“Every April, we raise awareness about child abuse prevention. We wear blue. We post statistics. We urge people to “see something, say something.” But most of what we call prevention still begins after a family is already in crisis. There are cases where children are experiencing real and serious harm, and investigation is both necessary and
“Colorado has logged a steep drop in confirmed child abuse and neglect cases, with state counts showing about 6,116 substantiated victims in 2025 compared with roughly 10,779 in 2021. That is a roughly 40% decline, or about 4,600 fewer children officially flagged as victims, a shift that looks like unqualified good news at first glance
“Bills to support families at risk for intervention by Child Welfare Services and fund domestic violence training for caseworkers are still alive at the Legislature. Patty Chin believes her life would have been very different if Hawaiʻi’s child welfare system worked the way it should. She landed in foster care at age 10, she said,
“A new statewide program is offering free legal guidance and crisis support to Texas families when Child Protective Services begins an investigation. A new statewide resource aims to help Texas parents navigate investigations by Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Child Protective Services. The Family Early Defense Network, launched this month, provides free legal
“A growing number of states are debating whether to alter their policies on summoning child protection officials if a student has excessive absences. In the largest county in Nevada, child welfare officials typically are required by state law to investigate when a student repeatedly misses school. But recently, they made a striking request to the
“This column relates accounts of family engagement by a nonprofit working to keep families together while avoiding child welfare involvement. Our work is built around preventing family separation, so the last call we ever want to make is to the Child Protective Services (CPS) hotline. Families choose to work with us voluntarily, and we walk
“To improve child safety outcomes, eviction and homelessness should not be treated as proxies for parental failure. Across the country, housing instability places families with children in frequent contact with the child welfare system, even in the absence of abuse or intentional neglect. Families who are homeless, temporarily sharing housing with relatives or friends because
“Each year, millions of children in the United States are reported to be victims of abuse or neglect. Between 2014 and 2015, nearly 3.5 million children were reported to have been victims of suspected maltreatment, and approximately two-thirds of these cases resulted in investigations by Child Protective Services (CPS). Available data indicate that reported cases
“Recent Child Trends analyses of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) show that the number of referrals made to child welfare agencies for child maltreatment continued to climb in 2023. Referrals include those that were “screened in” for investigation or for an alternative response by child protective services, as well as those
Options for mandated reporters when children resist reporting. “Across the United States, state laws designate licensed mental health professionals (MHPs) as mandated reporters when they have reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect (Ettinger, 2022). This legal obligation requires MHPs to report such concerns to child protection authorities and exposes them to potential criminal charges, fines, or
