January 30, 2007

National Study on Differential Response in Child Welfare

This report was written by Lisa Merkel-Holguin, MSW, Caren Kaplan, MSW, ASCW, and Alina Kwak, MSSW, MPA, who state that child protective services (CPS) agencies are responsible for receiving all reports of alleged child abuse and neglect. Federal, state, and/or local laws mandate that these agencies take some action as a result of each report. Approximately two-thirds of the reports they receive are accepted and thus require a determination of the safety, risk, and, optimally, the well-being of the child who is the subject of the alleged maltreatment. Historically, these reports have received a traditional response with a primary focus on substantiating the allegations in the report. Faced with a large volume of reports, CPS agencies have developed practices and policies to differentiate how particular cases are handled. Another primary rationale for differentiating child abuse and neglect cases is child welfare systems? implementation of family centered practice. Differential response achieves a core objective of family-centered practice by providing interventions that more closely match the severity of the concern being reported.