maintains responsibility for oversight of the sufficiency and implementation of the safety plan, which includes oversight to ensure that all responsible parties are carrying out the actions and duties in the plan. The use of a responsible adult does not relieve the DCS Specialist of responsibility for oversight and management of the safety plan or continued assessment of the child’s safety.
A safety plan must be implemented, active, and continuously managed and monitored by the DCS Specialist. The DCS Specialist must continuously reassess the family conditions and dynamics, and the sufficiency of the plan. This may include interviewing the child(ren), parents/cargivers, and any responsible adults in-person and alone, and asking questions to determine if the actions as outlines in the safety plan continue to control the impending danger threat. The DCS Specialist is responsible for safety plan oversight as long as threats of danger to a child exist and caregiver protective capacities are insufficient to ensure the child is protected in the home.
For the duration of the safety plan, the DCS Specialist must continually review the adequacy of the safety action(s), and modify the written plan when necessary. In addition, the DCS Specialist is responsible for updating the written safety plan whenever the following changes occur:
For effective oversight, the DCS Specialist must have an adequate understanding of the status of the safety threats and the sufficiency, feasibility, and sustainability of the safety action(s) identified; and must anticipate potential crisis situations.
A case cannot be closed when a safety plan is in effect. A case must be opened for services if a child has been assessed as unsafe.
Supervisor Consultation
A Program Supervisor must be involved in developing the safety plan and must approve any safety plan the DCS Specialist initiates with the family. The Program Supervisor should confirm that the actions in the safety plan are the least intrusive actions that are sufficient to control the identified impending danger threat(s). If the plan is an out-of-home safety plan, the Program Supervisor and DCS Specialist will develop the conditions for return prior to discussing them with the family.
The Program Supervisor shall discuss how the DCS Specialist will continue to provide oversight and management of the safety plan and the plan for continued assessment of the child’s safety.
Complete a review of the sufficiency of any active safety plan with the DCS Specialist during clinical supervision.
Document supervisory consultations as described in Providing Strength-Based Supervision.
Documentation
Document the in-home safety analysis and the safety plan for each applicable household, and conditions for return (if applicable) on the Safety Plan and Safety Plan Signature Page, CS0-1034B. Give a copy of both documents to each parent/caregiver, and any responsible adult(s) identified in the plan. File a copy of the safety plan in the case record, or include a scanned copy of the safety plan in CHILDS using case notes, Key Issues type.
If an out-of-home safety plan is created, assess the responsible adult’s home by completing the Family and Home Evaluation found in the Court Document Directory (CT05300).
In CHILDS:
If the child is removed as part of an out-of-home safety plan:
Complete the following windows in CHILDS when a temporary custody notice has been issued:
Follow documentation procedures in Voluntary Placement if a voluntary foster care agreement was implemented.
In-Home Safety Analysis Guide
Revision History: November 30, 2012, May 31,2013, June 9th, 2017, October 25, 2017 , January 31, 2018, August 03, 2018