How Do Helplines Support Children and Families?

“Helplines provide referrals to community and government resources that support parents and other caregivers in raising their children safely and successfully. By connecting children and families to upstream services, helplines can be an effective strategy in efforts to prevent child welfare system involvement.

Creating the right path to provide support

Child welfare systems currently rely on mandated and voluntary reporters to share suspicions of child maltreatment through calls to a child protection hotline. Many jurisdictions, however, are examining their hotline data and re-examining their mandated reporting procedures in order to reduce reports to the hotline when situations do not warrant child welfare assessment, investigation, or involvement. Helplines can provide solutions for families at risk of child welfare involvement, including those experiencing economic stress.

Helplines are intended to be proactive, providing immediate upstream support to families experiencing a crisis or an unmet need, therefore preventing potential child maltreatment down the road. Jurisdictions describe helplines as part of their broader efforts to ‘narrow the front door’ to the child welfare system and offer ‘no wrong door’ for assistance, while at the same time strengthening child and family protective factors.”