New DVD helps keep Child Safety staff safe too
Published Tuesday, 14 August, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Minister for Child Safety
The Honourable Desley Boyle
A new training DVD is showing frontline child protection workers how to keep themselves safe when dealing with aggressive parents.
Child Safety Minister Desley Boyle and Member for Woodridge Desley Scott today launched the DVD, Handle with care: Worker safety in child protection, which is part of a new, mandatory training workshop for all frontline staff.
“Our staff are doing one of the most important jobs there is – protecting children from abuse and neglect,” Ms Boyle said.
“They are regularly in contact with families who are at breaking point, so knowing the best ways to deal with angry, aggressive people is really important.
“Our staff have been on the receiving end of abusive calls from parents, personal threats and in some cases, even physical assault.
“There is absolutely no excuse for this sort of behaviour, nonetheless, it can happen, so we are making sure that our staff are as prepared as they can be.”
Mrs Scott said part of the DVD had been filmed at the Logan and Brisbane West Zonal Office at Woodridge.
She congratulated staff from the Department of Child Safety who developed the DVD and starred in it.
“The DVD has been very well done. It gives staff practical advice to identify potentially dangerous situations and what they can do to avoid them,” Mrs Scott said.
“It includes scenarios that compare the right and wrong ways to go about activities such as investigation and assessment, interview room meetings and generally dealing with people,” she said.
The DVD is a major feature of the department’s new training workshop for frontline staff, Worker Safety in Child Protection Practice.
Other initiatives as part of the Department’s larger Workplace Aggression Management Strategy include:
• the delivery of non-violent crisis intervention training to all frontline staff, to help them identify and safely defuse potentially dangerous situations;
• a dedicated section in the department’s Child Safety Practice Manual which outlines policies and procedures for preventing and managing client aggression;
• working with other government agencies such as the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health’s Child and Youth Mental Health Services to develop strategies for dealing with aggressive clients;
• improved processes for reporting and recording critical events and for communicating this information to Child Safety staff;
• the upgrading of child safety service centres with safety features such as closed circuit television systems and alarm systems;
• the establishment of the department’s Employee Support Service, which supports and promotes the physical, psychological and emotional health and wellbeing of staff;
• the provision of post-incident support and debriefing for staff who have been involved in, or affected by, distressing events or critical incidents and;
• the distribution of posters and brochures to all child safety service centres throughout Queensland outlining what clients can expect from Child Safety staff and, in turn, the behaviour that Child Safety expects from clients.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
14 August 2007
Child Safety Minister Desley Boyle and Member for Woodridge Desley Scott today launched the DVD, Handle with care: Worker safety in child protection, which is part of a new, mandatory training workshop for all frontline staff.
“Our staff are doing one of the most important jobs there is – protecting children from abuse and neglect,” Ms Boyle said.
“They are regularly in contact with families who are at breaking point, so knowing the best ways to deal with angry, aggressive people is really important.
“Our staff have been on the receiving end of abusive calls from parents, personal threats and in some cases, even physical assault.
“There is absolutely no excuse for this sort of behaviour, nonetheless, it can happen, so we are making sure that our staff are as prepared as they can be.”
Mrs Scott said part of the DVD had been filmed at the Logan and Brisbane West Zonal Office at Woodridge.
She congratulated staff from the Department of Child Safety who developed the DVD and starred in it.
“The DVD has been very well done. It gives staff practical advice to identify potentially dangerous situations and what they can do to avoid them,” Mrs Scott said.
“It includes scenarios that compare the right and wrong ways to go about activities such as investigation and assessment, interview room meetings and generally dealing with people,” she said.
The DVD is a major feature of the department’s new training workshop for frontline staff, Worker Safety in Child Protection Practice.
Other initiatives as part of the Department’s larger Workplace Aggression Management Strategy include:
• the delivery of non-violent crisis intervention training to all frontline staff, to help them identify and safely defuse potentially dangerous situations;
• a dedicated section in the department’s Child Safety Practice Manual which outlines policies and procedures for preventing and managing client aggression;
• working with other government agencies such as the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health’s Child and Youth Mental Health Services to develop strategies for dealing with aggressive clients;
• improved processes for reporting and recording critical events and for communicating this information to Child Safety staff;
• the upgrading of child safety service centres with safety features such as closed circuit television systems and alarm systems;
• the establishment of the department’s Employee Support Service, which supports and promotes the physical, psychological and emotional health and wellbeing of staff;
• the provision of post-incident support and debriefing for staff who have been involved in, or affected by, distressing events or critical incidents and;
• the distribution of posters and brochures to all child safety service centres throughout Queensland outlining what clients can expect from Child Safety staff and, in turn, the behaviour that Child Safety expects from clients.
Ends
Media contact: 3224 7477
14 August 2007