| Child Protective Services |
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FUNCTIONS CPS agencies generally perform a series of functions that can be identified as follows: #Intake: Receive reports of child maltreatment allegations. In most states, everyone is a ''mandatory'' reporter, with the following exceptions: attorneys representing clients on child-maltreatment criminal charges; and, substance-abuse treatment providers. #Screening the Report: determine if a received report's allegations meet statutory definitions for child maltreatment. If statutory definitions are met, then the report is accepted for investigation/assessment; otherwise, it is screened out and might be forwarded to another agency. #Investigation/Assessment: if a received report is accepted, then CPS "investigates" or "assesses" the allegations through contacts with the family and pertinent collateral-information providers. Home visits are usually included although different states have different restrictions regarding this. #Case Decision: if the child-maltreatment allegations prove sufficiently credible and/or if the family is in need of services to prevent future maltreatment (independent of the parents/caregivers' actions), either involuntary or voluntary post-investigative services are generally provided. #Treatment/Case Management: CPS case-management/treatment services are provided to a family to prevent or address child maltreatment. If the child's remaining in the home creates an imminent or significant long-term risk to the child's safety, then arrangement for the child's placement outside of the home is made either with the family's consent or through the courts. (See also, Foster Care .) #Case Closure: if the case decision found no need for follow-up services by CPS, or if the family and/or community has addressed all risk factors that lead to the provision of CPS case-management services, or if a family's rights to a child is terminated and the child has been adopted, then the case can be closed. LAWS & STANDARDS Federal U.S. federal laws that govern CPS agencies include:
State & Local Definitions: Each state must also have statutes that provide more detailed definitions of what child maltreatment means, for instance, defining terms such as: #abuse, which might include:
#neglect, which might include:
#alleged perpetrator, which might include:
Activities: States must articulate how a CPS agency is to respond to alleged maltreatment including:
Additionally, state and local CPS-related institutions will develop policies and practices that further shape communities' response to child maltreatment. Examples include:
HISTORY In 1655, in what is now the United States, there were criminal court cases involving child abuse.Pecora ''et al.'' (1992), p. 231. In 1692, states and municipalities identified care for abused and neglected children as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.''Ibid.'', pp. 230-1. In 1696, England first used the legal principle of '' Parens Patriae ,'' which gave the royal crown care of "charities, infants, idiots, and lunatics returned to the chancery." This principal of ''parens patriae'' has been identified as the statutory basis for U.S. governmental intervention in families' child rearing practices.''Ibid.'', p. 230. In 1825, states enacted laws giving social-welfare agencies the right to remove neglected children from their parents and from the streets. These children were placed in almshouses, in orphanages and with other families. In 1835, the Humane Society founded the National Federation of Child Rescue agencies to investigate child maltreatment. In the late-1800s, private child protection agencies — modeled after existing animal protection organizations — developed to investigate reports of child maltreatment, present cases in court and advocate for child welfare legislation.Pecora ''et al.'' (1992), pp. 230-31; Petr (1998), p. 126. In 1912, the federal Children's Bureau was established to manage federal child welfare efforts, including services related to child maltreatment. In 1958, amendments to the Social Security Act mandated that states fund child protection efforts.Laird & Michael (2006). In 1962, professional and media interest in child maltreatment was sparked by the publication of C. Henry Kempe and associates' "The battered child syndrome" in JAMA . By the mid-1960s, in response to public concern that resulted from this article, 49 U.S. states passed child-abuse reporting laws.Pecora ''et al.'' (1992), p. 232; Petr (1998), p. 126. In 1974, these efforts by the states culminated in the passage of the federal "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act" (P.L. 93-247) providing federal funding for wide-ranging federal and state child-maltreatment research and services.Pecora ''et al.'' (1992), pp. 232-3; Petr (1998), pp. 126-7. IN THE PUBLIC EYE The CPS system has numerous detractors, including those who believe that the state forcibly removing children from their homes and families is the ultimate Dehumanization . Many experts who work in the industry meanwhile believe the government fails to do enough. Professor Ted Melhuish in his research of December 7, 2006 presents the case for additional government intervention in terms of "Rates of Return to Human Capital investment." Citing a 1993 study of 123 young African-American children he finds early intervention ultimately contributes to greater tax revenue and also identifies possible cost savings in the areas justice, mental health and welfare. The study concludes that every dollar invested in Child Protective Services produces a return of $7.16 Why Early Intervention? See Also: Civil_liberties See Also: Classism Popular television accounts relating to CPS include: REFERENCES See also Notes Bibliography
External links United States
Canada Criticism
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