As the reporter, you should know that your identity is anonymous. CPS will not reveal any identifying information about you in their investigation. However, CPS will tell the family what the allegations are and use exact phrases from their report during their interviews. CPS will either respond immediately, within 24 hours, or within 72 hours depending on their level of concern. CPS should send you a notice, in the form of letter, of the outcome of their case within 30 days. We are discussing the ideal or standard protocols for CPS. As an institution run by humans, CPS does not always operate according to its ideals any more than the church always operates according to our ideals. Don’t let frustrations with one case cause you to neglect your responsibilities with a future case. Be sure to get the CPS worker’s name and the case number so you can verify your report, if needed.
IF THE REPORT IS ACCEPTED FOR INVESTIGATION When CPS begins their assessment with families, they take one of two approaches: 1. An investigative assessment is the response that involves a clear risk of serious harm to the child. Investigative assessments are often done in collaboration with law enforcement. 2. The more frequent approach CPS uses is a family assessment approach. This approach is used for lower risk situations that still merit investigation. In this approach, the first contact with the family is typically to call and schedule a time to meet with them. Step One: Safety Plan After CPS initiates a case, they typically discuss concerns with the family and put a safety plan in place. This is a signed agreement with the family about how they will ensure the safety of the child. Also at this time, CPS will attempt
to connect the family with resources relevant to family’s needs. This is an area where the church can be an immense asset. Ask to see the safety plan, because children or student ministry leaders may need to be informed
The goal of this lesson is to ensure that uncertainty about a process does not create passivity. It will never be “comfortable” when a call to CPS is needed. But at this point you should know enough to call CPS with confidence, understanding
We don’t want uncertainty to be the reason we don’t take action to help an abused or neglected child. of limitations on who can pick up the children. Offer to help with childcare, supervised visitation, or other ways of ensuring family safety. If a Child Is at Greater Risk When CPS finds that a child’s safety continues to remain at-risk, they can remove a child from the home. Besides the priority of keeping families together, taking children away from their parents is a complicated, expensive, and time-consuming task that CPS wants to avoid as much as possible. If a child is placed outside of their home, it is only because CPS has found the parents non-compliant with the safety plan and there is no way to guarantee the child’s safety in the home. CPS tries to keep children as close to their current living situation as possible; close to their current homes, in the same school, and in contact with their family. This is where church members, who are in the same community, can be of great assistance by serving as foster families. We know this brief lesson cannot answer all the questions you have about CPS. When a child’s safety is at risk, our minds can and should race with questions. If you have more questions, invite a CPS social worker to come to a church staff meeting or volunteer training for a Q&A.
what is happening on the other end of the call.
KEY POINTS OF THIS LESSON • The criterion for calling CPS is a “reasonable suspicion” of abuse or neglect of a child. • CPS will take you through a standardized interview process and vet the information received by two case workers (the intake worker and their supervisor) to determine if an investigation is needed. • There are multiple ways it is possible for your church to serve the child and family during the CPS investigation process and afterward.
Contributors include Brad Hambrick, Rachael Denhollander, Mika Edmondson, Samantha Kilpatrick, Diane Langberg, Chris Moles, Andrea Munford, Karla Siu, Darby Strickland, and Leslie Vernick. This article is an excerpt taken from Lesson 7 of the Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused curriculum (http://churchcares.com). This free, 12-lesson video curriculum and accompanying handbook is available at churchcares.com and was created to help churches be equipped to respond well in the initial stages of learning about instances of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. 1
C. S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series (New York: Harper Collins, 2001, 35.
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