26 Unit 1 Children and Families in Today’s World
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
states, children may receive medical help without
parental consent.
Children have gained rights, too. Examples
are the rights of due process and fair treatment in
schools and juvenile and family courts. In some
Because of deep concern for the welfare of
children and their parents, each state has created an
agency called Child Protective Services (CPS) or a
child protection office under various titles within the
state’s Department of Human Services. The authority
to provide certain services is vested in each agency
through state laws and government policies.
The men and women who work in these agen-
cies are caseworkers trained in social work. Besides
their initial training, caseworkers can receive addi-
tional training specific to their jurisdictions through
the National Resource Center for Child Protective
Services (NRCCPS). This training is funded by the
Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
What are the basic responsibilities of caseworkers
for CPS? Their roles include
• providing services to families in their homes.
Caseworkers focus on family strengths and
provide parents with assistance when needed
to protect children within their home.
• investigating reports of child neglect and
abuse. If the reports are substantiated (found
true), they can decide whether to remove
children immediately or provide the parents
with assistance and continue follow-up visits.
• placing children in the state’s foster care
program. Caseworkers receive children who
are abandoned, children they remove from
homes, and children police remove from homes.
They screen parents who have applied for the
role of foster parents. Caseworkers also regularly
visit foster homes after child placement.
• placing children in adoptive homes. In order
to do this, parents either surrender their rights
or caseworkers decide after a period of time that
Child Protective Services
Research Activity
these children’s parents will likely never be able
to provide safe homes. They screen parents
who have applied to be adoptive parents.
(The courts make all final adoption decrees.)
• providing assistance to teens as they age-
out of the foster care system and make a
transition to independent living as adults.
This assistance is primarily counseling in nature.
In many states, the work of the CPS is coordi-
nated with agencies or offices of child care assis-
tance. These agencies provide financial help to pay
for child care so teenage and low-income parents can
get an education or work. CPS is also coordinated
with child support enforcement. (Enforces monetary
decisions made by the courts on behalf of children
when parents have never married, separated, or
divorced.) Caseworkers with social work training do
the needed investigations. After the investigations,
enforcement of child support decisions are done by
the courts.
Using online or print sources, conduct
research to learn more about Child Protective
Services in your community. Then, answer
the following questions:
1. What services does Child Protective
Services provide for your community?
2. What are the qualifications for
becoming a CPS caseworker?
3. What should a person do if he or she
is concerned for the welfare of a child?
4. How does CPS handle cases where a
child’s rights are being violated?