Lisa Black
Practice Model Video Transcript
At CPS, we're guided by the belief that people can change for the better. We work to create opportunities for child safety within families and communities. To do this, we partner with caregivers to help them protect their children in new ways while building upon safety that's already present.
We also establish safety networks for children and youth. These safety networks include caregivers and other adults who will help create a safe environment now and forever. What we didn't have until now is a comprehensive framework defining this work and guiding our efforts to ensure safety, permanency and well-being.
That's where the CPS Practice Model comes in. The practice model defines our organization – what we believe in, what we work to accomplish, and what we do to help families keep children protected and connected. It establishes standards for best practice so all children and families receive fair treatment. And it provides a roadmap for helping families make positive changes. Specifically, the practice model tells us how to engage families and safety networks in a disciplined way so that they can achieve safety, permanency and well-being for their children.
It also tells us how to keep children at the center of all our work, ensuring their voices are heard in our assessment, planning, and decision-making.
The practice model gives us a common and consistent structure to organize our efforts to deliver what we all want: Good outcomes for children and families.
The practice model isn't a document that collects dust on our shelves; it's embedded in our daily work. And it drives decisions and actions at all levels of our organization throughout the life of an individual case, including:
· Investigations and assessment
· Interventions
· Services and support
· Permanency work AND
· Case closure
You may be asking, How is the practice model different from what we already do?
The practice model shares the common themes of child safety and family engagement with previous initiatives and builds on them.
For example, the practice model provides clearer ways of determining safety to guide staff in safety decision-making. And it helps workers understand what safety and family engagement look like in their daily work.
Using the practice model as our guide, we'll see many benefits, such as:
· More involvement from children, families and their extended network in safety planning and identifying what contributes to their success.
· More partnership between CPS and families.
· Clear and consistent rationales behind the changes families are asked to make.
AND
· Support for staff in forward-thinking safety and permanency planning.
To help you, we're developing practice guides and other training and support to put the practice model into action.
You'll be learning much more about the practice model from your supervisor in coming weeks.
We're also developing a practice model webpage where you can find more information, including stories of our amazing staff who successfully use Practice Model values in their daily work.
This is an exciting time for CPS as we move forward with Transformation. You're all making a positive difference in the lives of Texas children and families every day, and I appreciate your commitment to CPS and our mission.
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