Safeguarding part1

You & Your Family
Against
Allegations of Abuse

Online Training "Safeguarding"
Foster Parents Society of Ontario

Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge and thank the following for their
contribution, support and encouragement:

Trillium Foundation
Ann Dafoe, President of Hastings FPA
Canadian Foster Families Association (CFFA)
FPSO Board of Directors
Children’s Aid Foundation


WHY Do We Need to Safeguard?

While, for much of the time, foster parents do the same
things that natural parents do, they have to accept that, in
other ways, their task is a different one from that of the
natural parents.
Unlike foster parents' own children, the children in their
care do not belong to them. They are held in trust. Having
someone else's children is not a natural situation. The
Society has ultimate responsibility for the children and is
involved in their lives.
Note: Throughout this training session the term “Society” has been used to
stand for; CAS, Children’s Aid Society, Family & Children Services, FCS
Agency, Agencies etc.


WHY?

 Foster parents never think that their family will be the
one that will be reported for possible abuse.
However, there has been a significant increase in reports
of allegations of abuse in foster families and it is likely
that this trend will continue.

 Foster families are at greater risk of an allegation than
other families.

 Foster families are held to different, higher standards for
what will be considered abuse in their homes.


FOSTER FAMILIES
CONSTANTLY
LIVE
IN A
FISH BOWL


WHY?

 Foster family life is highly visible in the community and
held up to public scrutiny.

 Consumers of social services - foster children and their
biological relatives - are familiar with child abuse report
procedures and effects.


WHY?

 Societies are concerned about their legal liability
regarding placed children.

 Foster children are often "high risk" both in
terms of the responses they may elicit from
others and in terms of the abuse risk they pose
for other children


HOW Do We Safeguard Ourselves?
By Providing Foster Parents with:

KNOWLEDGE
&
TRAINING


Training Objectives

 To identify the reasons and the context for allegations

 To develop family safety strategies to prevent false
allegations

 To understand the investigative procedure


SECTION I

ALLEGATIONS


WHAT IS AN ALLEGATION?

An allegation is a statement
or suggestion made by an
individual about another
person with respect to an
abusive behaviour as defined
under the Child & Family
Services Act.


 The child’s safety is our first concern.
 Abuse allegations are serious and must be dealt with
seriously because we have given the child the promise
of safety.
 When an abuse allegation is taken seriously the child
learns that adults can be trusted.
 Allegations will happen and can be a learning
experience. Crisis causes learning. We need to ask what
could I do differently?


SECTION II

UNDERSTANDING
ALLEGATIONS
of ABUSE


REASONS for ALLEGATIONS of ABUSE

 Actual abuse has occurred. Actual emotional, physical
or sexual abuse has occurred in the foster family. The abuser
could be one of the foster parents, other foster children,
natural children or even a visitor to the foster home.

 Language is misinterpreted. An adult's action or
expression has been misinterpreted. Children who have been
abused, particularly sexually, sometimes misread a situation
based on an earlier experience. To the child, an action might
seem a repetition of a sequence that was used when he/she
was actually abused.


REASONS for ALLEGATIONS of ABUSE (cont’d)

 Memories are confused with the present. Sometimes
as repressed memories of abuse come to the surface, the
child confuses this with abuse currently happening in the
present placement.

A child’s perception of day to day experiences is determined
by their past. Crisis and/or stress can bring out feelings or
reactions from the past. Seeing someone who looks like
someone from the past can trigger feelings/reactions. These
reactions can lead to false allegations based on memories of
the past.



 Body language is misinterpreted

 Revenge. The child, or perhaps someone in the child's
family, has a grudge against the foster parent or Society and
uses an allegation of abuse as a weapon.



 Attention seeking. This is a way of obtaining the
attention the child seeks. It can also be a cry for help.

A child may be getting back at the system. He/she knows
that an allegation is easy to make but difficult to disprove.

The foster child wants to break a placement, is not listened
to, and knows this is a way to ensure a move.



 The child/youth may want to break the
placement because:
 abuse has occurred
 he/she wants to go home (various reasons-might
want to get back to protect siblings)
 he/she believes the placement won’t last (no
investment)
 might want to be placed in the home of a sibling

 believe that no one cares for him or her. Has a history
of being unloved by parents and sibs.
 conflicting loyalties, desire to please bio parents


CRITICAL EMOTIONAL STAGES
THAT MIGHT LEAD TO ALLEGATIONS

 Anger stage: Self expression: “I hate this place”. “You
are not my mother” “I could do this at home.”
 Poor Case Management: Placement disruption, or foster
parent hanging in for the child.
 Honeymoon period. Shock denial stage.
 The crisis: “Do you still love me when I am this bad?”
Questioning whether foster parent will still be there for
them.


POINTS TO CONSIDER

 We tend to interpret our experiences by what
we know and what we have experienced.
Our foster kids see us as parents. Their past experience
with parents was not positive therefore they see us as
not positive.


POINTS TO CONSIDER (Cont’d)

 We see in others what we
expect to see and miss what
we do not.
Children do this: They see an
attitude where there is no attitude.


CONTEXT FOR MAKING ALLEGATIONS

 Isolation
 Too few adults
 Too many children
 Memory chargers
 Changes
 Access visits
 School problems


This concludes the first portion of the
Safeguarding training session.

Click on the “Back” button of your
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main page to continue


Safeguarding part1

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