Families’ perspectives on the impact of signs of safety in child protection services through the lens of self-determination theory

The Signs of Safety (SofS) approach has been designed as a strengths- and solution-oriented approach for professional care providers to support families and children referred to Child Protection Services (CPS). Although SofS has been implemented worldwide within statutory and non-statutory child protection practices, research from the perspective of families that evidences the approach’s impact is currently lacking. As previous research has called for more theory-driven impact studies, this study applies Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework to better understand how SofS enables families to experience ‘autonomous’ motivation rather than ‘controlled’ motivation by supporting basic human needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Sixteen parents, minors, and network members from five case studies were interviewed through semi-structured interviews about their experiences with their SofS trajectory in Flanders, Belgium. The results demonstrate that by leveraging SDT and integrating it with the principles of SofS, practice workers can establish a supportive environment that respects family autonomy, promotes collaboration, and encourages self-endorsed goals, ultimately enhancing the safety and well-being of children and families involved in CPS.