Strengths-based CP References
This list UPDATED January 23, 2009
The following reference list provides all the published material I am aware of offering ideas for the use of strengths-based, solution-focused and signs of safety approaches to the child protection task. If you know of publications of this sort not included in this list please contact me with the details and I will update the list. (I have not included Family Group Conference references as these are very extensive and can be easily accessed elsewhere, see above).
Berg, I.K. (1994). Family based services: a solution focused approach. New York: Norton.
Berg, I. K., & Kelly, S. (2000). Building solutions in child protective services. New York: Norton.
Berg, I. K. (2000). What kind of questions in my initial assessment interview with generate solutions and enhance safety? In Howard Dubowitz and Diane DePanfilis (eds.) Handbook of child protection practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Berg, I. K., & De Jong, P. (2004). Building solution-focused partnerships in children’s protective and family services. Protecting Children, 19(2): 3–13.
Berg, I. K., De Jong, P. & Gonzales, J (accessed June 2007) Safety Planning in Children's Protective Services: Building Solutions with Clients. 60 Minute video available from: http://www.brief-therapy.org/videos.htm
Boffa, J. and Podesta, H. (2004). Partnership with families and risk assessment in child protection practic, .Protecting Children, 19(2): 36–48.
Chapman, M., and Field, J. (2007). Strengthening our engagement with families and increasing practice depth. Social Work Now, 38, December: 21-28.
Christianson, B. and Maloney, S. (2006) One family’s journey: a case study utilising complementary conferencing processes, Protecting Children, 21: 31-37.
de Boer, C. & Coady, N. (2003) Good Helping Relationships in Child Welfare: Co-authored Stories of Success. Partnerships for Children and Families Project, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON. Available at: http://www.wlu.ca/documents/7214/Good_Helping_Relationships.pdf
de Boer, C. & Coady, N. (2007) Good helping relationships in child welfare: learning from stories of success, Child & Family Social Work 12 (1), 32–42.
De Jong, P. & Berg, I.K. (2001). Co-constructing cooperation with mandated clients, Social Work, 46,4: 361-375.
De Jong, P., Jiordano, M., Cowan, D. & Kelly, S. (Accessed 20/08/07). Solution-focused strategies in child welfare: promoting family inclusion and supportive staff development in a solution focused framework. Available at: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/helpkids/telefiles/5.25.06.pdf
DePanfilis, D. (2000). How do I assess the strengths in families? In Howard Dubowitz and Diane DePanfilis (eds.) Handbook of child protection practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Dumbrill, G. (2005). Child welfare in Ontario: developing a collaborative intervention model. Ontario: Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.
Elliot, B., Mulroney, L. & O’Neil, D. (2000). Promoting family change: the optimism factor. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Essex, S., Gumbleton, J. and Luger, C., (1996) Resolutions: working with families where responsibility for abuse is denied, Child Abuse Review, 5: 191-202.
Essex, S., Gumbleton, J. (1999) “Similar but different” conversations, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 1999, 20(3).
Ferguson, H. (2001). Promoting child protection, welfare and healing: the case for developing best practice. Child and Family Social Work, 6, 1-12.
Ferguson, H. (2003). Outline of a critical best practice perspective for social work and social care. British Journal of Social Work 33: 1005 – 1024.
Ferguson, H. (2005). Protecting children in time: child abuse, child protection and the consequences of modernity. London: Palgrave.
Fleming, J. (1998). Valuing families in statutory practice. Child Abuse Prevention, 6(1): 1-4.
Healy, K. (2005). Social work theories in context; creating frameworks for practice, London: Palgrave.
Hiles M & Luger C. (2006). The resolutions approach: working with denial in child protection cases, Journal of Systemic Therapies, 25:24-37.
Hiles, M., Essex, S., Fox, A. and Luger, C. (2008). The words and pictures storyboard: making sense for children and families. Context (Magazine of the UK Association of Family Therapy) 97: 13–19.
Hogg, V. & Wheeler, J. (2004). Miracles R them: solution-focused practice in a social services duty team. Practice, 16(4): 299-314.
Inoue, N., Inoue, K., Fujisawa, Y., Hishida, O., Hirai, T., Naruse, H,. & Yamada, M. (2006a) The 5 spaces model helps professionals cooperate with families and collaborate with other professionals in the child protection field. Journal of Nihon Fukushi University Clinical Psychological Research Center, 1, 43-49.
Inoue, N., Inoue, K. & Shionoya, M. (2006b) Training effects of case management skills working with child abuse and neglect: utilizing Signs of Safety approach. Japanese Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, 8(2), 268-279.
Inoue, N. and Inoue, K. (2008). Family-based child protection practice: a guide to the signs of safety approach. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten.
Jack, R. (2005). Strengths-based practice in statutory care and protection work. In Mary Nash, Robyn Munford and Kieran O’Donoghue (eds.) Social work theories in action. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Koziolek, D. (2007). Implementing Signs of Safety in Carver County, Child Welfare News, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota, Fall 2007: 1-8.
Lohrbach, S., & Sawyer, R. (2003). Family Group Decision Making: a process reflecting partnership-based practice, Protecting Children, 19(2): 12-15.
Lohrbach, S., & Sawyer, R. (2004). Creating a constructive practice: family and professional partnership in high-risk child protection case conferences, Protecting Children, 19(2): 26-35.
Lohrbach, S., Sawyer, R., Saugen, J., Astolfi, C., Worden, P. & Xaaji, M. (2005). Ways of working in child welfare practice: a perspective on practice, Protecting Children, 20(1): 26-35.
Madsen, W. (2007). Collaborative therapy with multi-stressed families: from old problems to new futures (2nd Edition). New York: Guildford.
McCullum, S. (1995). Safe Families: A Model of Child Protection Intervention Based on Parental Voice and Wisdom, Unpublished PhD thesis, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University.
Murphy, E. (2000). A solution-focused approach to working in partnership with young people and families. In Ann Wheal (ed.) Working with parents: learning from other people’s experience. London: Russell House Publishing.
Myers S. (2005). A signs of safety approach to assessing children with sexually concerning or harmful behaviour. Child Abuse Review 14: 97-112.
Mylan, T., & Lethem, J. (1999). Searching for strengths in child protection assessment: from guidelines to practice. London: BT Press.
O’Neil, D. & McCashen, W. (1991). Competency based family support: brief therapy as a tool in goal setting and family valuing in child protection work: Family Therapy Case Studies, 6(2): 3-12.
O’Neil, D. (2006). How can a strengths approach increase safety in a child protection context? Children Australia, 30(4): 28-32
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (accessed 20/08/07). “Presuming the positive" as part of strengths-based treatment in working with children and families. Available at: www.dpw.state.pa.us/Child/BehavHealthServChildren/ChildAdolescentGuideli...
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (accessed 20/08/07). Strengths-based treatment of children: what it is and what it isn't. Available at: www.dpw.state.pa.us/Child/BehavHealthServChildren/ChildAdolescentGuideli...
Rymarchyk, G. (2000). Solution-focused interventions in child protective investigation: a promising alternative for working with families. Phd Thesis, Cornell University.
Scott, D., & O'Neil, D. (1996). Beyond child rescue: developing family-centred practice at St Lukes. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Shennan, G. ‘Doing it in child protection’ Solution News 2(3): 15-19. Available at:
http://www.solution-news.co.uk/issues/solutionnews2(3).pdf
Simmons, C., Lehman, P. and Duguay, A. (2008). Children exposed to domestic violence: building safety in child welfare, Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies Journal, 52(4): 22-31.
Söderquist, M. & Suskin-Holmqvist, A. (2006). Delacktighet. Stockholm: Mareld.
Ta-Nahisi & Coates, P. (2006). When parents are a threat. Time Magazine, April 30. Available at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1189256,00.html
Teoh, A.H., Laffer, J., Parton, N. & Turnell, A. (2003). Trafficking in meaning: Constructive social work in child protection practice. In C. Hall, K. Juhila, N. Parton, & T. Pösö (Eds.), Client as practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Turnell, A. & Edwards, S. (1997). Aspiring to partnership: The signs of safety approach to child protection casework, Child Abuse Review, 6: 179 - 190.
Turnell, A. & Edwards, S. (1999). Signs of safety: a solution and safety oriented approach to child protection casework. New York: Norton.
Turnell, A., Elliott, S. & Hogg, V. (2007). Compassionate, safe and rigorous child protection practice with parents of adopted children. Child Abuse Review 16(2): 108-119.
Turnell A. & Essex S. (2006). Working with situations of ‘denied’ child abuse: the Resolutions approach. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Turnell A., Lohrbach, S and Curran, S. (2008). Working with the ‘involuntary client’ in child protection: lessons from successful practice. In M. Calder (Ed.) The carrot or the stick? Towards effective practice with involuntary clients, London: Russell House Publishing.
Turnell, A. (2004). Relationship-grounded, safety-organised child protection practice: Dreamtime or real-time option for child welfare? Protecting Children, 19(2): 14–25.
Turnell, A. (2005) Introduction to the Signs of Safety Approach. 45 minute DVD available from: http://www.signsofsafety.net/pages/Books_and_DVD's.html
Turnell, A. (2006). Constructive Child Protection Practice: An Oxymoron or News of Difference? Journal of Systemic Therapies 25(2): 3-12.
Turnell, A. (2006). Tecken på säkerhet - Signs of Safety på svenska. In M. Söderquist. & A. Suskin-Holmqvist, A. (Eds.), Delaktighet - Lösningsfokuserat förhållningssätt i utredningsarbete. Stockholm: Mareld.
Turnell, A. (2007). Words and pictures: informing and involving children in child abuse cases. 75 minute DVD available from: http://www.signsofsafety.net/pages/Books_and_DVD's.html
Turnell A. (2007). Solution-focused brief therapy: thinking and practicing beyond the therapy room. In F. Thomas and T. Nelson (Eds.), Clinical Applications of Solution-focused Brief Therapy, Bimmington: Haworth Press USA.
Turnell A. (In press). Building safety in child protection practice: working from a strengths perspective. London: Palgrave.
Tuttle, A., Knudson-Martin, C., Levin, S., Taylor, B. and Andrews, J. (2007). Parents' Experiences in Child protective Services: Analysis of a Dialogical Group Process, Family Process, 46(3): 367-380.
Walsh, T. (1997). Solution-focused child protection – towards a positive frame for social work practice. Department of Social Studies Occasional Paper no.6, Trinity College, Dublin.
Walsh, T. (2006). Two sides of the same coin: ambiguity and complexity in child protection social work, Journal of Systemic Therapies, 25(2): 38-49.
Weakland, J. & Jordon, L. (1992). Working briefly with reluctant clients: child protections services as an example. Journal of Family Therapy, 14: 231-254. This classic paper is available free at: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/joft/14/3
Weld, N. (2008). The three houses tool: building safety and positive change. In M. Calder (Ed.) Contemporary risk assessment in safeguarding children, Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing
Weld, N. and Appleton, C. (2008). Walking in other people’s worlds: a practical and philosophical guide to social work. Auckland: Pearson Publishing.
West Berkshire Council (2008) How was the 'Strengthening Families' framework developed? Available at: www.westberks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=12094
Westbrock, S. (2006). Utilizing the Signs of Safety framework to create effective relationships with child protection service recipients. MSW Clinical Research, University of St Thomas, St Paul Minnesota.
Wheeler, J., Hogg, V. and Fegan, G. (2006). Signs of wellbeing: a tool for early intervention. Context, 86: 5-8.
Wheeler J. (2005). Solution-focused front line services. Solution News. 1(4): 3-5. Available at: www.solution-news.co.uk
