The Signs of Safety methodology has been widely adopted in Sweden as a means to improve child protection services. While it has many strengths, it also faces some criticisms and challenges. This blog post will explore both the pros and cons of the methodology, including the time it takes to implement, and provide a list of municipalities (kommuner) in Sweden that use this approach.
What is Signs of Safety?
The Signs of Safety methodology is a strengths-based, safety-organized approach to child protection casework. Developed in the 1990s by Australian social workers Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards, it focuses on building partnerships with families, identifying both strengths and safety concerns, and developing practical safety plans that involve the family and their support network.
Pros of Signs of Safety
- Strengths-Based Approach: This methodology emphasizes the strengths within a family, which can empower parents and children and foster a more positive relationship with social workers.
- Collaborative Process: By involving families and their support networks in the planning process, Signs of Safety promotes transparency and shared responsibility.
- For example: The Signs of Safety methodology often involves parents creating simple, visual representations to help children understand their safety plans. These drawings typically include elements like safe people, safe places, and actions that ensure safety.
Here’s a line drawing that reflects the kind of illustration parents might create as part of the Signs of Safety methodology:
In this drawing:
Safe People: Represented by family members, friends, and social workers.
Safe Places: Depicted as the home, school, and other familiar environments.
Safety Actions: Illustrated by activities like calling a trusted person, going to a safe place, or following a safety plan.
This simple, child-friendly drawing helps children visualize their support network and understand the steps they can take to stay safe.
- For example: The Signs of Safety methodology often involves parents creating simple, visual representations to help children understand their safety plans. These drawings typically include elements like safe people, safe places, and actions that ensure safety.
- Comprehensive Safety Plans: The detailed safety plans developed through this approach are practical and sustainable, often leading to better long-term outcomes for children.
- Focus on Prevention: The methodology aims to prevent the need for out-of-home placements by addressing safety concerns within the family context.
Cons of Signs of Safety
- Insecure basis: The method builds on the investigation document (utredning) of social services, which are often inaccurate, inconsistent not legally secure. This creates a conflict, if there are too many disagreements and highly-subjective accusations within the documentation. Sadly, this is commonplace and many utredning documents are copy and paste of documents related to completely different families, with the same phases repeated across many utredning documents.
- Time-Consuming: Implementing the Signs of Safety methodology can be time-intensive. Developing comprehensive safety plans and engaging all stakeholders requires significant time and resources
- Inconsistent Implementation: The effectiveness of the methodology can vary depending on how well it is implemented. Inconsistent training and application can lead to mixed results
- Limited Evidence Base: Some studies have raised concerns about the lack of robust evidence supporting the effectiveness of Signs of Safety in reducing the number of children entering care
- Resource-Intensive: The approach requires a high level of commitment from social workers and other professionals, which can be challenging in under-resourced settings.
Length of Time for Implementation
The implementation of Signs of Safety can be a lengthy process. It involves extensive training for social workers, ongoing professional development, and continuous evaluation to ensure the methodology is applied correctly. This can take several months to years, depending on the size and resources of the municipality.
The process is also a lengthy and involved process demanding a lot of involvement from the family and their network. The process, as implemented in Sweden, takes a minimum of 6 months of incredibly intensive work or 12 months of 2 hour meetings every 2-3 weeks.
Municipalities Using Signs of Safety in Sweden
Many municipalities in Sweden have adopted the Signs of Safety methodology. Some of these include:
- Stockholm
- Gothenburg
- Malmö
- Uppsala
- Västerås
- Örebro
- Linköping
- Helsingborg
- Jönköping
- Norrköping
These municipalities have integrated Signs of Safety into their child protection services, aiming to improve outcomes for children and families through a collaborative and strengths-based approach.
The Signs of Safety methodology offers a promising framework for child protection, emphasizing collaboration, strengths, and practical safety planning. However, it also faces challenges related to time, resources, and evidence of effectiveness. As more municipalities in Sweden adopt this approach, ongoing evaluation and adaptation will be crucial to address these challenges and ensure the best outcomes for children and families.
For practical advice for parents in Sweden for protecting your children with signs of safety.