Benefits, burdens, and complications: A secondary analysis of research on signs of safety with service users and practitioners within the Irish child protection and welfare services

Background

Signs of Safety (SofS) is a strength-based approach for family intervention. The SofS model has been adopted in many jurisdictions internationally, including Ireland. It is used by social workers to engage with families referred for services due to concerns about child welfare or abuse.

Objective

To examine the implementation and use of SofS in the context of the Irish child protection and welfare services.

Participants and setting

Review of reports involving three groups of stakeholders (social workers, parents, and children).

Methods

A documentary analysis of early research on SofS within the Irish child protection and welfare services. We conducted a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the reports from three studies commissioned by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) following the implementation of SofS.

Results

SofS empowers social workers and improves relationships lbetween social workers and families. However, SofS also takes more time and energy to use and poses a barrier to good practice in some situations. The complexities of the SofS model combined with heavy workloads, mean there is not always time for social workers to engage with SofS fully. Social workers and clients reported that this negatively impacted their experience.

Conclusion

The findings indicate two contrasting characteristics of the SofS model. It also identifies and analyzes the current Irish evidence base.