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Intake and Screening

Reports or referrals of possible child abuse and neglect are generally received by child protective services intake staff. Often, statewide, toll-free hotlines are used to receive calls. In some cases, reports are received by local police departments. Staff use criteria to decide if the report should be accepted for investigation or assessment; these are often called screened-in reports. Reports that do not meet the criteria may be screened out and referred to other services. Also on this page, State and local examples.

	Prioritization for Response From Intake: The First Safety Decision ACTION for Child Protection (2004) Determining the prioritization of child abuse and neglect cases. The process for judging the priority response is explained.

The Decision to Investigate: Understanding State Child Welfare Screening Policies and Practices
Urban Institute (2000)
The process and decisions that child protection investigators must use in determining whether to substantiate a report of child abuse once an investigation has been concluded. (PDF - 117 KB)

Ecological Factors and Screening in Child Protective Services
Wells, Lyons, Doueck, Brown, & Thomas
Children and Youth Services Review, 26(10), 2004
View Abstract
Examines the relationship between ecological factors and screening decisions made by child protective services workers from 12 sites in five States.

Judging CPS Response - A Child Safety Decision
ACTION for Child Protection (2003)
Addresses how soon child protective services should respond to a report of child abuse and neglect and the standards of response.

The Safety Intervention Process
ACTION for Child Protection (2004)
Describes safety intervention strategies at intake, during the initial contact with the family, during the investigation or initial assessment, and at the conclusion of the investigation or initial assessment.

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State and local examples

Child Maltreatment Screening Guideline and Response Decision
South Dakota (2006)
View Abstract and Document
Offers South Dakota's form for screener intake workers to assess the risk level in child maltreatment cases involving caregivers and children ages 0-18. It includes a timeline for response based on immediate threat level.

The Intake and Investigation Process
Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program (2003)
Describes steps in the intake and investigation process, including a discussion of how to handle knowingly false reports.

Ramsey County Child Protection Intake Services: Report on the 2002 Survey of Reporters (PDF - 758 KB)
Shardlow & Gerrard (2003)
Ramsey County Community Human Services in Minnesota conducted this study to learn about the quality of its child protection intake procedures.

The Technology Behind Centralized Statewide Intake
National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology (2005)
The State of Texas centralized statewide child abuse and neglect intake system was created in response to the need for a more consistent and efficient practice.

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Updated on March 1, 2010