Understanding Child Protection: Federal Govt's Role, Reporting Laws, & Assessment, Exercises of Law

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CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

USER MANUAL SERIES

Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers 2018

Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers

Diane DePanfilis, Ph.D., M.S.W.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

Office on Child Abuse and Neglect

• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • Acknowledgments
  • Principal Reviewers
  • Reviewers
  • Other Acknowledgments
• CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Terms and Definitions
  • 1.3 Topics Addressed in This Manual
• CHAPTER 2: CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES PRACTICE
  • 2.1 National Goals for Child Protection
  • 2.2 Philosophical Tenets of Child Protective Services
  • 2.3 Framework for Practice
  • 2.4 Caseworker Competence
  • 2.5 Stages of CPS
• CHAPTER 3: LEGAL CONTEXT OF CPS INTERVENTION
  • 3.1 Federal Role
  • 3.2 Basis for State and Tribal Intervention
  • 3.3 Child Maltreatment Definitions
• CHAPTER 4: ENGAGING AND WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
  • 4.1 Engaging Diversity and Difference With Cultural Sensitivity
  • 4.2 Core Conditions of Helping Relationships
  • 4.3 Building Rapport and Engaging Families
  • 4.4 Use of Authority in Child Protective Services
  • 4.5 Culturally Competent CPS Intervention
• CHAPTER 5: REPORTING AND INTAKE
  • 5.1 Community Outreach and Education
  • 5.2 Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
  • 5.3 CPS Intake
• CHAPTER 6: INITIAL ASSESSMENT OR INVESTIGATION
  • 6.1 Initial Assessment Process
  • 6.2 Analysis of Information at Decision Points
• CHAPTER 7: COMPREHENSIVE FAMILY ASSESSMENT
  • 7.1 Principles for Conducting Family Assessments
  • 7.2 Family Assessment Process
• CHAPTER 8: DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY PLAN
  • 8.1 Family Plan Decisions
  • 8.2 Involving the Family in the Planning Process
  • 8.3 Targeting Outcomes in the Family Plan
  • 8.4 Determining Goals to Accomplish Outcomes
  • 8.5 Determining Action Steps to Achieve Goals
• CHAPTER 9: CHANGE STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS
  • 9.1 Defining Terms to Guide the Selection of Change Strategies
  • 9.2 Matching Change Strategies and Interventions to Outcomes
  • 9.3 Collaborating With Community Partners
• CHAPTER 10: EVALUATION OF CHANGE
  • 10.1 Evaluating Change on a Regular Basis
  • 10.2 Evaluating the Change Process
  • 10.3 Considering Areas of Assessment and Key Decisions
  • 10.4 Linking the Evaluation of Change to Other Reviews
• CHAPTER 11: CLOSURE AND ENDING CPS INVOLVEMENT
  • 11.1 Types of CPS Closure
  • 11.2 The Process of Ending CPS Involvement
  • 11.3 Community Collaboration During Closure
• CHAPTER 12: EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION
  • 12.1 Purposes of Child Protective Services Recordkeeping
  • 12.2 Principles of Effective Documentation
  • 12.3 Using Behavioral Descriptors
  • 12.4 Content of Child Protective Services Records
• CHAPTER 13: SUPERVISION
  • 13.1 Consultative Supervisory Practices
  • 13.2 Coaching Supervisory Practices
  • 13.3 Supervisory Consultation and Coaching on Key CPS Decisions
• CHAPTER 14: CASEWORKER WELLNESS AND SAFETY
  • 14.1 Caseworker Wellness
  • 14.2 Caseworker Safety
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY
• WITH CHILD MALTREATMENT APPENDIX B: RESOURCE LISTINGS OF SELECTED ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED
• MALTREATMENT APPENDIX C: STATE DIRECTORY OF WHERE TO REPORT SUSPECTED CHILD
• APPENDIX D: EXAMPLES OF CPS CORE COMPETENCIES
• TREATMENT ACT (CAPTA) REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF APPENDIX E: MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND

APPENDIX F: CONTENT OF AN INTAKE REPORT .................................................. 212

APPENDIX G: ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS ........................................................... 214

APPENDIX H: EXAMPLES OF CHANGE STRATEGIES AND OUTCOMES ............... 230

APPENDIX I: CHAPTER 10 – ALTERNATIVE CASE SCENARIOS FOR THE

SMITH FAMILY ....................................................................................................... 24 7S

Best practices and critical issues in casework practice are underscored throughout. The primary audience includes CPS caseworkers, supervisors, and administrators. State, tribal, and local CPS agency trainers may use the manual for pre- or inservice training of CPS caseworkers, while schools of social work may add it to class reading lists to orient students to the field of child protection. In addition, other professionals and concerned community members may consult the manual for a greater understanding of the child protection process. Another manual, Child Protection in Families Experiencing Domestic Violence , serves as a companion piece by looking at the CPS process through a domestic-violence lens. Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers, Child Protection in Families Experiencing Domestic Violence , and prior versions of the entire User Manual Series, are available at https://www. childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/.

Acknowledgments Author Diane DePanfilis, Ph.D., M.S.W., is Professor of Social Work at the Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, City University of New York. She has over 40 years of experience in the child welfare field as a caseworker, supervisor, director, trainer, evaluator, educator, and researcher and has published extensively on child maltreatment and child protection issues. She has led the design, testing, and implementation of federally funded, community-based interventions focused on preventing child maltreatment and on supporting systems to use evidence and data to inform decision-making related to policy, program, and practice reforms. Dr. DePanfilis is a former Vice President of the Society for Social Work and Research and former President of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. She has received numerous awards and honors including appointment as a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and the Society for Social Work and Research; a University of Maryland- Baltimore Champion of Excellence and Founders Research Lecturer of the Year; and the Aaron Rosen Lecturer by the Brown School of Social Work and the Society for Social Work and Research. Acknowledgment of Prior Editions This manual is an update of two prior versions of this manual, written by Diane DePanfilis and Marsha K. Salus in 1992 and 2003. The first edition of the manual was published in 1980 as Child Protection: Providing Ongoing Services by Cynthia K. Ragan, Marsha K. Salus, and Gretchen L. Schultze. Acknowledgments Staff from the Capacity Building Center for States and the Child Welfare Information Gateway conducted some of the search for updated literature. In particular, Debra Gilmore, M.P.A., J.D., conducted most of the research related to change strategies and interventions included in chapter 9. In addition, Jeannie Newman, M.S.W., M.I.B.S., provided some additional content, reviewed, and edited. Principal Reviewers These individuals provided extensive review and feedback: Debra Gilmore, M.P.A., J.D. Research Strategist Capacity Building Center for States

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Chapter 1:

Purpose and Overview

T

his manual, Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers , provides the fundamental information that child protective services (CPS) professionals need to know to perform essential casework functions. This first chapter:

• Provides the context for the manual
• Defines basic terms, used in general and throughout the manual, for describing the CPS process and activities
• Lays out the sequencing of the chapters, each of which builds upon previous chapters, for ease of reference 1.1 Background For federal fiscal year 2016, the Children’s Bureau (2018) found that the United States had approximately 676,000 reported victims of child abuse and neglect, or 9.1 victims per 1,000 children in the population. To protect children from harm, CPS relies on community members to identify and report suspected cases of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and psychological maltreatment. Many professionals (including health care providers, mental health professionals, educators, and legal and court system personnel) are involved in responding to cases of child maltreatment and in providing needed services. Because child abuse and neglect is a community concern, each community has a legal and moral obligation to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being^1 of children, which includes responding effectively to reports of child maltreatment. At the federal level, the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) monitor states to measure their effectiveness at achieving these goals. At the state, tribal, and local levels, professionals assume numerous roles and responsibilities (ranging from prevention, identification and reporting of child maltreatment to assessment, intervention, and treatment) to achieve those goals. CPS, a division within state, tribal, and local social services, is at the center of every community’s child protection efforts. CPS agencies, along with law enforcement, play a central role in receiving and investigating reports of child maltreatment. The focus of CPS agencies is to determine if a child is safe and whether there is risk of future maltreatment. They also offer services to families and children where maltreatment has occurred or is likely to occur. (^1) The focus of the CPS process is on safety. Permanency and well- being are the purview of other areas of the child welfare system and are beyond the scope of this manual.

Child and Family Services

Reviews

The CFSRs enable the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to (1) ensure conformity with federal child welfare requirements; (2) determine what is actually happening to children and families engaged in child welfare services; and (3) assist states in enhancing their capacity to help children and families achieve positive outcomes. The Children’s Bureau completed the first round of the CFSRs in 2004 (after the publication of the third edition of this manual) and currently is conducting the third round. The CFSRs evaluate public child welfare systems to determine how well they achieve safety, permanency, and well-being in difficult situations of child maltreatment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau, n.d.). They also help states develop effective Program Improvement Plans to improve child and family outcomes and to enhance collaboration with service providers. For more information on the CFSRs, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/ monitoring/child-family-services-reviews (para.1). 1.2 Terms and Definitions Terminology not only varies throughout the field and from system to system, it also evolves as practice and protocols change. Appendix A provides a glossary of terms used throughout this and other manuals. For example, prior manuals referred to the “case plan” or “service plan.” This manual uses the term “family plan.” This change is to emphasize that to truly support change, the family must own the plan, not just be directed what to do by the caseworker, agency, and/or court. Another change from prior editions is referring to “service provision” now as “change strategies and interventions.” This phrase more accurately captures a paradigm shift. Now the caseworker’s goal focuses more on matching change strategies and interventions to family strengths and needs to achieve specific outcomes, rather than merely providing services or requiring attendance in programs that may or may not be beneficial to achieving those outcomes. The Overview of Child Protection Process in chapter 2, exhibit 2.1, also incorporates these terms. The stages of the CPS process illustrated by this flowchart also track to chapters 5–11 in this manual. While the manual’s title refers to “caseworkers,” the term is used generally to refer to the various workers that provide CPS services. Therefore, at various times and during different stages of the CPS process, this manual also uses other terms, including “worker,” “CPS worker,” “intake worker,” and “practitioner.” “Parent” in this manual most often refers to birth parents, as well as other parental-role caregivers. Other examples of caregivers who may be involved with CPS include guardians, emotional or psychological parents (e.g., fictive kin who often assume a parental role without any legal or biological relationship or responsibility to the children), foster and adoptive parents, and stepparents. The parent who is not the subject of a report of alleged maltreatment is referred to as the “nonmaltreating” or “nonoffending” parent. The reader should note two other items:

1. The author and reviewers made every effort to use the most up-to-date research and materials. However, in some cases, the material referenced is older because the field recognizes it as the gold standard of certain definitions, terminology, or concepts and/or it is a primary source cited in a secondary source.

Chapter 2:

Child Protective Services Practice

C

hild protective services (CPS) is the central agency in each community that receives reports of suspected child maltreatment (sometimes in tandem with law enforcement). It assesses the risk to and safety of children and provides or arranges for services to achieve safe, permanent families for children who have been abused or neglected, or who are at risk of abuse or neglect. CPS also facilitates community collaborations and engages formal and informal community partners to support families and to protect children from maltreatment. The basis for CPS stems from a concern for the care of children, which is expressed through laws established at the federal, state, and tribal levels (chapter 3). This chapter introduces CPS practice and covers the:

• National child protection goals of safety, permanency, and well-being
• Culturally competent, developmental, ecological, evidence-informed, strengths- based, and permanency-driven perspectives guiding this practice
• Child-centered, family-focused, and culturally responsive framework for practice
• Core competencies necessary for caseworkers
• Stages of CPS practice: planning, service provision, evaluation of family progress, and case closure

Substantiated or Indicated Reporting o Contact the designated agency (CPS or law enforcement). o Provide information on suspected maltreatment. Identification o Recognize signs of child abuse or neglect. Intake o Determine whether the report meets statutory and agency guidelines. o Decide whether to investigate. o Assess urgency of response to request. Report is "screened in." Referral Safety concerns exist and/or risk is significant. Safety concerns and risk are moderate. There are no safety concerns and risk is low. CPS may conduct a family assessment (differential response). Child welfare or community-based services may be offered to address family needs. No services are found to be appropriate. Family may be referred elsewhere, including community-based prevention resources. Screened Out Ruled Out or Unsubstantiated Continued Intervention Situation does not meet the state's definition of maltreatment, or too little information is supplied. Report is "screened out." Caller may be referred elsewhere. Initial Assessment or Investigation o Contact the child and family and gather information. o Determine whether maltreatment occurred. o Assess safety of child and need for emergency removal or services. o Develop safety plans. Development of Plans o Specify outcomes and goals that will reflect reduction or elimination of risk of maltreatment. o Identify change strategies or interventions to achieve goals and outcomes. o Develop family, permanency, and other plans. o Set time frames. Comprehensive Family Assessment o Identify the family’s strengths and needs. o Assess factors contributing to risk of maltreatment. o Determine outcomes. Change Strategies and Interventions o Provide in-home strategies and interventions (e.g., family preservation, parenting, education). o Provide out-of-home services (e.g., foster care, reunification services). Evaluation of Change o Assess safety of child and reduction of risks. o Evaluate achievement of family outcomes, goals, and tasks. o Review progress and needs for continued intervention. Closure and Ending CPS Involvement o Assess levels of safety and risk. o Determine whether family can protect child without further CPS services. Exhibit 2. Overview of Child Protection Process

Most parents want to be good parents and have the strength and capacity, when adequately supported by family or other social supports, to care for their children and to keep them safe. Most children are best cared for by their own family. Therefore, CPS and the community can provide essential supports to families who have maltreated their children, or who are at risk or otherwise need support, to help them develop the strengths and to build protective capacities to keep their children safe so the family may stay together. Families who need assistance from CPS agencies are diverse in family structure, culture, race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, beliefs, values, and lifestyles. Agencies and caseworkers need to be responsive to, and demonstrably respectful of, these differences. Furthermore, caseworkers, along with their partners in other public and community-based agencies, can and should (1) build on the strengths and on the protective capacities and factors within families and communities, and (2) advocate for the families they serve to gain access to needed services. Often securing access to services and resources means helping families overcome barriers rooted in poverty or discrimination. CPS practice should be implemented through a trauma-informed lens. When children have been victims of child maltreatment, they likely have been exposed to multiple forms of trauma. It is, therefore, essential for caseworkers to (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2008):

• Maximize the sense of safety for children
• Assist children in reducing overwhelming emotion and building healthy coping skills
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the child and family’s trauma experience and impact and to coordinate services with other agencies^3 3 Chapter 9 provides more on trauma-focused practice. Other practice guidelines can be found through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at http://www.nctsn.org/. - Help parents and children make meaning of their trauma history - Understand and address the impact of trauma on child development and subsequent changes in the child’s behavior, development, and relationships - Support and promote positive and stable relationships - Provide support and guidance to the child’s family - Manage professional stress CPS efforts are most likely to succeed when families are ready and actively participate in the process. Whatever a caseworker’s role, he or she should have the ability to elicit motivation for change and to develop helping alliances with family members (see chapter 4). Caseworkers need to work in ways that encourage families to participate fully in the assessment, safety planning, and development of the family plan, as well as other critical decisions in CPS intervention. The goal is to keep children in the home when safe to do so, and the parents’ participation is key. When parents cannot or will not fulfill their responsibilities to protect their children, however, CPS has the right and obligation to intervene directly on the children’s behalf. Both laws and good practice maintain that interventions should be designed to help parents protect their children and should implement strategies using the least- intrusive approach possible. Caseworkers are legally required to make reasonable efforts to develop safety plans that keep children with their families, whenever possible, and to refer for court intervention and placement of children in out-of-home care only when children cannot be kept safely within their own homes.

When children are placed in out-of-home care because their safety cannot be assured, the agency should select a home that best meets the child’s needs and develop a case plan as soon as possible. A properly chosen placement will:

• Meet children’s physical, emotional, and social needs
• Strengthen and preserve children’s relationships with their families
• Reflect and/or actively value a child’s culture
• Minimize separation trauma To the degree possible, children should be placed with members of their own extended families or in their home communities to maintain continuity, preserve important relationships, and support their cultural identity. In most cases, the preferred permanency goal is to reunify children with their families. All children need continuity in their lives, so if the goal is family reunification, the plan should include frequent contact and quality interactions between the child and family and other efforts to sustain the parent-child relationship while the child is in out-of-home care. Also, the agency must begin immediately (in the case of emergency placements) or continue to work with the family to mitigate the behaviors and conditions that led to the maltreatment and necessitated placement in out-of-home care in order to start working toward reunification. To best protect a child’s overall well-being, agencies must take actions to ensure that children move to permanency as quickly as possible; doing so requires thorough planning early in the life of the case. Along with developing plans to support reunification, agencies should develop concurrent plans for permanence from the time a child enters care. This early planning will prove beneficial, as caseworkers will be able to implement alternative permanency plans expeditiously, such as adoption and guardianship, if it is determined that a child cannot be safely reunited with his or her family. The next section explains how CPS professionals put these philosophical tenets into practice by working in ways that are child centered, family focused, and culturally responsive. 2.3 Framework for Practice Building on these philosophical tenets, child welfare professionals generally agree that a child-centered, family-focused, and culturally responsive framework for child welfare practice will promote the best outcomes for children (Child Welfare League of America, 1999). This integrative framework builds on six main perspectives, described below. Cultural competence perspective. As the National Association of Social Workers (2015) states, practitioners should strive to consider the values, worldview, or perspectives of families and peers who may come from culturally diverse backgrounds. They can both build cross-cultural knowledge and skills and demonstrate a respect for their own cultural identities and those of others. Given the complexity of multiculturalism, it is beneficial to understand cultural competency (also known as cultural responsiveness) as a process rather than as an end product. Cultural competence comes from developing a set of attitudes, behaviors, and policies that integrates knowledge about diverse groups of people into practices and standards to enhance the quality of services to all cultural groups being served. Basic cultural competency is achieved when organizations and practitioners:
  • Accept and respect differences
  • Recognize, affirm, and value the worth of individuals and communities

maintain or strengthen existing positive relationships and to live in safe families that offer them a sense of belonging and legal, lifetime, family ties. 2.4 Caseworker Competence The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines competency as “a measurable pattern of knowledge, skill, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully” (n.d.-a, para.1). Developing CPS caseworker competence is an ongoing process. Child welfare agencies should begin this process with an analysis of job functions and then define competencies to guide worker selection and training. OPM suggests developing competencies so that readers are able to identify easily what the competency is. Each competency should focus on one single, readily identifiable characteristic and should avoid unnecessary qualifiers. For example, instead of describing “considerable skill” to draw conclusions, a competency for reasoning would be described as “identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions (OPM, n.d.- b).” Most state child welfare agencies use a competency-based framework. Rather than proposing that only one approach “fits all,” appendix D compiles examples of CPS competencies from a number of sources. 2.5 Stages of CPS As previously discussed, to fulfill its mission CPS, either directly or through other agencies, must provide services that are child centered, family focused, and culturally responsive to achieve safety, well-being, and permanency for children. Each child welfare agency may be organized differently based on state and tribal laws, policies, departmental structures, and geography. All programs, however, essentially implement their CPS mandates through seven stages. These stages are briefly reviewed here and then addressed in separate chapters in the manual, which correspond to the flowchart shown in exhibit 2.1. 2.5.1 Reporting and Intake The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (detailed in chapter 3) specifies that CPS should develop, facilitate, and implement research-based strategies and training protocols for individuals who are mandated to report child abuse and neglect.^4 This includes educating any reporters (mandated or not) of suspected child abuse or neglect about state statutes, tribal and agency guidelines, and the roles and responsibilities of CPS. CPS is responsible for receiving and assessing those reports of suspected child maltreatment, which many jurisdictions refer to as “intake.” Intake’s purpose is to determine: (1) if a child is in imminent danger; (2) if the reported information meets the statutory definitions and agency guidelines for child maltreatment; and (3) the urgency with which the agency must respond to the report. 4 For the specific language of Sec. 106(a)(8) of the Act, go to https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/ capta2010.pdf, p. 18

After CPS receives a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, a worker evaluates its information (known as “screening”) to determine if the alleged child victim is in imminent danger. The screener next determines if the report meets the statutory definition of and agency guidelines for child maltreatment in that jurisdiction. Sometimes the person taking the report screens it, while some agencies have others who screen the report. The decisions the screener makes determines the next steps:

• The report does not meet statutory definitions and agency guidelines and is screened out with no further action.
• The report does not meet statutory definitions and agency guidelines, but the information in the report indicates that a referral to community services may be helpful. If information reveals criminal activity that does not indicate child maltreatment, a referral to law enforcement may be appropriate.
• The report meets the statutory definitions and agency guidelines, and the information contained in the report indicates that it is appropriate for differential response ([DR], also known as alternative or multiple response and dual- or multi-track) as an alternative to a formal investigation. In states offering DR, the child welfare agency provides the response or refers the family to another agency. Chapter 6 explains DR in more detail.
• The report meets the statutory definitions and agency guidelines and is appropriate for an assessment or investigation.
• The report meets the statutory definitions and agency guidelines but a joint investigation with and/or referral to law enforcement is more appropriate due to the nature of the alleged abuse. 2.5.2 Initial Assessment/Investigation After a report is “screened in,” CPS conducts an initial assessment/investigation to determine whether: - Child maltreatment occurred (for investigations) - The child is in immediate or imminent danger (that is, not safe) and, if so, giving the supports or interventions that will immediately provide for the child’s protection while minimizing further harm by: (1) keeping the child within the family home or with family members (e.g., kinship care or guardianship), if safe and possible, or (2) otherwise placing the child in nonfamily, out-of-home care - The behaviors and circumstances that led to the alleged maltreatment are present - There is a risk of future maltreatment and the level of that risk - The family is in need of services, supports, and/or resources to address the behaviors that led to the safety threats and risk factors (for most assessments/investigations) - Continuing services are needed to address any effects of child maltreatment and to reduce the risk of maltreatment occurring - There are protective factors and capacities that will need development or enhancement to reduce the likelihood of future maltreatment The terms assessment and investigation are used interchangeably in many states and territories, but they are not synonymous. Investigation encompasses the efforts of the CPS agency to determine if abuse or neglect has occurred. Assessment goes beyond this concept to evaluate a child’s safety and risk and to determine whether and what strategies or interventions are needed to ameliorate or prevent child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare League of America, 1999). Initial assessment and investigation purposes and protocols, along with variations if a jurisdiction uses DR or alternative response, are described in chapter 6.