STRENGTHENING CHILD PROTE CTIVE SERVICES …

1 Volume 16, Number 2 April 2011 This publication for CHILD welfare professionals is pro-duced by the North Carolina Division of Social SERVICES and the Family and Children s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families within the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In summarizing research, we try to give you new ideas for refin-ing your practice. However, this publication is not intended to replace CHILD welfare training, regular supervision, or peer consultation only to enhance us hear from you!To comment about something that appears in Practice Notes, please contact:John McMahonJordan Institute for FamiliesSchool of Social WorkUNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC StaffMellicent BlytheLane CookeJohn McMahonTiffany PriceVisit Our CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES INTAKEI ntake is an essential part of our efforts to protect children.

2 Everyone in CHILD welfare should know how CPS intake works and be deeply interested in our performance in this area, both at the state and local Because intake is where we begin collecting information and making initial decisions about CHILD safety. It s the first opportunity CPS agencies have to work in partnership with the community ( , reporters). Documentation begun at intake continues throughout the family s involve-ment with the agency and can play a critical role in the court process. In a tangible way, intake lays the groundwork for our success with children and this issue we will look at intake from different angles. We ll examine administrative and outcome data related to intake, offer suggestions for educating and engaging reporters, explore family-centered intake practice, and consider intake challenges and ways to overcome them.

3 We hope you find it helpful. CPS INTAKE IN NORTH CAROLINA: BY THE NUMBERSTo get a sense of just how important CHILD protective SERVICES (CPS) intake is to the CHILD welfare system, let s look at the S WORKFORCEIn federal fiscal year (FFY) 2009, North Carolina s 100 county departments of so-cial SERVICES employed 990 staff involved in CPS intake and assessment: 167 whose primary role was CPS intake/screening and 823 whose primary role was conducting CPS assessments (USDHHS, 2010).*NC s approach to CPS staffing is consis-tent with other states that use an alternative CPS response. A 2005 06 survey found 71% of agencies in these states had work-ers routinely conduct both screening/intake and alternative response (Westat, 2009). REFERRALSWhen someone contacts a CPS agency to allege a CHILD has been maltreated, it is called a referral. During FFY 2009, an es-timated million referrals were received by CPS agencies nationwide (USDHHS, 2010).

4 In our state, CPS referral data is collected from an annual staffing survey, which asks county DSS agencies how many referrals they receive each month between June and November. Based on this, we estimate that in 2009 there were about 119,000 CPS referrals in NC, or about 9,900 a month statewide (Stewart, et al., 2011). SCREENINGIf a referral meets the definition of abuse, neglect, or dependency as these terms are defined in NC s General Statute 7B-101, the referral is screened in, meaning it becomes a report and the agency conducts an assessment to ensure the safety of the CHILD (ren). If a referral does not meet the state standard it is screened out. CPS Intake & Assessment: NC s Workforce, 2009*Intake & Screening Only83%Assessment OnlySource: USDHHS, 201017%Fig. 1*This information was revised on 1-8-15 to correct a data interpretation cont. cont. cont. cont.

5 3 3 3 3 3 Compared to the rest of the country, CPS referrals inNorth Carolina are somewhat more likely to be screenedin. In FFY 2009, CPS agencies in the screened out38% of referrals (USDHHS, 2010). In 2009, approxi-mately 31% of North Carolina CHILD maltreatment refer-rals were screened out (Stewart, et al., 2011).Since 31% is a statewide average, the screen-out ratewas above or below this in most counties. Although ratesoutside the norm can be warranted, every county DSSshould monitor its screen-out rate and try to understandwhy it is what it is, and to make changes if needed toensure full compliance with law and the last ten years the average number of CPS reportsreceived monthly in North Carolina has increased SFY 2009-10, CPS agencies received 68,735 reportsof CHILD maltreatment concerning 124,894 children(Duncan, et al., 2011).The volume of CPS reports fluctuates throughout theyear in North Carolina.

6 Typically, the number receivedmonthly peaks around May, falls in June and July, risesslightly through October, then declines through Decem-ber (Stewart & Duncan, 2010).REPORT SOURCEST hough reporter information is confidential, North Caro-lina collects demographic data about the people who calla CPS agency to allege CHILD pattern of reporting shown above is typical: most re-ports come from those who encounter the alleged victimas part of the report source s occupation. In SFY 2009-10, 56% of reports in NC came from the last ten years the annual percentage of reportsreceived in NC from human SERVICES professionals hasdeclined slightly, from of all reports in SFY 1998-99 to in 2009-10. Meanwhile, the percentage ofreports from law/court professionals increased from 10%in SFY 1998-99 to 16% in 2009-10 (Duncan, et al.,2011). This rise is consistent with a national trend: thepercentage of CPS agencies who said law enforce-ment was their most common source of reports rose from7% in 2002 to 23% in 2005-06 (Westat, 2009).

7 CPS ASSESSMENT TRACKSOnce a report is accepted, CPS intake staff determinewhether to respond with an investigative assessment or afamily assessment. They choose whichever CPS approachwill best provide for the CHILD s safety, permanence, andwell-being. However, agencies must respond to all re-ports of abuse and certain types of neglect reports suchas those involving a CHILD fatality or where there is medi-cal neglect of a disabled infant with the investigative most types of neglect and all dependency reports, thefamily assessment response should be SFY 2009-10, CPS agencies in North Carolina usedthe family assessment approach about 75% of the time(Duncan, et al., 2011).RESPONSE TIMESA fter a report is accepted, the law requires CPS to makeface-to-face contact within a certain time period with allchildren living in the home. Response times vary by reporttype: the response must be initiated within 24 hours forabuse and 72 hours for neglect.

8 Some types of neglectreports, such as those in which a CHILD has received inju-ries, require a response within 24 hours. If a report isdeemed high risk, the response must be North Carolina s 2007 federal CHILD and FamilyServices Review, CPS response time was rated as an AreaNeeding Improvement. Reviewers found agencies initi-ated a CPS assessment in accordance with the requiredtime frames 81% of the time, less than the 90% requiredfor a Strength rating (USDHHS, 2007).CPS FINDINGSF indings of an investigative assessment are classified aseither substantiated or unsubstantiated. As Figure 3shows, substantiations of abuse, neglect, abuse and ne-glect, and dependency in North Carolina have declinedsince 2001. The decline generally corresponds to thestart of the Multiple Response System (MRS), which in-troduced the family assessment response and, with it,four new CPS findings: SERVICES needed SERVICES provided, protective SERVICES no longer needed SERVICES recommended SERVICES not recommendedUnsubstantiations have also decreased sinceCPS INTAKE BY THE NUMBERS from p.

9 1 1 1 1 1NC Sources of Reports, SFY 09-10 Fig. 2 Source: Duncan, et al., 20113from p. 2 2 2 2 2 Evaluators inNC have foundthat the familyassessmentresponse doesnot compromisechild CPS AssessmentFindings/Decisions, SFY 2009-10 Fig. 40 Source: Duncan, et al., 2011 Fig. 3 Source: Stewart & Duncan, et al., 20103,0002,0002,5001,5001,00050004,0003, 500 Jan-01 Jan-10 Jan-09 Jan-08 Jan-07 Jan-06 Jan-05 Jan-04 Jan-03 Jan-0230,00010,00020, This decline is likely due to a decrease in the numberof investigative assessments and the growth in family as-sessments (Stewart & Duncan, 2010).Over the last ten years the profile of CPS findings in NorthCarolina has changed. After the expansion of MRS statewidein 2006, the number of findings of SERVICES recommended has continued to grow, meaning that more families and chil-dren are being recommended for SERVICES , over and abovethe number of children determined to be victims of maltreat-ment (Stewart & Duncan, 2010).

10 This may be a good thing. A recent evaluation of MRS (Duke,2009) found that families who received more frontloaded ser-vices during the CPS assessment phase were less likely to re-turn to the attention of CPS in the next six ABOUT YOUR COUNTY S PERFORMANCE?Consult the Management Assistance site < >, which is maintained by the UNC-CH School of SocialWork in partnership with the NC Division of Social SERVICES . NC Children with SubstantiatedReports of MaltreatmentSafety and the Family Assessment ResponseThe number of substantiations ofchild maltreatment has signifi-cantly declined in NC over thelast ten years. This information,as well as the fact that DSS agen-cies often use a new CPS ap-proach (the family assessmentresponse introduced as part ofMRS), leads some reporters and community partnersto ask: Is DSS doing everything it should to keep chil-dren safe?