Investigations
Authored & Edited by
egypt
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The following is a training guide for cps to conduct their questioning. This is how an investigation is conducted. Never doubt or underestimate that CPS is well-trained in their interview (interrogation, questioning) techniques. Read the following .pdf file called “Deliberate Information Gathering” to see how they are taught to conduct “interviews” better known as interrogations.
http://www.actionchildprotection.org/PDF/Nov2006_Deliberate_Information_%20Gathering.pdf
Also, see eGuidebooks:
1. State Foster Care Program Managers (eGuidebook)
a. The State Foster Care Manager is the administrator who has oversight responsibility for all foster care services provided to children in the custody of the State and is the key point of contact for concerns regarding foster care programs that cannot be resolved by other existing procedures. This resource list provides contact information for each State's Foster Care Manager.
2. State Liason Officers for Child Abuse & Neglect (eGuidebook)
a. Each State has a designated State Liaison Officer (SLO) for child abuse and neglect. The SLO is responsible for ensuring the compliance to State laws and policies regarding issues such as how and when to investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect. This resource list provides contact information for each State's SLO.
3. When Words Hurt: Investigating and Proving a Case of Psychological Maltreatment
Vieth
Reasonable Efforts (American Prosecutors Research Institute), 2(1), 2004
Provides techniques for investigators in cases of psychological maltreatment.
CPS Guide – Investigation
The following is from Child Welfare Information Gateway http://www.childwelfare.gov/
Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers. 2003
User Manual Series (2003)
Author(s): Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (DHHS) |
Year Published: 2003 |
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Chapter Six: Initial Assessment or Investigation
Caseworkers feel pressure from many different directions—children, families, statutory and agency expectations, and themselves. Family members who are reported to child protective services (CPS) typically feel embarrassed, defensive, angry, confused, threatened, and helpless. As families experience these feelings, they need the CPS caseworker to provide them with information to understand what they are accused of, what may happen, what the next steps are, what they can expect from the agency, and what they are expected to do. The agency expects the caseworker to meet the statutory deadlines by quickly gathering information about the children and family and determining if maltreatment occurred, the likelihood that it will occur again, and the threat of immediate serious harm to the child. At the same time caseworkers should manage their own fears and doubts—Is the child really safe? What else could I have done?41
This chapter describes the purposes of the initial assessment or investigation—to gather and analyze information in response to CPS reports, to interpret the agency's role to the children and families, and to determine which families will benefit from further agency intervention. After interviewing all parties and gathering all relevant information, CPS caseworkers must determine whether maltreatment has occurred and can be substantiated. In most States, CPS staff are mandated by law to determine whether the report is substantiated or founded (meaning that credible evidence indicates that abuse or neglect has occurred) or whether the report is unsubstantiated or unfounded (meaning that there is a lack of credible evidence to substantiate child maltreatment—but does not mean it did not necessarily occur). Depending on State law, CPS agencies usually have up to 30, 60, or 90 days after receiving the report to complete the initial assessment or investigation. A major part of the initial assessment or investigation includes determining whether there is a risk or likelihood of maltreatment occurring in the future and whether the child is safe (not at risk of imminent, serious harm). In addition, CPS caseworkers must decide whether ongoing services to reduce risk and assure child safety should be provided by the CPS agency or other community partners. This chapter addresses the following:
Effective initial assessment or investigation characteristics
Initial assessment or investigation decisions
Initial assessment or investigation processes
Interviewing techniques
Community involvement
Special practice issues
Effective Initial Assessment or Investigation Characteristics
In cooperative investigations, CPS workers form an alliance with both the children and family. In a well-handled investigation, the worker:
Involves the children and family during the exploration of the allegations to gain their perceptions of the allegations;
Focuses on the children's, the parent's, and the family's strengths and resources; their plans for building protective factors; and past and present actions to protect the children;
Listens carefully to the family's experience to make sure they know they have been heard and understood;
Demonstrates sensitivity and empathy regarding the anxiety experienced by the children and family;
Communicates clearly and openly CPS's statutory role;
Focuses on small steps, making sure the children and family understand each one;
Involves the children and family in the decisions that affect them by providing choices and opportunities for input;
Demonstrates flexibility in the interview;
Focuses on gathering comprehensive information rather than trying to identify solutions, which is best left for later in the casework process.42
Initial Assessment or Investigation Decisions
To make effective decisions during the initial assessment or investigation process, the CPS caseworker must have competent interviewing skills; be able to gather, organize, and analyze information; and arrive at accurate conclusions. Critical decisions that must be made at this stage of the CPS process include the following:
Is child maltreatment substantiated as defined by State statute or agency policy?
Is the child at risk of maltreatment, and what is the level of risk?
Is the child safe and, if not, what type of agency or community response will ensure the child's safety in the least intrusive manner?
If the child's safety cannot be assured within the family, what type and level of care does the child need?
Does the family have emergency needs that must be met?
Should ongoing agency services be offered to the family?
Decision Point One: Substantiating Maltreatment
The substantiation decision depends on the answers to two questions: "Is the harm to the child severe enough to constitute child maltreatment?" and "Is there sufficient evidence to support this being a case of child maltreatment?"43 Even in those cases lacking evidence, CPS caseworkers should still document information since unsubstantiated reports may eventually show a pattern that can be substantiated. Due to varying State regulations regarding the expungement of records, this may not be possible for all agencies.
Upon completion of the initial assessment, the caseworker must determine the disposition of the report based on State laws, agency guidelines, and the information gathered. CPS agencies use different terms for this decision—substantiated, confirmed, unsubstantiated, founded, or unfounded. To guide caseworker judgment in making the substantiation decision, each State has developed policies that outline what constitutes credible evidence that abuse or neglect has occurred. Most States have a two-tiered system: substantiated-unsubstantiated or founded-unfounded. Some States have a three-tiered system of substantiated, indicated, or unsubstantiated. The indicated classification means the caseworker has some evidence that maltreatment occurred, but not enough to substantiate the case.
At this point in the decision-making process, caseworkers should ask themselves:
Have I obtained enough information from the children, family, and collateral contacts to adequately reach a determination about the alleged abuse or neglect?
Is my decision on substantiation based upon a clear understanding of State laws and agency policies?
Have I assessed the need for other agency or community services when CPS intervention is not warranted?
The following sections discuss substantiation decisions for different types of maltreatment—child neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological maltreatment.44
Determining Child Neglect
Determining child neglect is based on the answers to two questions: "Do the conditions or circumstances indicate that a child's basic needs are unmet?" and "What harm or threat of harm may have resulted?"45 Answering these questions requires sufficient information to assess the degree to which omissions in care have resulted in significant harm or significant risk of harm. Unlike the other forms of maltreatment, this determination may not be reached by looking at one incident; the decision often requires looking at patterns of care over time. The analysis should focus on examining how the child's basic needs are met and identifying situations that may indicate specific omissions in care that have resulted in harm or the risk of harm to the child.46
Affirmative answers to the following questions may indicate that a child's physical and medical needs are unmet:
Have the parents or caregivers failed to provide the child with needed care for a physical injury, acute illness, physical disability, or chronic condition?
Have the parents or caregivers failed to provide the child with regular and ample meals that meet basic nutritional requirements, or have the parents or caregivers failed to provide the necessary rehabilitative diet to the child with particular health problems?
Have the parents or caregivers failed to attend to the cleanliness of the child's hair, skin, teeth, and clothes? It is difficult to determine the difference between marginal hygiene and neglect. Caseworkers should consider the chronicity, extent, and nature of the condition, as well as the impact on the child.
Does the child have inappropriate clothing for the weather and conditions? Caseworkers must consider the nature and extent of the conditions and the potential consequences to the child.
Does the home have obvious hazardous physical conditions? For example, homes with exposed wiring or easily accessible toxic substances.
Does the home have obvious hazardous unsanitary conditions? For example, homes with feces- or trash-covered flooring or furniture.
Does the child experience unstable living conditions? For example, frequent changes of residence or evictions due to the caretaker's mental illness, substance abuse, or extreme poverty?
Do the parents or caregivers fail to arrange for a safe substitute caregiver for the child?
Have the parents or caregivers abandoned the child without arranging for reasonable care and supervision? For example, have caregivers left children without information regarding their whereabouts?47
While State statutes vary, most CPS professionals agree that children under the age of 8 who are left alone are being neglected. It is also agreed that children older than 12 are able to spend 1 to 2 hours alone each day. In determining whether neglect has occurred, the following issues should be considered, particularly when children are between the ages of 8 and 12:
The child's physical condition and mental abilities, coping capacity, maturity, competence, knowledge regarding how to respond to an emergency, and feelings about being alone.
Type and degree of indirect adult supervision. For example, is there an adult who is checking in on the child?
The length of time and frequency with which the child is left alone. Is the child being left alone all day, every day? Is he or she left alone all night?
The safety of the child's environment. For example, the safety of the neighborhood, access to a telephone, and safety of the home.
Determining Physical Abuse
In determining whether physical abuse occurred, the key questions to answer are "Could the injury to the child have occurred in a nonabusive manner?" and "Does the explanation given plausibly explain the physical findings?"48 The caseworker must gather information separately from the child, the parents, and other possible witnesses regarding the injuries. The following questions may help determine if abuse occurred:
Does the explanation fit the injury? For example, the explanation of a baby falling out of a crib is not consistent with the child having a spiral fracture. It is important to know the child's age and developmental capabilities to assess the plausibility of some explanations. It is also crucial to receive input from medical personnel and exams.
Is an explanation offered? Some caregivers may not offer an explanation, possibly due to denial or an attempt to hide abuse.
Is there a delay in obtaining medical care? Abusive caregivers may not immediately seek medical care for the child when it is clearly needed, possibly to deny the seriousness of the child's condition, to try to cover up the abuse, or in hope that the injury will heal on its own.
Caseworkers must also examine the nature of the injury, such as bruises or burns in the shape of an implement, e.g., a welt in the shape of a belt buckle or a cigarette burn.
Determining Sexual Abuse
In addition to the factors mentioned in determining physical abuse, the caseworker should ask the following questions to determine whether sexual abuse has occurred:
Who has reported that the child alleges sexual abuse? For example, caseworkers should be alert to separated or divorced parents making allegations against each other.
What are the qualifications of the professional reporting the physical findings? For example, if the health care providers do not routinely examine the genitalia of young children, they may mistake normal conditions for abuse or vice versa.
What did the child say? Did the child describe the sexual abuse in terms that are consistent with their developmental level? Can the child give details regarding the time and place of the incident?
When did the child make a statement or begin demonstrating behaviors suspicious of sexual abuse and symptoms causing concern? Was the child's statement spontaneous? Has the child been exposed to adult sexual acts?
Where does the child say the abuse took place? Is it possible for it to have occurred in that setting? Is it possible that the child is describing genital touching that is not sexual in nature? For example, bathing the child.49
Determining Psychological Maltreatment
Psychological maltreatment has been given relatively little serious attention in research and practice until recently. There are many reasons for this, including problems with inadequate definitions, failure to establish cause-and-effect relationships, and the difficulty of clarifying the cumulative impact of psychological maltreatment.50 In order to determine if psychological maltreatment or emotional abuse occurred, caseworkers must have information on the caregiver's behavior over time and the child's behavior and condition. Caseworkers must determine whether there is a chronic behavioral pattern of psychological maltreatment, such as caregivers who place expectations on the child that are unrealistic for the child's developmental level, threaten to abandon the child, or direct continually critical and derogatory comments toward the child. There also must be indicators in the child's behavior suggestive of psychological maltreatment; however, the child's behavior alone is often insufficient to substantiate a case. Caseworkers must determine whether the child has suffered emotional abuse. The following questions may help determine if psychological maltreatment has occurred:
Is there an inability to learn not explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors?
Is there an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers or adults?
Are there developmentally inappropriate behaviors or feelings in normal circumstances?
Is there a general pervasive mode of unhappiness, depression, or suicidal feelings?
Are there physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school functioning, such as bedwetting or a marked lack of interest in school activities?51
Demonstrating a causal connection between the caregiver's behavior and the child's behavior is often difficult to substantiate. This minimally necessitates that the caseworker observe caregiver-child interaction on several occasions, as well as be informed from other sources' observations (e.g., school personnel, relatives, and neighbors).
Decision Point Two: Assessing Risk
Risk factors are influences present in the child, the parents, the family, and the environment that may increase the likelihood that a child will be maltreated. Risk assessment involves evaluating the child and family's situation to identify and weigh the risk factors, family strengths and resources, and agency and community services.52 While risk assessment has been an integral part of CPS since the field's inception, the formalization of the process and decision-making, through the development of risk assessment instruments, has taken place just within the last 12 to 15 years.53
This section describes risk assessment models and its key elements, the analysis of risk assessment information, special cases of risk assessment (when substance abuse or domestic violence coexist with maltreatment), and cultural factors for consideration.
Risk Assessment Models
The majority of States use risk assessment models or systems that are designed to:
Guide and structure decision-making;
Predict future harm and classify cases;
Aid in resource management by identifying service needs for children and families served;
Facilitate communication within the agency and with other community stakeholders.54
Exhibit 6-1 presents additional detail of the types of risk assessment information in each area.
Exhibit 6-1 |
Maltreatment
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Child
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Caregiver(s)
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Family Functioning
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Analysis of Risk Assessment Information
Caseworkers analyze the information collected to determine what information is significant as it relates to the risk of maltreatment. The following are suggested steps for assessing risk:
Organize the information by defined category (e.g., education level, stressors);
Determine if there is sufficient and believable information to confirm the risk factors, strengths and resources, and their interaction;
Use the risk model to assign significance to each of the risk factors and strengths.56
The caseworker groups this information into an overall picture of the family and its dynamics and analyzes it to assess the current level of risk of maltreatment. This dictates the next steps in service provision and interaction with the family.
Risk Assessment in Cases of Substance-Abusing Families
Risk assessment in these cases also examines the extent of substance use, its impact on lifestyle, and its impact on parenting. The following scales are often used to assess risk in families where there is substance abuse:
Parent's commitment to recovery. This scale assesses a parent's stage of recovery, willingness to change behavior, and desire to live a life free from alcohol and other drugs.
Patterns of substance use. This scale assesses the parent's pattern of alcohol and other drug use—ranging from active use without regard to consequences to significant periods of abstinence.
Effects of substance use on child caring. This scale assesses the parent's ability to care for his or her children and meet their emotional and physical needs.
Effects of substance use on lifestyle. This scale assesses a parent's ability to carry out his or her everyday responsibilities and any consequences that may have for the family.
Support for recovery. This scale assesses parent's social network and how that network may support or interfere with recovery.57
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) suggests some questions caseworkers can ask regarding alcohol and other drug abuse to facilitate risk assessment in these cases:
Do you use any drugs other than those prescribed by a physician?
Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking or drug use?
Has a physician ever told you to cut down or quit the use of alcohol or drugs?
Have people annoyed you by criticizing or complaining about your drinking or drug use?
Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking or drug use?
Have you ever had a drink or drug in the morning ("eye opener") to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
Has your drinking or drug use caused a family, job, or legal problem?
When drinking or using drugs, have you had a memory loss or blackout?58
Risk Assessment in Cases in Which Partner Abuse and Child Maltreatment Coexist
The following factors should be considered to assess risk in cases where partner abuse and child abuse and neglect coexist:
An abuser's access to the child or adult victim
The abuser's pattern of abuse
- Frequency or severity of the abuse in current and past relationships
- Use and presence of weapons
- Threats to kill the victim or other family members
- Stalking or abduction
- Past criminal record
- Abuse of pets
- Child's exposure to violence
The abuser's state of mind
- Obsession with the victim
- Jealousy
- Ignoring the negative consequences of the violence
- Depression or desperation
Individual factors that reduce the behavioral controls of either the victim or abuser
- Abuses alcohol or other substances
- Uses certain medications
- Suffers from psychosis or other major mental illnesses
- Suffers from brain damage
A victim, child, or abuser thinking about or planning suicide
An adult victim's use of physical force or emotional abuse
A child's use of violence
Situational factors
- Presence of other major stresses, such as poverty, loss of a job, or chronic illness
- Increased threat of violence when victim leaves or attempts to leave abuser
- Increased risk when abuser has ongoing or easy access to victims
- Physical inability of nonabusing parent to protect child due to assault
- Nonabusing parent's fear of leaving or inability to leave due to economic status or lack of place to go
Past failures of response systems (e.g., courts, law enforcement) to react appropriately.59
The following are areas to assess with a child regarding partner abuse and child maltreatment:
Pattern of the abusive conduct. What happens when your parents (the adults) fight? Does anyone hit, shove, or push? Are serious threats made? Does anyone throw things or damage property? Has anyone used a gun or knife? When was the last big fight between your parents?
Impact of domestic violence on the adult victim. Has anyone been hurt or injured? Is your mom or dad afraid? How do your parents act after a bad fight? Have you ever seen the police or anyone come over because of their fights? Have you seen injuries or damaged property?
Impact of domestic violence on the child. Have you ever been hurt by any of their fights? What do your brothers or sisters do during fights? Are you ever afraid when your parents fight? How do you feel during a fight? After the fight? Do you worry about the violence? Do you talk to anyone about the fights? Do you feel safe at home? Have you ever felt like hurting yourself or someone else?
Child's protection. Where do you go during their fights? Have you tried to stop a fight? Have you ever had to take sides? In an emergency for your parent or yourself, what would you do? Who would you call? Have you ever called for help? What happened?
Child's knowledge of danger. Has anyone needed to go to a doctor after a fight? Do the adults use guns or knives? Do you know where the gun is? Has anyone threatened to hurt someone? What did the person say?60
Cultural Factors in Risk Assessment
Caseworkers should integrate cultural sensitivity into the risk assessment process by:
Considering the family's cultural identification and perception of the dominant culture;
Inquiring about the family's experience with mainstream institutions, including CPS and other service providers in the community;
Assuring clarity regarding language and meanings in verbal and nonverbal communication;
Understanding the family's cultural values, principles of child development, child caring norms, and parenting strategies;
Gaining clarity regarding the family's perceptions of the responsibilities of adults and children in the extended family and community network;
Determining the family's perceptions of the impact of child abuse or neglect;
Assessing each risk factor with consideration to characteristics of the cultural or ethnic group;
Considering the child and family's perceptions of their response to acute and chronic stressors;
Explaining why a culturally accepted behavior in the family's homeland may be illegal here.61
Decision Point Three: Determining Child Safety
A child is considered unsafe when he or she is at imminent risk of serious harm. Safety is an issue throughout the life of a case. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires that States assess and assure a safe environment for children in birth families, out-of-home placements, and adoptive homes. It is important to remember that determining the risk of maltreatment and the child's safety are two separate decisions. Children may be at risk of harm some time in the future (risk assessment) and they may currently be safe (no threat of imminent serious harm). The following sections describe the key safety decision points, the steps for arriving at the safety decision, and the development of a safety plan.
Safety Decision Points
There are two key decision points during the initial assessment or investigation in which the child's safety is evaluated. During the first contact with the child and family, the caseworker must decide whether the child will be safe during the initial assessment or investigation. The question caseworkers must ask themselves is, "Is the child in danger right now?" Caseworkers assess current danger by searching for factors in the family situation and caregiver behavior or condition, including emotions, physical circumstances, and social contexts. Examples include: young children with serious injuries that are inconsistent with the caregiver's explanation; children in the care of people who are out of control or violent; and premeditated maltreatment or cruelty.
The second critical time for evaluating safety is at the conclusion of the initial assessment. This safety assessment follows the determination of the validity of the report and the level of risk. Caseworkers must determine:
Whether the child will be safe in his or her home with or without continuing CPS services;
Under what circumstances a case can be diverted to community partners;
Under what circumstances intensive, home-based services are necessary to protect a child;
Whether the child needs to be placed in out-of-home care.
To determine safety at this point, the caseworker uses the findings of the risk assessment. The caseworker identifies the risk factors that directly affect the safety to the child; the risk factors that are operating at a more intense, explosive, immediate, or dangerous level; or those risk factors that in combination present a more dangerous mix. The caseworker weighs the risk factors directly affecting the child's safety against the family protective factors (i.e., strengths, resiliencies, resources) to determine if the child is safe.62
Steps for Arriving at the Safety Decision
The sequential steps for arriving at the safety decision include:
Identifying the behaviors and conditions that increase concern for the child's safety, and considering how they affect each child in the family.
Identifying the behaviors or conditions (i.e., strengths, resiliencies, resources) that may protect the child.
Examining the relationship among the risk factors. When combined, do they increase concern for safety?
Determining whether family members or other community partners are able to address safety concerns without CPS intervention.
Considering what in-home services are needed to address the specific behaviors or conditions for each risk factor directly affecting the child's safety.
Identifying who is available (CPS or other community partners) to provide the needed service or intervention in the frequency, time frame, and duration the family needs to protect the child.
Evaluating the family's willingness to accept and ability to use the intervention or service at the level needed to protect the child.63
If the services or interventions are not available or accessible at the level necessary to protect the child, or if the caregivers are unable or unwilling to accept the services, the caseworker should consider whether the abusive caregiver can leave home and the nonoffending caregiver can protect the child. If not, the caseworker should consider whether out-of-home care and court intervention is needed to assure the child's protection.
Development of a Safety Plan
The safety plan and the case plan have two different purposes. The interventions in the safety plan are designed to control the risk factors posing a safety threat to the child. Interventions in the case plan, however, are designed to facilitate change in the underlying conditions or contributing factors resulting in maltreatment. To control the risk factors directly affecting child safety, the safety interventions must:
Have a direct and immediate impact on one or more of the risk factors;
Be accessible and available in time and place;
Be in place for the duration of the threat of harm;
Fill the gaps in caregiver protective factors.
In identifying safety interventions and developing a safety plan, CPS caseworkers are required to make reasonable efforts to preserve or reunify families. Child safety is the most important consideration in these efforts. ASFA also states that when certain factors are present (e.g., abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, some forms of sexual abuse, killing of another person or the child's sibling, or termination of parental rights for another child), they constitute enough threat to a child's safety that reasonable efforts are not required to prevent placement or to reunify the family. The sequence of least intrusive to most intrusive safety interventions include:
In-home services, perhaps combined with partial out-of-home services (e.g., daycare services);
Removal of abusive caregiver;
Relative or kinship care;