DISCUSSION 1;

1. Instructions

   1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
   2. If your agency has a risk assessment and safety plan (or something similar) template or format that it commonly uses, please ask permission to share a copy of it with the class.
      1. If permission is granted, then include the form as an attachment to your discussion post, removing any identifiers that the agency asks you to remove.
      2. If your agency does not have a template or copy or does not give you permission to share it with the class, then describe your agency’s process and procedures for conducting a risk assessment and safety planning with clients.
      3. If your agency does not have a template or structure for a risk assessment and safety plan, find one you like from a resource such as a clinical course you have taken or through an online search.
   3. Conduct research on what a good risk assessment and safety plan look like and what they should include (e.g., the client’s own assessment of his/her risk if adult and competent, evidence-based risk factors, culture, several suggestions and options for safety planning). The following resources provide some suggestions and ideas for risk assessment and safety plans:
      1. ” Family violence risk assessment risk management framework and practice guides (pdf)“
      2. “Practice Guide: Assessing Harm and Risk of Harm”
   4. Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following prompts:
      1. Apply your research findings to the risk assessment and safety planning form, model, or template you uploaded and discuss how it compares with best practices. What strengths, weaknesses or gaps do you see in your agencies current approach?
      2. Describe the value and importance of completing a risk assessment and a safety plan.
      1. Should these be done with every client, for example? Why or why not?
      2. What should you do if a client is at high risk for something, but that isn’t the “issue” or concern he/she came to your agency with?
      3. What might you do if you find out that a client is “unsafe” in some way?
      4. What will you do if the risk being described is an illegal activity? Describe how you would handle this differently?
   5. Submit your initial post by the fourth day of the workshop.

DISCUSSION 2;

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Read the devotional content above, and “The Silliness of “Christian Fluffy Love”, by David Servant.
3. Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following prompts:
4. 1. What are your feelings and personal reactions when you read 1 Corinthians 13? What do you tend to focus on most when you read this passage?
   2. Failing to understand that love and truth are intertwined in the very definition of love can lead us to error. Truth without love can lead to legalism and oppression. Love without truth can become mere sentiment and cheap grace that fails to call people to the holy lives God created them for, excusing sinful behaviors and attitudes in the name of love. But love always calls us to what is best for us, not what is easiest. Provide your own definition or thoughts on love that seeks to combine the importance of grace and truth as Paul does in 1st Corinthians.
   3. In thinking about love as holy love and something that cannot be separated from the truth, discuss what this may mean for your role in helping others or being an advocate. What does it mean for how a social worker might view or respond to ethical or moral issues in the lives of clients or in the work place? Discuss an example.
   4. How does the idea of a holy love that is equally full of grace and truth fit with or differ from the social work view or approach with which you are familiar?