Handbook for Child Protection Practice

Part I: Reporting and Screening

• Chapter 1: How Do I Decide Whether to accept a Report for a Child Protective Services Investigation?
• Chapter 2: What Criteria are Most Critical to Determine the Urgency of Child Protective Services Response?
• Chapter 3: What is Child Neglect?
• Chapter 4: What is Physical Abuse?
• Chapter 5: What is Sexual Abuse?
• Chapter 6: What is Psychological Maltreatment?

Part II: Engagement

• Chapter 7: How Do I Connect with Children at Different Developmental Levels?
• Chapter 8: How Do I Develop a Helping Alliance with the Family?
• Chapter 9: What Principles and Approaches Can I Use to Engage Clients across Cultures?
• Chapter 10: How Can I Use Authority Effectively and Engage Family Members?
• Chapter 11: How Do I Manage Difficult Encounters with the Family?
• Chapter 12: How Do I Respond to Feelings (Mine and My Client's)?

Part III: Interviewing

• Chapter 13: How Do I Interview Young Children about Suspected Sexual Abuse?
• Chapter 14: How Do I Interview Older Children and Adolescents about Sexual Abuse?
• Chapter 15: What Tools are Appropriate to Facilitate Interviews with Children?
• Chapter 16: How Do I Interview a Child about Alleged Physical Abuse?
• Chapter 17: How Do I Interview Non-Maltreating Parents and Caregivers?
• Chapter 18: How Do I Interview the Alleged Perpetrator?
• Chapter 19: What Kinds of Questions in My Initial Assessment Interviews Will Generate Solutions and Enhance Safety?

Part IV: Initial Assessment

• Section A: General
• Chapter 20: How Do I Differentiate Culturally Based Parenting Practices from Child Maltreatment?
• Chapter 21: How Should Child Protective Services and Law Enforcement Coordinate the Initial Assessment and Investigation?
• Chapter 22: How Do I Screen a Caregiver's Use and Abuse of and Dependence on Alcohol and other Drugs and Their Effects on Parenting?
• Chapter 23: How Do I Screen Caregivers If I Suspect That They May Be Dangerous to Themselves or Their Children?
• Chapter 24: How Do I Decide Whether to Substantiate a Report?
• Section B: Neglect
• Chapter 25: How Do I Determine If a Child is Neglected?
• Chapter 26: How Do I Determine If it is Medical Neglect?
• Chapter 27: How Do I Determine Whether a Child's Nutritional Needs are being Met?
• Chapter 28: What is Inadequate Supervision?
• Chapter 29: How Do I Assess Neglect among At-Risk Adolescents?
• Section C: Physical Abuse
• Chapter 30: How Do I Determine Whether a Child Has Been Physically Abused?
• Chapter 31: What Medical Evaluation is Needed When Physical Abuse is Suspected?
• Chapter 32: How Do I Interpret Medical Tests for Physical Abuse?
• Chapter 33: What Conditions May Be Mistaken for Physical Abuse?
• Chapter 34: What are the Telltale Differences between Abusive and Noninflicted Injuries?
• Chapter 35: What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
• Chapter 36: How Do I Assess Possible Histories of Physical Abuse among Assaultive Adolescents?
• Section D: Sexual Abuse
• Chapter 37: How Do I Determine If a Child Has Been Sexually Abused?
• Chapter 38: What Developmental Factors Should Be Considered in Interpreting a Child's Disclosure of Sexual Abuse?
• Chapter 39: How Do I Interpret Sexualized Behavior in Children?
• Chapter 40: The Medical Evaluation for Possible Child Sexual Abuse: When is it Needed, Who Should Do it, How Should One Prepare for it, and What Will Be Done?
• Chapter 41: How Do I Interpret Laboratory Test Results for Sexually Transmitted Diseases?
• Chapter 42: How Do I Interpret Results of a Child Sexual Abuse Examination? What Conditions May Be Mistaken for Sexual Abuse?
• Chapter 43: How Do I Evaluate Suspected Sexual Abuse in the Adolescent Female?
• Chapter 44: When Does Sexual Play Suggest a Problem?
• Section E: Psychological Maltreatment
• Chapter 45: How Do I Determine Whether a Child Has Been Psychologically Maltreated?
• Chapter 46: In What Circumstances is a Child Who Witnesses Violence Experiencing Psychological Maltreatment?
• Section F: Risk Assessment and Safety Evaluation
• Chapter 47: How Do I Assess Risk and Safety?
• Chapter 48: How Do I Consider Cultural Factors When Assessing Risk and Safety?
• Chapter 49: How Do I Ensure a Maltreated Child's Safety in the Home?
• Chapter 50: How Do I Protect Children When There is a History of Domestic Violence in the Family?
• Chapter 51: How Do I Protect Children When Caregivers Have Chemical-Dependency Problems?
• Chapter 52: How Do I Protect Children from Hazardous Home Conditions and other Poverty-Related Conditions?
• Chapter 53: When Do Family Preservation Services Make Sense, and When Should other Permanency Plans Be Explored?
• Chapter 54: How Do I Decide Whether to Remove the Alleged Offender or to Remove the Child?
• Chapter 55: How Do I Assess the Risk of Maltreatment in Foster Care and Kinship Care?

Part V: Family Assessment

• Section A: Emphasis on the Child
• Chapter 56: How Do I Assess Child and Youth Behavior?
• Chapter 57: How Do I Assess Child and Youth Development?
• Chapter 58: How Do I Assess Child and Youth Emotional States?
• Chapter 59: How Do I Recognize and Assess Common or Important Mental Health Problems in Children?
• Chapter 60: What Preventive Pediatric and Dental Care Should Children and Youth Receive?
• Chapter 61: How Do I Assess a Child's Health Status?
• Chapter 62: How Do I Assess a Child's Social Support System?
• Chapter 63: How Do I Assess a Child's Behavior Related to Separation and Visitation?
• Section B: Emphasis on Parents and Caregivers
• Chapter 64: How Do I Assess a Caregiver's Personal History and its Meaning for Practice?
• Chapter 65: How Do I Assess a Caregiver's Parenting Attitudes, Knowledge, and Level of Functioning?
• Chapter 66: How Do I Assess the Care of Children with Major Medical Problems?
• Chapter 67: How Do I Assess a Caregiver's Strengths and Treatment Needs?
• Chapter 68: How Do I Assess a Caregiver's Motivation and Readiness to Change?
• Chapter 69: What Do I Need to Know about Care Needs and Parenting Capacity in Caregivers with HIV or AIDS?
• Section C: Emphasis on Families
• Chapter 70: How Do I Assess the Strengths in Families?
• Chapter 71: How Do I Conduct an Ethnographic Interview to Learn about the Family's Culture?
• Chapter 72: How Do I Assess Family Functioning?
• Chapter 73: How Do I Assess a Parent-Child Relationship?
• Chapter 74: How Do I Assess the Treatment Needs of Children Affected by Domestic Violence?
• Chapter 75: How Do I Assess the Likelihood of an Intervention Succeeding?

Part VI: Service Planning

• Chapter 76: How Do I Match Risks to Client Outcomes?
• Chapter 77: What Outcomes are Relevant for Intervention?
• Chapter 78: What is Strengths-Based Service Planning?
• Chapter 79: How Do I Develop Measurable Goals and Objectives That Match Client Intervention Outcomes?
• Chapter 80: What is Concurrent Planning, and How Do I Do it?
• Chapter 81: How Do I Use Family Meetings to Develop Optimal Service Plans?
• Chapter 82: How Do I Involve Fathers?
• Chapter 83: How Do I Develop a Collaborative Intervention Plan with the Kinship Network?
• Chapter 84: What Do I Need to Know to Plan Effectively across Child Welfare Programs?

Part VII: Intervention

• Section A: Emphasis on the Child
• Chapter 85: What Types of Mental Health Treatment Should Be Considered for Maltreated Children?
• Chapter 86: What are Effective Strategies to Address Common Behavior Problems?
• Chapter 87: How Do I Help Children Adjust to Out-of-Home Care Placement?
• Chapter 88: How Do I Help Children Maintain Cultural Identity When They are Placed in Out-of-Home Care?
• Chapter 89: What Kind of Pediatric Care Should Abused and Neglected Children Receive?
• Section B: Emphasis on the Parent or Caregiver
• Chapter 90: How Can Parenting Be Enhanced?
• Chapter 91: What Interventions are Available for the Nonabusive Parent?
• Chapter 92: How Can I Help Parents and Caregivers Develop Social Skills and Make Positive Connections to the Community?
• Chapter 93: What Treatment is Recommended for Sexual Abuse Perpetrators?
• Chapter 94: What Treatment is Recommended to Address Physically Abusive Behavior?
• Chapter 95: What is the Most Effective Treatment for Depression?
• Chapter 96: What Interventions are Most Effective in Addressing Domestic Violence?
• Chapter 97: What are the Treatment Options for Parents with Alcohol or other Drug Problems?
• Section C: Emphasis on the Family
• Chapter 98: What Do I Need to Know about Family Therapy?
• Chapter 99: How Can I Support Biological Families after a Child Has Been Removed from Their Care?
• Chapter 100: How Do I Facilitate Visits between Foster Children and Their Biological Families That Support the Goals and Objectives of Intervention?
• Chapter 101: How Do I Build Families' Financial Management Skills?
• Chapter 102: How Can I Best Manage the Intervention Process When Multiple Service Providers are Involved?
• Chapter 103: What is “Family to Family,” and How Does it Support Permanency for Children?
• Chapter 104: Foster and Kinship Caregivers: What are Their Support and Intervention Needs?
• Chapter 105: What are the Unique Roles of Religious Institutions in Supporting and Strengthening Families?

Part VIII: Evaluation and Closure

• Chapter 106: How Do I Measure Risk Reduction?
• Chapter 107: When is Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption the Best Permanency Option?
• Chapter 108: When Can a Child Be Safely Reunited with His or Her Family?
• Chapter 109: Preparing Youth for Independent Living: What are the Best Methods for Reaching Self-Sufficiency?
• Chapter 110: How Do I Prepare Families for Case Closure?

Part IX: Legal and Ethical Issues

• Chapter 111: What Rights Do My Clients Have to Information in Their Case Records?
• Chapter 112: How Do I Avoid Being Sued?
• Chapter 113: What is the Role of the Caseworker in Juvenile Court?
• Chapter 114: How Do I Feel Comfortable Testifying in Court?
• Chapter 115: How Do I Help Children Be Comfortable in the Legal System and Improve Their Competency as Witnesses?
• Chapter 116: Why is Communicating with Lawyers So Important and So Difficult?
• Chapter 117: How Do I Work Effectively with Guardians Ad Litem, Court-Appointed Special Advocates, and Citizen or Professional Case Review Panels?

Part X: Child Protection Practice: Special Issues for the Practitioner

• Chapter 118: What are the Core Competencies for Practitioners in Child Welfare Agencies?
• Chapter 119: How Do I Protect My Personal Safety in the Community?
• Chapter 120: How Do I Prevent Burnout?
• Chapter 121: How Can Critical Thinking Contribute to Informed Decisions?
• Chapter 122: What Can I Do to Cope with the Death or Serious Injury of a Child from My Caseload?
• Chapter 123: How Do I Balance Common Sense, Personal Values, and Agency Constraints?
• Chapter 124: How Do I Use Case Record Keeping to Guide Intervention and Provide Accountability?