North Carolina Implements Safety Organized Practice
Safety Organized Practice (SOP) is an essential part of child welfare transformation in North Carolina. Our state has chosen to implement this best practice approach because it develops child welfare professionals' skills in family engagement, rigorous assessment, and critical thinking so they can create sustained safety, permanency, and well-being for children and their families.
Some SOP practices, such as scaling and other solution-focused questions, have been widely used in our state for years. Others, such as the Three Houses, are less familiar. Implementation of Safety Organized Practice in North Carolina will be an organic process, with each child welfare professional gradually learning about and adding SOP practices to the tools they use with families.
"Collaborative, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, this best practice approach is rooted in evidence-based practice and provides practical tools to support engagement, assessment, and critical thinking. It actively positions the family as the expert and holds child welfare professionals responsible for honoring each family's unique culture and perspective by uplifting and building on their strengths."
— UC Davis, 2024This issue of Practice Notes explains how SOP fits into North Carolina's child welfare practice model and explores how using SOP tools and techniques can make child welfare casework more safety-focused, trauma-informed, family-centered, and solution-focused. Using SOP tools and practices enhances our ability to achieve positive outcomes for families and children.
Safety Organized Practice and North Carolina's Practice Model
An introduction to Safety Organized Practice — how it fits within North Carolina's broader child welfare practice model and why our state has chosen to implement this approach as a foundation for daily work with families.
Solution-Focused Questions in Child Welfare Practice
A closer look at solution-focused questioning as a core SOP skill — how these questions help caseworkers engage families, surface strengths, and support goal-directed work toward child safety and well-being.
Using the Three Houses Tool
The Three Houses is a structured, strengths-based tool used to explore worries, good things, and wishes with children and families. This article explains how child welfare workers are incorporating it into visits and assessments.
Enhancing Child Welfare Visits Through Safety Organized Practice Tools
SOP offers specific tools and techniques for making family visits more purposeful and productive. This article explores how caseworkers are using SOP approaches to strengthen engagement and gather meaningful safety information during visits.
Implementing Safety Organized Practice Starts at the Top
Successful implementation of SOP requires commitment and modeling from supervisors and agency leaders. This article examines what leadership looks like in counties that are making SOP a meaningful part of their practice culture.
References for This Issue
A complete list of sources cited throughout this issue of Practice Notes.
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