SUPERVISION: SIGNS OF SAFETY STYLE

1. SUPERVISION: SIGNS OF SAFETY STYLE

2. BEST HOPES OF SUPERVISION… • That practitioners are intentionally engaged in a reciprocal and reflective relationship with mutual accountability that builds capacity and fosters ongoing learning which mirrors the Signs of Safety practice and increases individual and overall organizational capacity to enhance the lives of the children, youth and families we serve.

3. THE KEY ELEMENTS OF SUPERVISION: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=aP55nA8fQ9I&NR=1 Strength-based Developing respect and trust in the work-place, modelling the same strength-based practice used with the practitioner and the client Relationship building Establishing reciprocity between supervisor/supervisee Self Reflective Ensuring capacity and accountability is maintained through self-reflection Client-Centered Providing accurate safety assessments with good outcomes for families and children Professional Organizational success and accountability with both staff and families Supportive Allowing individual personal/professional growth; learning to listen…

4. The role of the clinical supervisor requires a distinct set of competencies: To understand the needs and dynamics of the populations served To understand the specific clinical skills required to support those being served The skill to assess and build the capacity of practitioners knowledge of the direct service work An understanding of the professional context and climate of the organization; and, To ensure practitioners have the capacity to contribute to the needs of the children, youth and families being served. The role of the supervisor

5. SUPERVISION IS NOT JUST ABOUT CASE CONSULTS Supervision is in place to address several areas of staff and agency growth: Relationship Administration Support/mediation Development

6. RELATIONSHIP Building relationship is key to happy satisfied staff. Utilizing the signs of safety approach in our supervision begins the journey of the supervisor/supervisee relationship. It ensures the supervisee feels heard by the supervisor and in turn adds value to the relationship. “In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.” Lou Gerstner

7. ADMINISTRATIVE The task of the supervisor is to ensure that the agency standards are being achieved, and that there is a quality and quantity of work being performed in the workplace. However it is imperative that the supervisor understand and ensure that the safety and well-being of children is being met. This requires on-going and consistent communication that would include setting clear expectations about workload and priorities, providing a safe working environment, and ensuring access to adequate resources, as well as records management, performance management, and quality assurance. It also requires that all supervision sessions are clearly documented.

8. SUPPORTIVE A supportive supervisor is one who creates an environment where staff feel safe, and one where staff feel positive about their job. It requires the supervisor to be empathetic. Using the appreciative inquiry approach in supervision allows supervisors to explore the personal needs and concerns about the work environment leading to a more satisfied, and motivated staff which in turn, leads to better service for clients. All phases of the supervision cycle should address issues such as stress management, personal and professional goal setting and conflict resolution. It produces an environment of self-awareness, critical thinking, encouragement and support for the supervisee.

9. DEVELOPMENTAL The developmental function of supervision should create growth and learning opportunities through exploration of cases in group and individual supervision as well as individual and professional enhancement strategies through the appreciative inquiry (clinical) phases of supervision. The supervisor and supervisee should gain the necessary critical thinking skills to develop a keen sense of child safety while ensuring the further development of personal and professional satisfaction in the job. This would address both the increased self-confidence of the new workers as well as career planning for the more senior level staff.

10. THE FOUR PHASES OF THE SUPERVISION CYCLE • There are four phases in the supervision cycle: the contract, the casework consult/supervision (client focused), performance evaluation (staff-focused/appreciative Inquiry), and the on-going review of personal/professional goals. • All four phases are based on the solution-focused questioning techniques of the Signs of Safety model. • Phases 3 and 4 utilize the appreciative inquiry approach to working with staff and should explore the personal and professional goals of the staff

11. Phase 1 Phase 1 The Supervision Contract Setting boundaries Establishing relationship

12. The contract is an opportunity to build relationship with staff and allow them to establish the boundaries of supervision alongside the supervisor. Using a map in the initial contract phase, we explore what supervision should look like with each individual staff member. The contract

14. Using the same sos questioning techniques we build an understanding about the context of supervision… EXISTING STRENGTH FUTURE SAFETY PAST HARM FUTURE DANGER EXISTING SAFETY NEXT STEPS COMPLICATING FACTORS

17. Phase 2 • Phase 2 • Case Specific Supervision • Weekly, • on-going • individual • group • exploration of cases

19. Group supervision Supervising a team of professionals not only creates a sense of team, but also allows room for professional growth and problem solving… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RnohUnZrqg&NR=1

20. What are your Best Hopes? • Let’s work together to nail down the best hopes for this case…

21. Let’s scale… 0 DANGER SAFETY 10

22. Refining our Danger statement… • If we don’t do anything about this situation, what do you think is likely to happen to the child?

23. SAFETY GOALS… • Child Protection practice tends to be over-organized by everything that is perceived to be wrong with the family… • “Who is going to be brave enough to make the decision that a child can go home and on what basis are they making it? It’s far easier to find evidence to support the child not returning than to find evidence that a child should return home, and that’s if there is the will to work towards rehabilitation (Luger quoted in Turnell Workbook) Carver Examples…

24. phASE 3 • Phase 3 • Performance Booster • Appreciative Inquiry • Personal/Professional goal setting • Skill development

29. Phase 4 • Phase 4 • Review of P.E. • 4 – 6 times each year • Regular review of past/future goals

30. Appreciative Inquiry Speaking of good work… Wherever there is a human being there is a chance for kindness. -Seneca -

31. Appreciative Inquiry • Think about the goals that you have been working on: • What have you since the last review that you are particularly proud of? What goals did you accomplish? • How did you contribute to that situation? • How did it effect you? Your work? Your co-workers? Clients? Family? • How did you make that happen? • How did you know it was going well? What was different? What did you notice? What did others notice? • What did you learn from this that you would want to use again? • Is there anything you would have done differently? • Is there anything about this that you are worried about? • On a scale of 0 – 10 (where 0 = it was your worst work; 10 = it was your best) where would you scale it? • What made it that number and not a lower number? • What would have made it one number higher?