A Child Advocate's Guide to State Child Protective Services Reform. Issue Brief.

This issue brief from the National Association of Child Advocates provides background on traditional child protective services (CPS) systems, including weaknesses of the traditional CPS model, and describes the underlying philosophy and practical application of the CPS reform models that are being implemented in a number of states. Key elements of CPS reform systems are: (1) multi-tiered response; (2) family assessment; (3) community-based case workers; (4) changing role of the central child abuse registry; and (5) community collaboration. The brief also analyzes the differences between various state reform initiatives and illustrates some of the challenges experienced by these first efforts. Initiatives in Jacksonville, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Louisville, Kentucky are described. Drawing on these lessons, the brief offers an "Advocate's Checklist for Implementation of Child Protective Services Reform," which provides a framework for advocates to use to participate in designing a CPS reform initiative that will best fit the resources, needs, and political realities of their individual communities. The philosophy behind CPS reform efforts offers a promising response to the deficits in traditional CPS practice, because it is shaped by the premise that CPS must service families both when they are at risk for neglect and abuse, and after neglect and abuse have already occurred. (EV)