Running head: CHILD PROTECTION INTERVIEW SUMMERY

Child Protection Interview Summery

Amber McKenna, Lois Poulson, Sherry Leach-Speas, Damaris Febo, Tanja Budnick, Bitalina
Garcia
BSHS/407
April 25, 2016
Katisha Everett

CHILD PROTECTION INTERVIEW SUMMERY

Child Protection Interview Summery

The purpose of child protection services is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child
or children exposed to abuse. Child protective service may also provide facilitation to the parents
or guardians of the child or children. The caseworker begins his or her investigation by
conducting a delinquency history check, then visit the home to begin the assessment towards an
investigation. In the event it is required to remove the child or children from the home
immediately they will be placed in foster care or in the care of a family member willing to look
after the children. Some legal consequences of child abuse and neglect are if the claim is there
first offense the parent or guardian will be mandated to attend parenting classes as for a repeated
offender the child will be placed in foster care or in the care of a family member who is will to
give the child a safe home.
Our team came up with the following questions by having each team member post two to
three questions they felt would be good questions to ask during an interview. After all questions
were posted were narrowed it down to five by deciding which questions were most important
when interviewing a child protective services (CPS) case manager. The questions we chose are
the following five questions:

How often will a social worker visit the family involved once a report has been
filled?

What are the legal consequences of child abuse and child neglect?

How long does it take to place a child in a foster home if they need to be removed
from the environment immediately?

How do you ensure the safety of the children within households you are still
investigating?

What are some types of intervention and treatment that have been successful for
the children and adults?

Although, the team agreed on all the questions that were listed above, we still felt that
there could have been many other questions asked. Some of the other questions we felt
that should have or could have been asked are questions about sexually abused or
neglected children, what kind of measures are taken when there are multiple abuse cases
on the same parent, how do case workers keep up to date with all the laws and

CHILD PROTECTION INTERVIEW SUMMERY

information constantly changing, what are the most current patterns of abuse based on
data pulled from this area, and what are the most common types of child abuse.
Each team member picked two key points that were significant, and explained
why they felt this way. Amber and Damaris both felt it was significant that CPS places
most children into foster care or with a family member within 24 hours of removal from
the home. And that the CPS worker assess the home immediately to determine if the
children need to be removed or not. This is significant, because many people think that
CPS just goes to homes where there has been reports and takes the kids without a
thorough investigation. Lois and Bitalina both felt that it was significant that the CPS
worker visits the home at least twice a month or more depending on the case severity, and
also that the legal consequences depend on the severity of the case. They chose these two
points, because they feel that these are important points that need to be pointed out to
society. Tanja and Sherry felt that the key points that were significant are that the parents
have to sign a safety assessment ensuring that the children will be safe and unharmed,
and also that CPS offers the families services to empower the family unit. The reason
they chose these key points is, because family reunification is very important in the
human services field.
We have learned that child abuse and or neglect is never just cut and dry. There
is a process to everything that is involved. There are many professionals that are
involved in a case of child abuse or neglect. Law enforcement agencies, school
professionals, medical professional, other family, and the courts if need be. The most
important thing is documenting and investigating the alleged events, and circumstances.

CHILD PROTECTION INTERVIEW SUMMERY

These types of cases must be fully investigated, and or substantiated before legal or court
proceedings can take place unless the child/children are in imminent danger, and the
parents are not being cooperative. Only when a child/children are at high risk will be
removed from their home. CPS does everything within their power to help the child and
or family before breaking a family up. CPS is also in favor of family reunification, which
is when they work with other agencies to make sure the whole family get the help they
need to ensure a safe reuniting. It is when the parents and or guardians are difficult, and
uncooperative that they must intervene for the well-being of child. When the parents or
guardians are difficult, and do not do their part to complete their classes or counseling,
then CPS will not give the children back right away. They do their best to empower
families as to live and have a better life with all that are involved within that unit.
In conclusion it is important to be aware of how to prevent child abuse. As a
parent you need to be educated on what the ways to prevent abuse are and how to talk to
your child and understand proper discipline techniques. Individuals also need to be aware
of what signs to look for when they see a child that might be abused and knowing what
steps to take to report it to the proper department so that they can help keep that child
safe. A social worker must also be alert and document all information to make sure they
are investing the case so they can make sure they are making the right decision when it
comes to the safe of the child.