Social Emotional Safety
Creates a safe and supportive environment for youth to feel valued and comfortable to be themselves
Social Emotional Safety
Planting
Structure and boundaries are provided to create a space for youth’s feelings, experiences, ideas, and innovations to be heard.
All staff and youth respectfully listen, participate, question, and share, including the allowance for long pauses (i.e. adequate wait time) and opting out.
Behavior expectations and norms are posted.
Growing
Behavior expectations and norms are co-created by youth and adults, including a clear resolution process for bullying/social exclusion.
Boundaries around confidentiality are clear and maintained.
Adults and youth respect each other’s privacy about personal issues (e.g. relationships, gender/sexuality development, medications).
Organization promotes exploration of, and commitment to, individual self-care with youth and adults.
Blossoming
A shared, participatory process is utilized by all to proactively build trust, active listening, conflict diffusion and resolution skills.
Youth hold each other and adults accountable to shared behavior expectations and norms.
Programming starts and ends with check-ins and/or debrief circles about feelings to establish a safe place for vulnerability.
Staff models individual self-care.
Examples
Staff receive training on various youth cultures, including transgender and nonconforming identities, and the strategies to break down barriers to foster SE safety.
Norms of agency
Staff is trained in crisis intervention and management to ensure physical and emotional safety and minimize repeat trauma.
Staff is trained in trauma-informed care/practices.
Circles or other rituals o Staff work reasonable hours and take vacation.
Staff has manageable caseloads/ratios to foster individual social emotional connections.