Agency/Case Management

Grace Broussard
Crisis Methods
1. Focus on one to four specific stressors that created the immediate crisis. If family
members can start to problem-solve what caused the crisis, they’ll feel more
comfortable and in control. This way, they’re learning how to problem-solve and
work through the crisis themselves.
2. Develop a relationship with the family that consists of trust and respect, active
listening, and problem-solving skills. By developing a strong relationship with
the family, the caseworker can intervene most effectively, help the family
develop coping mechanisms, and work to resolve the crisis efficiently.
3. Refer family members to mental health or substance abuse counselors for
resolution of past traumas (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.,
p. iv). This way they are given the opportunity to take control to prevent a crisis
from occurring again. The crisis may uncover some emotional or childhood
trauma, mental health problems, or even substance abuse patterns. By referring
them, they are able to seek treatment options.

Almedina Palalic
Safety Methods
1) The caseworker should focus on early intervention training in schools. Consider policies
in school systems that mandate the age-appropriate education on various forms of child
abuse. It should not be lawful for a parent to be able to sign out their child the day of
these educational sessions, and they should not have the right to release them. If
informed, abusers will make sure their child does not go to school because they do not
want their manipulation and scare-tactic methods to decline.

2) Increase staff training at school and daycare environments. A child spends half of their
days at a school or daycare environment; therefore, caretakers should be knowledgeable
on how to communicate with a child that may be being abused or neglected and how to
take actions. Furthermore, they should be aware of the numerous signs and symptoms
that are presented on a daily basis. Specifically, teachers and case managers should use
age appropriate educational material such as the Child Protective Unit handout to identify
and educate.

3) “The Child Protection Unit student lessons encourage help seeking behavior and positive
student norms by teaching students to recognize, refuse, and report unsafe or abusive
situations. The Child Protection Unit includes an array of teaching modes and gives
students multiple opportunities to practice skills. Specifically, the lessons aim to help
children protect themselves by teaching them skills in three areas: (a) recognizing unsafe
and sexually abusive situations and touches, (b) immediately reporting these situations to
 adults, and (c) assertively refusing these situations whenever possible,” (“Child
Protection in Schools: A Four-Part Solution”, 2014).

4) It is important for someone who spends a lot of time with the child, to be aware of the
symptoms and how to assess. Case managers cannot be introduced to a case unless it is
reported to them. These cases stem from adults being able to determine the symptoms
and signs of child abuse. Parents or guardians can properly intervene on time when they
are aware of how to assess and how to report.

Kim Christensen
Clinical Treatment Facilities (therapy and counseling)
Crisis Interventions

1. Being able to offer the best practices and crisis intervention methods. It is important for
the agency and all members of the workforce to be trained in a trauma-informed
approach. “The workforce includes staff at all levels of the agency (receptionists,
frontline staff, caseworkers, supervisors, managers, administrators, and other staff), as
well as foster and adoptive parents.” (2015) This is an important step to have before other
services or treatments are implemented.
“A “trauma lens.” In the past, trauma was thought to result from a single,
catastrophic event. We now know that chronic neglect, abuse, or any incident of
separation, loss, or grief—even a sudden move or placement change—can be
traumatic for children. Developing a trauma lens includes reinterpreting behaviors
that were previously seen as being caused by a mental illness or behaviors
exhibited by a “bad kid” as the potentially reversible consequences of
trauma.”(2015) This takes the form of changing the way we think from what is
wrong with you? to, what happened to you? This shift changes the trajectory of
treatment toward healing, as staff will take the time to screen and be able to refer
to the appropriate and most effective treatment.
Some of these evidence-based practices for treating children with abuse trauma
are:
Trauma-Focused, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, TF-CBT, this therapy addresses
the distorted beliefs related to the trauma and aims to reduce the behavioral and
emotional responses to the trauma.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, PCIT, This approach is for children ages 2-8 that
have been affected by abuse or trauma. It includes the parent, or caregiver and is
coached during their interactions with their child.
Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, EMDR. This practice will
integrate different approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy as well as eye
movement to relieve emotional distress related to memories of trauma or abuse.
2. When intervening with a neglectful family, it is important to understand that neglect is
often the result of a psychologically immature parent who often had a lack of nurturing as a child
and therefore unable to nurture their own children. You will need to meet the client where they
are. And “parent the parent.” “Neglectful families are typically poor and lack access to
resources. Therefore, the intervention plan must include brokering and advocacy to mobilize
concrete formal and informal helping resources. Case management of multiple services is
necessary. Successful mobilization of outside resources to meet the family's identified priorities
helps to overcome the family's hopelessness, resistance, and distrust of professional helpers.”
(Gaudin, 1993) “Community services that may need to be mobilized for neglectful families
include the following:

 emergency financial assistance

 low-cost housing
 emergency food bank
 clothing bank
 low-cost medical care
 Transportation
 parent aides
 recreation programs
 mental health assessment and treatment
 temporary foster care or respite care
 budget/credit counseling
 job training and placement
 parent support/skills training groups
 low-cost childcare
Treatment of chronic neglect is not a short-term project. Successful intervention
with neglectful parents should last for 12 to 18 months. When neglect is not a
chronic pattern, shorter-term.
For immediate help when dealing with any crisis, whether it is abuse, mental
illness or addiction. There are walk-in services. These can be clinics or
psychiatric urgent care centers. They offer immediate care that is not in an
institutional setting, which they may refer a client to if needed. In Southern Utah,
we have Southwest Behavioral Health Center, where you can call 24-7 and also
walk into any of their clinics if you are experiencing a crisis with mental illness,
abuse or addiction. 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE 800-574-6763 or 435-
414-4362. more intensive intervention may be successful.” (Gaudin, 1993)

Jennifer Luu
Safety Interventions
1. Going over the different rules and regulations to the clients is crucial. Specifically,
who would ever have access to this information. The client will feel more
compelled to tell information that they may not have felt comfortable before
knowing their privacy will be held strictly.
2. Ensuring the client if they are a child to be away from their parents during these
meetings, or even the perpetrators.
3. Ensuring the correct atmosphere is aligned in the environment the session is held
in. To do this, perhaps creating a space where there is little to no details that might
alarm or give the client anxiety. For example, replacing family photos on the desk
with art, or making sure there isn’t a huge collection of masks on display.
 References

Child Protection in Schools: A Four-Part Solution. (2014). Retrieved from

https://www.cfchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/programs/docs/Second-Step_White-

Paper_Child-Protection-in-Schools_FA18.pdf.

Developing a Trauma-Informed Child Welfare System. (May 2015) Retrieved from:

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/trauma_informed.pdf

Gaudin, James M. JR., Ph.D. (April 1993). Child Neglect: An Guide for

Intervention.Westover Consultants, INC. Retrieved from:

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/neglect_1993.pdf

Prevention Strategies|Child Abuse and Neglect|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC.

(n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/prevention.html.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Crisis Intervention in Child

Abuse and Neglect. (No. S-105-89-173). Washington, D.C.