Worker Safety

1
Worker Safety

• No one can protect you from all risk, but there
  are things you can do to maximize your own
  safety.
  

2
Maximizing Your Safety

• Think of a time when someone made you do
  something you really didnt want to do. Could
  have been a parent, a date, a boss. Write down a
  quick description of the event.
• How did you feel when you were pushed to do what
  you didnt want to do? Write down a couple of
  words describing those feelings.
  
• What did you do? Write down a few words
  describing what you did.

3
Maximizing Your Safety

• How might your feelings and behavior when forced
  to do something you didnt want to do relate to
  working with your clients? Make a few notes to
  yourself as your supervisor will ask you about
  this later.
• Several internal factors have been associated
  with aggressive encounters. These include fear,
  humiliation, grief, and a sense of powerlessness.
  Its hard to imagine that many of our clients
  dont come to us with some of those feelings.
  They have many of the same feelings we do when
  forced to do something we really dont want to
  do. The difference may be that they havent
  learned to deal with those feelings in ways that
  are safe either for themselves or for others.

4
Maximizing Safety

• There are many things you can do to maximize
  your own safety. Almost all of them include 2
  things
  
• Working in an agency with good safety planning.
• Being pro-active yourself.
• This module is designed to remind you of things
  you probably already know about being safe and to
  suggest some new ideas that may help keep you
  safe while doing the important work of child
  welfare.

5
Purpose Unit 1

• When finished with this unit, you should know
• How normal it is for people to come to our
  offices feeling embarrassed, hopeless, fearful
  and powerless.
  
• How to maximize your own safety when in your
  agency.
  
• What to pay attention to as you come and go from
  the agency.
  
• How to maximize your safety when going on home
  visits.
  

6
Maximizing Your SafetyIn the Office

• Know your agencys safety procedures. Typically
  these include
  
• How to summon help to your office if you feel
  threatened.
  
• Instructions for tornado and fire
  shelter/evacuation.
  
• Protocols for handling blood born pathogens
  other contagions.
  
• Pay attention to the arrangement of your office.
  Do you the client have ready access to the
  door? Keep weapons of opportunity, e.g.,
  scissors, letter openers, paper weights, off your
  desk. Keep personal information out of sight.
  Leave the door open if unsure about a clients
  self-control or if the client seems agitated.

7
Maximizing Your SafetyIn the Office

• Be aware of signs of potential violence. Take a
  few moments now and make a list of indicators
  that the person in front of you might be ready to
  loose control and strike out at you. You will
  review the list with your supervisor later.
  Think of physical and verbal cues.

8
In the Office

• Things you can do to protect yourself
• Prepare yourself before the client comes in.
  Read the file, talk to relevant
  co-workers/supervisor. The single best predictor
  of violence, is past violent behavior. If
  reading the file raises red flags, talk to
  your supervisor before seeing the client so you
  can both plan for a safe meeting.
• Accept that interviews, particularly initial
  interviews, can be very difficult for clients.
  Remind yourself not to take things personally.
  This isnt about you, its about the work you do,
  the position you hold. This is when really being
  a professional is essential.
• Stay calm, avoid any defensive or aggressive
  behaviors, words, tone of voice yourself.
  
• Start with respect and stay with respect. The
  best tool in your professional bag is a
  respectful working relationship with a client.
  Calmly validate any feelings being expressed,
  while providing clear guidelines, choices and
  alternatives.
• Watch out for power struggles. Avoid insisting
  the client confront upsetting material if they
  already are upset.
  
• If you feel that an interview is getting out of
  hand, end it firmly and quickly.
  

9
Coming to Work and Leaving

• When parking, remember that it may be dark when
  you leave. Will your car be in a lighted area at
  the end of your workday?
  
• Is the office located in an area that can be
  unsafe? When staying late, arrange for someone
  to walk you to your car.
  
• Lock your car. Put valuables in your trunk
  before you leave home. When returning to your
  car, get in, lock the doors immediately.
  
• Never leave identifying items visible in your
  car, e.g., envelopes/bills with your address on
  them.

10
Home Visits Before Leaving

• Before you leave, do a safety assessment. Doing a
  safety assessment before you leave the office
  will allow you to decide what preventative
  measures you should take, such as who to bring
  (going out in teams, or with police), when to
  visit, and how to proceed. Preparing a safety
  plan includes
• Reading the file (refer to earlier slide).
• Talking to previous worker, supervisor, if
  applicable.
  
• Getting information about the area you will be
  visiting.
  
• Make sure that you check out of the office with
  information as to where you will be and when you
  will return.
  
• It is safest to visit in morning hours. There
  tend to be fewer people hanging around on the
  streets.
  
• Take a cell phone with you.
• Make sure your car has sufficient gas.
• Have directions ready.

11
Home Visits Traveling to Site

• Drive with doors locked.
• Be aware of the signs of drug/alcohol use as you
  approach the clients residence. (More in later
  slide.)
  
• If there are people hanging around the clients
  residence and they make you uneasy, consider
  either leaving or calling the client to come out
  and walk you to their place.

12
During Home Visits

• Make it clear that you have a schedule and are
  expected for a next appointment.
  
• Do not give out personal information.
• As in the office, have clear access to an exit.
  If uneasy, sit in a chair/sofa that allows you to
  get up quickly.
  
• Unless absolutely necessary, do not go into a
  bedroom.
  
• If there are people in the residence that are not
  relevant to the interview, ask the client to have
  them leave the room so you can have a private
  conversation. An alternative would be to go to a
  room like the kitchen for more privacy (only if
  there is an exit from that room).
• If you feel unsafe, leave.

13
Home Visits Meth Labs

• Know the signs that a residence is a
  methanphetamine lab
  
• Unusual, strong odors (like cat urine, ether,
  ammonia, acetone or other chemicals).
  
• Windows blacked out.
• Lots of traffic - people coming and going at
  unusual times.
  
• Excessive trash including large amounts of items
  such as antifreeze containers, lantern fuel
  cans, red chemically stained coffee filters,
  drain cleaner and duct tape.
• Unusual amounts of clear glass containers.

14
De-Escalating

• You are on a home visit, and Mom's boyfriend
  comes home. He glares at you and paces around the
  room. When you explain who you are and why are
  visiting, he yells at you. He begins cursing and
  gesturing, but stays away from you. What do you
  do?
• The Social Service Division, North Carolina
  makes the following suggestions
  
• The main rule (and it's easier said than done) is
  to remain calm. A calm tone, demeanor, and
  presence transfers to others. Speak in a clear
  and direct manner, so the person can hear what
  you are saying through the anger.
• It is not a good idea to tell the client to "calm
  down." By saying this, you communicate that you
  do not understandif you did, you would
  understand why he or she is so upset. Instead, be
  empathetic. Talk about the frustration or problem
  that has come up. Reflect feelings and behaviors
  such as "you look angry.

15
De-Escalating

• Reinforce your calm tone with non-threatening,
  non-confrontational body language. Move slowly.
  Avoid putting your hands on your hips. Position
  yourself to the side of the person, so you are
  not squarely facing them. Avoid extensive eye
  contact and physical closeness. Do not touch an
  angry person. Do not stand between the person and
  the door.
• You can also use different strategies to help an
  angry person calm down. One method is to offer
  the person choices, such as talking later or
  agreeing on a cooling off period. Allow the
  person to save facegive him or her a way out.
• Attempting to distract or change the subject can
  sometimes work, but be careful, as this may
  further anger people if they realize you are
  diverting them. Don't use humorin the haze of
  anger, it is too easily misinterpreted.
• Even if the person seems to be calming down, be
  patientit takes a person about 30 to 40 minutes
  to calm down from anger physiologically (Griffin
  et al., 1995). If you have done what you can and
  things still seem to be escalating, leave the
  situation and/or get help.
• 
  

16
References

• Following are good websites with more in-depth
  information on safety in social work.
  
• http//www.ssw.pdx.edu/pgField_SafetyConcerns.shtm
  l
  
• http//sswnt7.sowo.unc.edu/fcrp/Cspn/vol3_no2.htm