Child Safety Conferences (CSC) to avoid child removal • Bright Spots

This Bright Spot has been reviewed and approved by our community of impacted parents.

Parent reviewer feedback summary

Parent reviewers emphasized that Child Safety Conferences must be supportive in nature, facilitated without judgment, and provide resources to families.
Parent reviewers noted that advocates present during Child Safety Conferences must understand parent’s rights, local resources, and what it’s like to be in their situation.
Parent reviewers reported facilitators should be someone who does not work for and is not connected to child welfare.
Parent reviewers expressed concern (from personal experiences) that meetings like this can be rushed, overwhelming, and used to gather information that is used against them in future court proceedings.

What is the intervention?

CSCs occur within 72 hours after an initial report from a social worker to a supervisor about a concern for removal. (Or, if a child is removed immediately, a CSC is also used to expedite reunification). The shared goal of the conference is to preserve and strengthen family connections, and safely prevent removal. Parents may invite anyone who is part of their support network to the CSC. A DHS Administrator attends as well as a Parent Partner provided through DHS. In Iowa, a local community nonprofit volunteered to provide facilitators for the pilot project.

What makes this CSC approach to safety planning unique is: occurring quickly and prior to removal (or immediately following a removal to expedite reunification), utilizing an outside facilitator, working with parents as a team, including a broad range of identified family supporters, having a high-level decision-maker present to approve plans and mitigate risk, and the explicit shared goal of strengthening family connections.

A follow-up conference is scheduled within 10 days of the initial CSC. This follow-up conference reviews the plan from the initial conference to determine progress and current safety.

What makes it a Bright Spot?

Child safety conferences (sometimes referred to as “Admin Safety Conferences” or other similar names), aren’t new in the field, but how Iowa implements CSCs prior to potential removal, is leading to exceptionally high rates of keeping kids safe at home or with someone they already know.

From October 2018 through December 2019, 123 CSCs were conducted involving 222 children in the Eastern Iowa Service Area. After the initial CSC, 96% of these children remained at home or with someone familiar to them. Ten days after the initial CSC, 99% of these children remained at home or with someone familiar to them. Six months later, 74% of those children were still in the same placement. In July 2020, CSCs became a statewide initiative across Iowa.

What steps can you take?

If you are already using a similar team decision-making format in other circumstances, consider utilizing this team approach prior to removal.
Initiate a small pilot, starting with one supervisor and team of social workers and/or a small geographic region. Contact a trusted community service provider to facilitate the first CSCs.