When out in the community, the first thing you want to ask yourself is, “How am I going to stay safe today?” This is the ultimate “I” statement! Most people tend to minimize the risk to themselves either because nothing has ever gone wrong, or they think they have enough experience to anticipate a problem.

The information in this module provides a framework to keep you safer in the community and more effective when facing unique, unexpected, challenging, difficult, or even dangerous situations. We will discuss ways to anticipate problems and predict violence as well as how to create a safer community/home visit from start to finish. As we explore the content of this course, take note of the different ways you can keep yourself safe each and every day.

Has an individual ever threatened you?  How did you react? Is there anything you would have done differently to handle the situation more effectively?

Many of us have been threatened at one time or another, but how did we know if the threat was real? There are some underlying theories about threats and threat assessment. This module provides insight into how to assess the credibility of a threat. The goal is to provide a framework to keep you safer and more effective when facing unique, unexpected, challenging, difficult, or even dangerous situations.

This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers, (Approval #886743327-6420)  for 4 Continuing Education Contact Hours.

After completing module 11, you should be able to:

• Define the five S.M.A.R.T Principles and provide examples of each
• Determine the level of danger a behavior presents as informed by the Lalemand Red Behavior Scale
• Identify safe and effective responses that match the level of danger as indicated by the behavior
• Describe the steps involved in staying safe during the Dangerous Community Visit
• Identify the parts of a personal flight plan to stay safer during the dangerous community visit

After completing module 12, you should be able to:

• Define the components of a credible threat and how to assess them to determine the seriousness
• Describe why people threaten others
• Identify clues you can use to determine the level of seriousness of a threat
• Describe how to respond to a threat
• Describe methods for keeping yourself safe in a threatening situation