Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook - Health Service ...

Support and guidance for practitioners
4.2 Personal Safety Questions and
Risk Checklist for Practitioners
Questions for practitioners Risk checklist
Before you visit a household, think
through your safety plan: ensure
someone in your team knows where,
when and why you are visiting, and
when to raise the alert if you are not
back.
9 Do I feel safe approaching this
household?
9 Do I feel safe inside this
household?
9 If not, why not? Exactly what in
the family’s behaviour and in my
response makes me feel unsafe?
9 How do the children and young
people in this household appear to
cope with hostility/aggression?
9 Am I able to voice my concerns
and ask for support, both from
colleagues and my manager?
9 How do I operate when I feel
challenged or threatened?
9 What is my coping strategy? How
does this affect the families I work
with? Am I aggressive, collusive,
accommodating, hyperalert? Do
I filter out or minimise negative
information?
9 If I, or another professional, should
go back to the household to
ensure the child(ren)’s safety, what
support should I ask for?
9 Does my manager know I am
afraid and anxious?
9 Why am I undertaking this visit
at the end of the day when it is
dark and everyone else has gone
home? (Risky visits should be
undertaken in daylight whenever
possible.)
9 Should this visit be made jointly
with a colleague, other professional
(e.g. Public Health Nurse or
Gardaí) or manager?
9 Is my car likely to be targeted or
followed? If yes, it may be better to
go by taxi and have it wait outside
the house while I complete the
visit.
9 Do I have a mobile phone with
me or some other means of
summoning help (e.g. a personal
alarm)? Is my phone charged?
9 Could this particular visit be
arranged at a neutral venue?
How might I then organise to see
the family at home under safer
conditions?
9 Are my colleagues/line managers
aware of where I am going and
when I should be back? Do
they know I may be particularly
vulnerable/at risk during this visit?
9 Are there clear procedures for what
should be done if a professional
does not return or report back
within the agreed time from a
home visit?
9 Does my manager know my
mobile phone number and
network, my car registration
number, and my home address
and telephone number?
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