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

1. Before and after Signs of Safety:CHILD PROTECTION IN THE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY: Presented by: Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child & Family Services

2. Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child & Family Services SocietyWHAT’S BEHIND THE PICTURE

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. KTUNAXA WOMEN AND CHILDREN/YOUTH(1910-1915)

6. Definitions – Indians in Canada Aboriginal Peoples of Canada • First Nations • Metis • Inuit “Aboriginal is the term that covers all Indian People of Canada”

7. 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 Similarities - Canada & United States

8. Canada United States Ktunaxa Nation

9. First Nations • 1818~ An agreement between Canada and the United States confirming the 49th parallel • 1876~ Dominion of Canada formed; legally defined Indian’s 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 women’s Indian status for marrying non-Aboriginal man – 1981 Bill C-31

10. KTUNAXA FAMILY –MEMORIES - 1912

12. 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

14. 1899 Scrip Commissioner with First Nations and Metis

17. 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

18. In the early 1990’s 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.

19. British Columbia GovernmentRisk Assessment • Individual Oriented • Points out what is going wrong in the family • Doesn’t 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)

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. POST SIGNS OF SAFETY: Getting the Team on Board

27. 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 SERVICES OFFERED AT KKCFS

28. 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) PEOPLE SERVED BY KKCFS

29. Signs of Safety: Recognizing and Building Strength and Safety with Aboriginal Families in Crisis

30. 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…

31. What did we do to overcome? First we had to: • Accept the resistance • Allow transition to happen individually • Don’t let go of the vision. • Practice Daily • Make it fun • Challenge the staff

32. 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.

33. What’s 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 child’s life, that they didn’t 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 can’t live with them.

34. 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

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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!

38. 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...

39. 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...

41. 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.

45. The Wizards and Fairies forms were also adapted to reflect our Aboriginal culture...

50. And of course, the Three Houses had to be adapted as well...