Child Safety
Child Safety
Child Safety Team
Our Wise Practice is:
‘s-hun’ts’a’wuqw - ‘families and people coming together as one for a purpose’
The Child Safety Team practices under child protection delegation to support the continued progress of assessing and ensuring “safe ways of caring” for Cowichan children and families. Child Safety practice acknowledges the requirement for understanding and respect for the family’s stories and experiences. The team recognizes that children are viewed as belonging to the community and not just to their parents. As such, our practice is inclusive of the people identified as having a role to play in the upbringing of the child. The team is responsible for child welfare practice encompasses the activities in child protection policy including: Assessment, Ongoing Protection Services, Intervention and Reunification Assessments.
The Team includes:
Child Safety Manager - responsible for the overall functioning of the team, adherence to the policies and legislation currently governing the delegated work of the team, meeting audit standards for service delivery, ensuring the Rights of Cowichan Citizen’s is upheld, reporting on activities, service delivery and statistical data, consults regularly with the Quality Assurance Manager on practice, reports to the Executive Director and maintains the daily operations of the child safety services for the Agency.
Intake Social Worker(s) (Child Safety) - responsible for implementing the intake and investigation role of the child safety team through the receipt of child safety reports of children at risk of harm, assessment, response and safety planning. This role utilizes Chapter 3 policies and culturally respectful practices to address child safety matters at the incident level. Intake workers partner with Family Development Social Workers when a prevention lens is appropriate for intensive, short term services (up to 6 months).
Family Services Social Worker(s) (Child Safety) - responsible for the ongoing protective services for children, youth, and families, when protection concerns cannot be addressed in the incident stage of involvement. This role carries caseloads of family service and child service files. Provides ongoing family planning services to address protection concerns where children cannot remain in the parent’s care and the focus is reunification under CFCSA timelines. Acts as the guardian to children in care and navigates the court process when court is required for family intervention to ensure safety.
Traditional Kinship Options Social Worker (Child Safety) – manages all ‘out of care’ options cases inclusive of family services, custody- to-other child service cases and all agreements where children are in kinship care. This role also supports all permanent transfer of custody families in order to ensure that the families have an available, specific contact within the Agency to ensure ongoing support. This role is responsible for the assessment of kinship options care providers.
Child Safety Social Work Assistant – supports the direct roles of the social workers on the team through activities to support delegated work, management of case-based referrals, tracking, direct family work and non-delegated activities. This role is field, and office based and includes the transportation of children, coordination of meetings with caregivers and documentation supports.
Child Welfare Specialization Practicum Student(s) – the team provides up to (2) two term roles for a child welfare specialization social work or child and youth care University positions. These roles work side by side with child safety social workers to learn the culturally appropriate ways in which our Agency practices child safety work. The roles utilize the Practicum Student Field Training Guide as a means to ensure learning objectives are met as well as field-based activities to ensure successful student practicums.