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On this page we list statutory and voluntary organisations in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan that are using the Signs of Safety and Resolutions approaches in their child protection work. Where available, translated papers or training material relating to each country are also listed.

CANADA

Mississauga

Peel Children's Aid Society in Mississauga on the outskirts of Toronto have been using the Signs of Safety approach since 2005. Contact Vicky Lowrey vlowrey@peelcas.org or Anne-Marie Duguay aduguay@peelcas.org

Cranbrook BC

Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family Services serves the Ktunaxa, the Kinbasket and all Aboriginal children and families in in Cranbrook, British Columbia and have adopted the Signs of Safety approach as the the organising framework for all of their child protection practice. Contact: Bart Knudsgaard, BKnudsgaard@ktunaxa.org

French Translation

Relationship-Grounded, Safety-Organised Child Protection Practice: Dreamtime or Real-time Option for Child Welfare?  
Andrew's 2004 Relationship-grounded, Safety-Organised Child Protection Practice: Dreamtime or Real-time Option for Child Welfare? Published in Protecting Children, is available in French translation. Translated by the Department of  Family and Community Services, New Brunswick.

DENMARK

Copenhagen

Between 2005 and 2008 the Borough of Copenhagen undertook a three-year training and implementation project of Signs of Safety approach and Solution-focused Brief Therapy skills through all social services offices. This project involved training and supporting almost 500 workers in three successive, one-year programmes. The training and ongoing practitioner support was led by Henrik Vesterhauge-Petersen, Mette Vesterhauge-Petersen and Lester Johannessen-Henry from the consultancy organisation Solution Denmark (www.solutionfocus.dk). An independent evaluation published in April 2009 found significant changes for practitioners, a summary of which is available here: Evaluation Summary

One of the teams that has led the way in the use of the Signs of Safety in Copenhagen is the City Team who work in the inner city. The work of this team is featured in a journal article available here: short article.

JAPAN

Numerous provincial Japanese child protection organizations (child guidance clinics) are utilising the Signs of Safety approach. For more information contact:

Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards book Signs of Safety book is available in Japanese translation from http://kongoshuppan.co.jp/
Andrew and Susie Essex's book "Working with 'denied' child abuse: the Resolutions approach" is available from www.akashi.co.jp
Naomi and Kaoru Inoue have edited a book called "Family-based child protection practice: a guide to the signs of safety approach" go to www.akashi.co.jp/home.htm

NETHERLANDS

Drenthe and Zeeland

The provinces of Drenthe in the north east, and Zeeland in the south of the Netherlands are undertaking extensive system-wide implementations of the Signs of Safety approach within all of their child protection/child welfare and family support services. For Drenthe contact Roelof Martens, roelof.martens@bjzdrenthe.nl and for Zeeland contact Eric Sulkers at e.sulkers@bjz-zeeland.nl

Child Health Care

The Signs of Safety approach is also used as a framework to guide the work of Dutch child health nurses, contact Dr Ferko Öry - fg.ory@pg.tno.nl

Training Services

The following people can provide training and support for practitioners and organisations wanting to use the Signs of Safety:

Margreet Timmer and Petra Rozeboom from Drenthe have established their own business offering training in the Signs of Safety approach for more information contact Margreet and Petra through their website http://www.signsofsafety.nl

Hilbert-Jan Smitt of Smitt Training and Advies in Ammersfoort, go to - http://www.smitt.org/

DVD & Translations

The website of Dr Walter Oppenoorth offers numerous DVD’s from training Andrew has provided in The Netherlands, http://www.octir.nl/eng/o/index.html

The Signs of Safety book in Dutch translation is now available. To order or for more information: www.bsl.nl or Nicole van Hoorn, N.Hoorn@bsl.nl

Signs of Safety Material in Dutch

A Signs of Safety workbook and an introduction to the approach translated into Dutch are available here.

Bureau Jeugdzorg Drenthe have published a magazine on their work implementing the Signs of Safety.

NEW ZEALAND

Open Home Foundation

Open Home Foundation provides home based social work support and foster care services with offices throughout New Zealand. OHF has been undertaking a systematic implementation of the Signs of Safety approach throughout all of its service centres since 2005. Contact Lee Roberts, lee@ohfnational.org.nz

Child Youth and Family

In 2003/4/5 CYF undertook an action research project to build its capacity to utilise strengths-based ideas and practices as part of its statutory child protection services. Signs of Safety thinking and tools informed this developmental work and several important initiatives grew out of the work including an innovative process called the 'Three Houses' method for involving children, young people and their families in assessment and planning and the development of action reflection forums within the statutory context. Ongoing work within CYF is being done to continue to make use of these initiatives, contact Jo Field, joann.field002@cyf.govt.nz

Training

Nicki Weld and Cherie Appleton are registered independent social workers with extensive child protection experience who were at the centre of the 2004/05 CYF strengths-based action learning project. Nicki and Cherie now offer independent social work consultancy and training services including training in strengths-based practice, Signs of Safety and the Three Houses tool for working with children and young people. Visit www.cnzn.co.nz Contact Nicki Weld nicki.weld@cnzn.co.nz or Cherie Appleton cherie.appleton@cnzn.co.nz

SWEDEN

Training with Andrew in Sweden each March and September

Andrew provides public workshops in Sweden each year: a five-day intensive residency in Malmo in March through SIKT (link to www.sikt.nu) and in Stockholm in September through Danderydsteamet (link to www.danderydsteamet.se)

Tomas Embreus: Ongoing Training and Consultancy

Social worker and musician Tomas Embreus has been using the Signs of Safety approach in Sweden since 2000. As well as undertaking contracted direct service work, Tomas provides training and consultation for other professionals in all aspects of safety-organised child protection practice. Tomas, together with Andrew is also writing a book about using the Signs of Safety in Sweden. See www.embreus.se for more information. On this site Tomas also provides a comprehensive introduction to the Signs of Safety written in Swedish.

Ann Gardeström: Training and Advice

Ann Gardeström has led several teams implementing the Signs of Safety and is currently working in the development of policy and practice guidance at the Socialtjänst-och arbetsmarknadsförvaltningen. Ann can provide training and advice for social work agencies and teams seeking to implement the Signs of Safety. Contact Ann at Ann.Gardestrom@saf.stockholm.se

‘Delacktighet’

A book called ‘Delacktighet’ edited by Martin Söderquist and Aviva Suskin-Holmqvist was published by Mareld in May 2006 and can be ordered at http://www.mareld.se This book contains a chapter regarding the work of the Spanga-tensta team and another chapter describing the Signs of Safety assessment process.

Signs of Safety Workbook in Swedish

A Signs of Safety workbook translated into Swedish is available here.

UNITED KINGDOM

Gateshead Social Services

In NE England the Gateshead access and assessment teams and other teams within Gateshead Social Services make extensive use of the Signs of Safety approach in their child protection work. For further information contact Viv Hogg - VivHogg@Gateshead.Gov.Uk Publications describing the work of the Gateshead practitioners include Turnell A., Elliott S. and Hogg, V. (2006). Compassionate, safe and rigorous child protection practice withe biological parents of adopted children, Child Abuse Review. and Hogg, V. and Wheeler, J. (2004) Miracles R them: solution-focused practice in a social services duty team. Practice, Vol 16, Number 4.

Barnardos Dundee

The Barnardos Polepark Family Service in Dundee Scotland utilise the Signs of Safety framework to contribute to comprehensive assessments of need undertaken by social services and also where families and social workers are stuck or at a crossroads in terms of their care plans and interventions. Contact Ann Manzi - Ann.Manzi@barnardos.org.uk

West Berkshire

West Berkshire Childrens Services have been utilising the Signs of Safety approach in their child protection practice and integrating this with their longstanding commitment to participative family conferencing. West Berks have been guided in this work by Olmsted County Minnesota conferencing processes. For more information see www.westberks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=12094

Coventry Social Services

Coventry Services have utilised the Signs of Safety approach to help them ‘rediscover social work’ within their child and family services and to reclaim a focus on strong practice in a time when they felt they we’re being overrun by managerialism. This developmental work has been undertaken with the assistance of Viv Hogg from Gateshead. An article on their experience was recently published in Professional Social Work. Contact Jivan Sembi - jivan.sembi@coventrygov.uk

Signs of Safety Training and Consultancy

Viv Hogg from Gateshead offers training and consultancy in the Signs of Safety. Andrew works closely with Viv and they will co-lead a 5 day intensive training each September. For more information and to contact Viv go to: www.vivhogg.com

Resolutions Child Protection Consultancy, Bristol

Co-creators of the Resolutions model to ‘denied’ child abuse, Colin Luger and John Gumbleton provide independent assessment and family therapy services for courts and social services using the Resolutions approach. Contact Colin and John through their website www.resolutions-cpc.co.uk

Working with young people who have been sexually abusive

The following paper provides a description of the Signs of Safety approach applied to situations involving sexual abuse perpetrated by young people. This approach was developed at ‘The Junction’, a Barnardos project in Northern England.
Myers S. (2005). A signs of safety approach to assessing children with sexually concerning or harmful behaviour. Child Abuse Review 14: 97-112.

USA

Olmsted County Minnesota

Olmsted County Child and Family Services are committed to an ongoing journey of delivering statutory child protection services that are strengths-based, relationship-grounded and organised around future safety for children. Their work was recently featured in TIME magazine The county has some of the longest standing US experience in utilising Alternative Response and Family Group Decision Making programmes and has extensively drawn upon the Signs of Safety and Resolutions approaches in their assessment and service delivery. This work is being lead by Rob Sawyer and Sue Lohrbach, who can be contacted c/o - sawyer.rob@co.olmsted.mn.us. Go to www.co.olmsted.mn.us/ for more information, service outcome and statistical data and links to publications.

Carver County Minnesota

Since 2004, Carver County Community Social Services have been implementing the Signs of Safety approach within their child protection and family services. More detail about Carver's implementation journey can be found on the implementation pages of this website. Carver County staff are also working with numerous other counties in Minnesota providing training, advice and support in using the Signs of Safety in their child protection services. Dan Koziolek has also written a short article about the Carver experience.
For more information contact Dan Koziolek — dkoziole@co.carver.mn.us

Signs of Safety Training and Consultancy

Connected Families who have been central to the Signs of Safety implementation at Carver County also provide offer training and consultancy services in the Signs of Safety approach. Andrew works closely with the Connected Families team who host public training events in April and September of each year. For more information contact Bill Schulenberg at bschulenberg@connectedfamilies.com

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Department of Children and Families has been undertaking a sustained journey in implementing strengths-based, relationship-grounded, safety-organised practice across the state. As part of these practice-focused reforms the agency is integrating the Signs of Safety to improve engagement, assessment, planning and partnerships with families and communities. This practice shift is being supported and sustained through learning and training systems developed by the Massachusetts Child Welfare Institute. Contact John Vogel, Associate Director, MCWI Massachusetts Department of Children and Families: John.Vogel@state.ma.us for more information.

Also in Massachusetts, the Family-Centered Services Project (www.family-centeredservices.org) is a training and consultation project that utilizes narrative and solution-focused ideas to help public agencies develop institutional practices and organizational cultures that support more respectful and responsive ways of serving youth and families.  For the last 5 years FCSP has participated in an intensive effort by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to train its staff in using the Signs of Safety approach.