Home > A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice > A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice: Chapter Ten: Who Should Be Involved in Child Protection at the Community Level?

A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice
User Manual Series (2003)

Author(s):  Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (HHS) Goldman, Salus, Wolcott, Kennedy

Year Published:  2003

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You are in section: Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 - Purpose and Overview 2 - What Are the Philosophical… 3 - What Is Child Maltreatment? 4 - What Is the Scope of the… 5 - What Factors Contribute to… 6 - What Are the Consequences of… 7 - What Can Be Done to Prevent… 8 - What Laws and Policies Guide… 9 - What Does the Child Protection… 10 - Who Should Be Involved in… 11 - How Can Organizations Work… Endnotes Appendix A - Glossary of Terms Appendix B - Resource Listings Appendix C - Child Abuse…

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Chapter Ten: Who Should Be Involved in Child Protection at the Community Level?

Child protective services (CPS) is typically the central agency in each community's child protection system. It usually plays the lead role in coordinating communication and services among the various disciplines responsible for addressing child maltreatment. In addition to CPS, law enforcement, educators, child care providers, health care providers, mental health care providers, legal and judicial system professionals, substitute care providers, support service providers, domestic violence victim advocates, substance abuse treatment providers, and concerned community members all play important roles in keeping children safe. All relevant professionals must be aware of their role in child protection and the unique knowledge and skills they bring to their community's prevention and intervention efforts. They must also understand the roles, responsibilities, and expertise of other professionals.

Child Protective Services

CPS is the agency mandated in most States to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. CPS is responsible for:

• Receiving reports of child abuse and neglect;

• Conducting initial assessments and investigations regarding suspected maltreatment;

• Conducting assessments of family strengths, resources, and needs;

• Developing individualized case plans;

• Providing direct services to support families in addressing the problems that led to maltreatment and reducing the risk of subsequent maltreatment;

• Coordinating services provided by other professionals;

• Completing case management functions such as maintaining case records, systematically reviewing case plans, and developing court reports.

CPS also helps educate the community about child abuse and neglect and seeks to enhance community prevention and treatment resources.

Law Enforcement

In the initial stages of the child protection response, law enforcement and CPS often have similar responsibilities. Law enforcement's involvement in the initial assessment and investigation of child abuse and neglect varies across States and communities. For example, in many States, sexual abuse or severe physical abuse must be investigated by law enforcement. In a few States, abuse allegations are reported initially to law enforcement rather than to CPS.¹³⁷ Whether the community has a protocol for joint or separate initial assessments and investigations, a high degree of coordination between CPS and law enforcement is necessary to minimize the confusion and trauma to the child as a result of system intervention.

The primary responsibilities of law enforcement include:

• Identifying and reporting suspected child maltreatment;

• Receiving reports of child abuse and neglect;

• Conducting investigations of reports of child maltreatment when there is a suspicion that a crime has been committed;

• Gathering physical evidence;

• Determining whether sufficient evidence exists to prosecute alleged offenders;

• Assisting with any need to secure the protection of the child;

• Providing protection to CPS staff when a caseworker's personal safety may be in jeopardy if confrontation occurs with alleged offenders;

• Supporting the victim through the criminal court process.

In several States, law enforcement plays a key role in multidisciplinary teams or Child Advocacy Centers (CACs). These teams and centers aim to reduce the trauma to the child caused by multiple interviewing. They also work to improve the prosecution of cases, particularly in sexual abuse cases.¹³⁸ (For more information on multidisciplinary teams and CACs, see Chapter 11, "How to Work Together to Protect Children")

Educators and Early Child Care Providers

Principals, teachers, school social workers, and counselors, as well as early childhood education and child care providers, play a critical role in the community child protection system. Key functions of educators include:

• Developing and implementing prevention programs for children and parents;

• Identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect;

• Recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect occurring in the school system or child care program;

• Developing a school or program policy for reporting instances of child abuse and neglect and cooperating with CPS investigations;

• Keeping CPS informed of the changes or improvements in the child's behavior and condition following the investigation;

• Providing input in diagnostic and treatment services for the child;

• Supporting the child through potentially traumatic events, for example, court hearings and out-of-home placement;

• Providing support services for parents such as school-sponsored self-help groups;

• Serving on child maltreatment multidisciplinary teams.

Health Care Providers

Physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians, and other medical personnel play a major role in the child protection system in every community. Key functions of health care providers include:

• Identifying and reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect;

• Providing diagnostic and treatment services (medical and psychiatric) for maltreated children and their families;

• Providing consultation to CPS regarding medical aspects of child abuse and neglect;

• Participating on the multidisciplinary case-consultation team;

• Providing expert testimony in child protection judicial proceedings;

• Providing information to parents regarding the needs, care, and treatment of children;

• Identifying and providing support for families at risk of child maltreatment;

• Developing and conducting primary prevention programs;

• Providing training for medical and nonmedical professionals regarding the medical aspects of child abuse and neglect;

• Participating on community multidisciplinary teams.

Mental Health Professionals

Mental health services are a prerequisite for any community system designed to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. Key functions of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals include:

• Identifying and reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect;

• Conducting necessary evaluations of abused and neglected children and their families;

• Providing treatment for abused and neglected children and their families;

• Providing clinical consultation to CPS;

• Providing expert testimony in child protection judicial proceedings;

• Providing self-help groups for parents who have maltreated or are at risk of maltreating their children;

• Developing and implementing prevention programs;

• Participating on community multidisciplinary teams.

Legal and Judicial System Professionals

Responsibilities of legal professionals vary depending upon who the attorney's client is and the stage of a judicial proceeding.

Attorneys representing the CPS agency who are responsible for presenting child maltreatment cases in court:

• Assure that CPS personnel are given appropriate legal advice and consultation, for example, on decisions regarding emergency removal of children;

• Prepare necessary legal pleadings when court intervention becomes necessary;

• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings when potential legal actions on behalf of the child may be explored;

• Prepare CPS caseworkers, expert witnesses, and other witnesses, especially children, for testifying in court.

Criminal prosecutors:

• Assure that any criminal action is coordinated with a civil child protection proceeding involving the same child;

• Assure that the child is adequately prepared for testifying;

• Provide the child with victim advocacy services when necessary;

• Assist the court in arriving at a sentence that serves the interest of justice and assures that proper treatment is provided;

• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings when potential legal actions on behalf of the child may be explored.

Guardians ad Litem, legal counsel for children, and court-appointed special advocates (CASAs):

• Assure that the needs and interests of a child in child protection judicial proceedings are fully protected;

• Conduct an independent investigation into background and facts of the case;

• Determine the child's educational, psychological, and other treatment needs and help assure that the judicial intervention leads to appropriate treatment;

• Facilitate a speedy, nonadversarial resolution of the case whenever possible and appropriate.

Defense attorneys for the parents or other maltreating caregiver:

• Assure that the parents' or caregivers' statutory and constitutional rights are fully protected in any judicial proceeding;

• Assure that the parents or caregivers understand the judicial process and the potential impact of the process.

Juvenile or family court judges:

• Provide emergency protective orders when necessary, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;

• Resolve speedily all court cases of alleged child maltreatment;

• Apply relevant case law and adjust the court process, as appropriate, to deal sensitively with child victims;

• Encourage the development of greater community resources for maltreated children and their families.

Court personnel help assure that children and families are dealt with sensitively throughout the judicial process. It is important for all family members to feel respected by the legal system as they go through a process that may feel intimidating and overwhelming. They also identify possible child maltreatment in cases before the court for other reasons, for example, delinquency.

Substitute Care Providers

When children are removed from their parents' care and placed in foster care or residential care to ensure their safety, foster parents and residential care providers become part of the treatment team, which is focused on the objective of family reunification. Substitute care providers help ensure that the basic needs of maltreated children are met in safe, stable, and nurturing environments. Foster families typically become a part of their child's extended family and help negotiate relationships that support the birth parents and case plan goals.

Kinship Care

In recent decades, increasing numbers of substitute care providers are relatives of the maltreated children. "Kinship care" often involves formal child placement by the child welfare agency and juvenile court in the home of a child's relative—most frequently the child's grandmother.¹³⁹ Kinship care offers several benefits including greater familiarity between the caregiver and the child, potentially less traumatic placements, more visitation and contact with birth parents, and fewer placement changes.¹⁴⁰

Faith Community

Clergy and spiritual leaders can play important roles in supporting families and protecting children by:

• Providing counseling, support, and spiritual leadership to their congregation;

• Developing and implementing prevention programs to help stop child maltreatment;

• Identifying and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect;

• Supporting the child and family through potentially traumatic events, for example, court hearings and out-of-home placement;

• Attending family team meetings to help make decisions about case plans;

• Organizing self-help or mutual support groups at their facilities for parents who have maltreated a child or are at risk for doing so;

• Participating in community multidisciplinary teams.

Community Organizations and Support Services Providers

There are many other individuals who support the community intervention efforts, including youth service workers, community-based organizations, housing and job assistance agencies, civic groups, volunteers, and parent aides. These individuals offer prevention, support, and treatment services to abused and neglected children and their families. Support services frequently address the reduction of risk factors and enhancement of protective factors discussed in Chapter 5, "What Factors Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect?" Involvement may occur prior to CPS involvement (e.g., supporting families at risk), concurrent with CPS involvement (e.g., attending family team meetings to help make decisions about case plans), or following CPS involvement (e.g., providing ongoing support and services).

Some examples of the diverse community support provided to maltreated children and their families include:

• Home visitors supporting new parents and modeling appropriate parenting practices;

• Substance abuse treatment providers offering services to parents who are addicted to drugs;

• Big Brother/Big Sister Organizations providing mentoring and social opportunities for maltreated children;

• Domestic violence shelters offering safe housing arrangements for abused spouses and their children;

• Neighborhood centers helping to build family skills and providing networking opportunities;

• Homeless shelter staff providing homemaking and advocacy services for families in a shelter;

• Child care programs offering respite care to stressed parents;

• Family service agencies lending support to teen parents.

As part of ongoing CPS reform movements across the country, community organizations and support service providers increasingly are playing more active roles in collaborative child protection efforts.

Concerned Citizens

In addition to the various practitioners described above, concerned citizens, particularly friends and neighbors, play an important role in responding to child maltreatment. All individuals in the community can contribute to the protection of children by providing social and emotional support to fellow community members, reporting suspected maltreatment, modeling good parenting behaviors, advocating for needed resources, and helping educate others about the problems of maltreatment.

previous

You are in section: Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1 - Purpose and Overview 2 - What Are the Philosophical… 3 - What Is Child Maltreatment? 4 - What Is the Scope of the… 5 - What Factors Contribute to… 6 - What Are the Consequences of… 7 - What Can Be Done to Prevent… 8 - What Laws and Policies Guide… 9 - What Does the Child Protection… 10 - Who Should Be Involved in… 11 - How Can Organizations Work… Endnotes Appendix A - Glossary of Terms Appendix B - Resource Listings Appendix C - Child Abuse…

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Updated on October 9, 2009