7.2.2  Team Meetings

The Children’s Service Worker may serve as facilitator for team meetings.  The meeting facilitator should:

1. Introduce team members and their individual role and responsibility and why they are members of the team.
2. Clarify the purpose of the meeting - permanency for the child(ren).  Determination of what needs to be accomplished before the child(ren) can return home.  When applicable, determine what needs to accomplished to provide a permanent placement for sibling groups.
3. Present the ground rules.  The meeting is informal with everyone having equal voice and opportunity to voice their views and:
   1. No idea is a bad idea.
   2. Ideas should not be judged.
   3. Team should consider needs not pathology.
   4. Should consider all possibilities not just traditional services known to be available.
   5. Ideas should be driven by goals, not limited by available resources.
4. Present the family's strengths.  Not all of the team members will be as knowledgeable about the family as the Children’s Service Worker.
5. Normalize behavior.  Help the team to think about what all families need in each of life's domains, i.e., safety, behavioral/psychiatric, home/residence, education, social/recreational, spiritual, medical, legal, and financial and advocacy.
6. Identify needs.  The Children’s Service Worker will need to use skill in translating problems as needs for some team members.
7. Prioritize needs.  Begin with the most critical needs.  It is important that the parent agrees with the priority of an identified need.
8. Develop the plan.  The Children’s Service Worker should check often with the family and other team members to assure they are invested in the plan.