NCJ Number
113697
Journal
Protecting Children Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1988) Pages: 10-12
Date Published
1988
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development and the format for the 'Decision Point Policies' of the Hennepin County Child Protective Services agency (Minnesota), designed to guide decisionmaking in the agency's case processing.
Abstract
Agency staff identified these as the most significant decisions made during case processing: whether or not to investigate, how to investigate, whether to report disposition, whether to open the case for ongoing child protective services or to refer interdepartmentally or to an outside agency, and how to formulate content of the case plan. Other decisions regard pursuit of court action, removal of the child from the home, returning the child to the parental home, permanency planning issues, and case closure. In addition to the decision points, the policies address who makes the decisions, the potential outcomes of the decisions, and the policy guidelines for making the decisions. The 'Decision Point Policies' are the basis for training, supervision, accountability, information collection, and public information.