AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals THE CHILD WELFARE RESPONSE CONTINUUM CHRONIC ISSUES THAT HAVE PLAGUED CHILD PROTECTION Patricia Schene, Ph.D. Senior Child Welfare Fellow

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Outline Where we have been Consensus on what has been missing How Differential Response (DR) has contributed to address problems What we have learned from DR implementation What challenges remain

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals I. Where we have been  Positive: Universal public support Reporting laws in all states; operational CPS capacity in all counties Social service responsibility/Law enforcement support Annual reports of 3 million children who may be or are experiencing child abuse/neglect Federal, state, and local resources support CPS system Network of out-of-home care

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Where we have been….  Positive: Thousands of professionals with expertise in child maltreatment Ever-growing body of knowledge National commitment to three major outcomes: safety, permanence, and child well-being CPS system receptive to recognizing problems, instituting practice changes, re-framing statutes and policies, and evaluating effectiveness Courts, advocacy groups, legislators, administrators, media, all levels of government, and those within system have played important accountability roles

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Where we have been…  Negative: From beginning, demand [CA/N reports] has exceeded capacity of CPS systems to adequately respond Many missed opportunities Standard focus on investigation and substantiation decision-making is time-consuming and often perceived as adversarial by families

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals  Negative: Where we have been… Assessments not comprehensive Parents not engaged sufficiently Multiple reports over time In-home services not assured Inadequate coordination between CPS and service systems Common case goals/shared progress reports not typical

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals II. Shared Consensus on what is needed Reduction in out of home placements/family preservation Earlier Intervention Primary Prevention Family engagement and involvement in decision-making Comprehensive assessments Individualized case plans Better connections of vulnerable families to community supports Less adversarial approaches to families Strengthening families to better protect their children Recognition of dimensions of chronicity and generation of appropriate practice models Systems of Care- coordination of all agencies and resources working with family

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals How has DR Contributed to Addressing these Issues DR has various forms, but common factors exist: First visit with family characterized as assessment Approach seen as less adversarial What is assessed as pertinent issues and what family indicates they need become basis for service plan Agreement is sought on what needs to be changed, what would contribute to change, and how it would be measured

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Differential Response…. CPS partners with relevant community resource for family; some jurisdictions make joint family visits Services are usually in place faster for DR cases Evaluative research demonstrates that DR is viewed positively: Parents feel they are treated more respectfully caseworkers indicate they are actually doing more social work with families DR has demonstrated that children are as safe or safer than in systems without DR

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Selected learnings about DR Importance of engagement DR is not “quick-fix” problems facing families reported to CPS and actually screened in are not trivial problems often long-standing and related to patterns of living and parenting that will not quickly disappear Importance of comprehensive assessment understanding not just what led to report but underlying causal factors

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Selected learnings about DR Necessary to follow up assessment with relevant interventions Importance of substantive training of staff in family engagement principles of DR what voluntary involvement actually entails when case should move from DR track to mandatory intervention how to coordinate work with other public agencies and community resources criteria for closing case

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Challenges Remaining CPS system is not resourced adequately to respond to identified child abuse/neglect much less child maltreatment documented in National Incidence Studies but not reported Communities do not have dependable ways in which parents/children can receive help when maltreatment exists Reluctance to bring so much to CPS If it does not belong to CPS, who does it belong to? How can we assure a response to vulnerable children?

AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION The nation’s voice for the protection of children & animals Challenges Remaining Need for network of resources recognizable by any community member that is responsive to vulnerable children and families and it must be supportive not accusatory We do not yet have a national consensus on what CPS should respond to what should be the nature of that response, what would be the criteria for not responding and how would concerns of the community about a vulnerable child be addressed?