As described in a prior article, Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies conduct a safety assessment in every child maltreatment investigation. Per the Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act (CAPTA), they also conduct a risk assessment and most CPS agencies have done so since the 1980s. This typically occurs later in the investigation stage and always after completion of the safety assessment. If the safety assessment is to assess safety and decide whether action is needed, then what is the risk assessment supposed to accomplish?
The safety assessment assesses the immediate- whether there is danger of harm in the short term as CPS defines it and actions that may need to be taken in the immediate to protect the child(ren) in question from said harm. The risk assessment, on the other hand, assesses the long-term probability of child maltreatment (and by extension, subsequent CPS involvement) and is used to further specify the type and extent of interventions necessary to resolve the safety concerns in order to reduce the likelihood of the recurrence of child maltreatment. This can include the extent of service referrals and may play a role in how aggressively CPS pursues reunification if the child(ren) are placed in foster care or kinship care.
Like with the safety assessment, CPS agencies also utilize a risk assessment tool with its own point system. The risk assessment tool is more extensive than the safety assessment, assesses one or both parents (if both are involved) and typically looks at the following factors:
- Prior history of substantiated cases
- Prior terminations of parental rights
- Domestic violence history (victim or perpetrator)
- Drug use history (parent(s) and child(ren))
- Medical conditions or concerns (parent(s) and child(ren))
- Mental health conditions or concerns (parent(s) and child(ren))
- Criminal history
- Social support system (friends, family, etc.)
- Housing stability
- Disciplinary practices in the household
- Parental involvement with the child(ren)
- Parental capacity
- Willingness to address safety concern(s) identified by CPS
Not all categories are weighted equally. The higher the score, the higher the risk of future or continued CPS involvement; by extension, this means that the higher the score, the more intensive interventions are required to resolve the safety concerns.
The risk assessment tools used vary by state agency, so not all risk factors will be the same and while a family may score as low risk in one state, that same family with the same exact circumstances may score as moderate or high risk on another state’s risk assessment tool (and vice versa). While all claim their safety and risk assessment tools are evidence-based and reliable, further research has shown that over-reliance on such tools, as CPS tends to do fail to capture the complexities and nuances of family life that often result in CPS reacting disproportionately to the concerns they identify. In fact, comparison of case notes and risk assessment results has shown that the risk assessment results may often differ from the caseworker’s assessment, bringing the validity of such risk assessment tools into question.
Families do not see this risk assessment and it is done with the evidence collected during the course of the investigation. While many families are aware that a safety assessment is performed in some form (even if they’re not privy to the tool or specific details), there’s much less awareness of the risk assessment- despite the fact that the risk assessment plays a significant role in the course of all CPS cases. This is likely due to the fact that CPS may present families with a safety plan, but there is no such plan or terminology tied to the risk assessment that would make families acutely aware of it. That being said, what should families do about the risk assessment?
Do your own risk assessment based on the factors listed above, with as critical a view of your household as possible. The harsher scrutiny you use (assuming you address the issues you identify), the more likely you will meet or exceed CPS’ standards. This can guide you as to the initiatives you take, the information you share, the services you enroll in and how you behave in the presence of CPS to strategically navigate your case successfully. The risk factors listed can be met in most respects without regard to personal values or beliefs and the earlier you do the work, the quicker you could reach the best outcome available to you.
If you are in the middle of an active CPS investigation, having at least a rough idea of what the results of the CPS’ risk assessment of your family may be can help inform what, if any services you enroll in and how much you push back against CPS’ recommendations. Even if you don’t have any active CPS involvement, doing such a risk assessment on your family is highly recommended- in fact, the best time to conduct a risk assessment is before CPS gets involved at all! The more prepared you are before CPS even shows up at your doorstep, the better prepared you’ll be- with a swifter, better outcome than you might otherwise have.