Safe Places for Children

Typically children with whom Safe Places works (10 - 17 year olds) have been through many stages of the care system, and experienced several dozen placements. While existing, well-known models of care have aspects which are applicable to our unique situation, no other model satisfies all our requirements. For this reason, we developed the Safe Places Integrative Practice Framework; a flexible and adaptable model which ensures each young person in our care is treated individually and with regard for his or her particular history and current needs.

The Framework draws heavily on strategies utilized in Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, Daniel Hughes’ Dyadic Developmental Principles for Facilitating Attachment (PACE model), and Ross Green and Stuart Ablon’s Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. The Safe Places Integrative Practice Framework consists of: • Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training • Child Focused Case Clinics for each young person • Reflective Individual Supervision for employees • Community Meetings involving the young person • Understanding Trauma training.

Everyone at Safe Places is responsible for providing individualized therapeutic care with these processes maintained and continuously implemented, even at times of crisis. The main point of difference between the Safe Places Integrative Practice Framework and most internationally known models of care, such as the Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC) Model, Children and Residential Experiences (CARE) Model, Sanctuary Model and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) System, is its greater focus on children with extreme behaviours.