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Vol.
25, No. 1
November 2019
Suggestions for Using Data to Improve CPS Intake
We encourage you to use data to assess and improve your county's performance in intake. Using data simply means collecting and analyzing information to identify what's working and what needs improvement to achieve outcomes in child welfare.
Assessing Intake in Your County
Look at your data. Your county already collects data on reports of abuse and neglect and submits it to the NC Division of Social Services (NC DSS) each quarter. You can obtain this data from the NC Client Services Data Warehouse or from X/PTR Case management reports (NCDHHS, 2018).
NC FAST, when fully implemented, will provide real time statewide data on all reports of child abuse and neglect. For counties currently in NC FAST, your data dashboards hold a wealth of information, such as how long it takes for a report to be assigned to an assessor (H. McNeill, personal communication, Sept. 18, 2019).
Targeted case reviews are another valuable data source. Unlike with the On-Site Review Instrument (OSRI), a targeted review does not look at the entire case. Instead, it examines specific items in the case record. For example, a targeted review of your county's intake reports might ask:
- Was this case screened according to DSS policy?
- Was the appropriate maltreatment screening tool used?
- Is there sufficient written justification of the screening decision?
Conduct record reviews. We encourage you to randomly select a number of screened-in and screened-out reports on a regular basis for a targeted case review (NCDSS, 2018). This will help you assess and monitor the consistency of intake decision making in your county. You can also use record reviews to assess how your unit is doing compared to county standards and/or whether your county is meeting state standards. Quality Assurance (QA) staff can help with random record reviews.
Set goals. Once you've looked at your data, if there is a problem, outline goals for improving an issue, including target dates and benchmarks to track your progress. QA staff can be helpful here too, especially when identifying measures of success and pulling themes from your data.
Intake Performance Statewide
How is NC performing in CPS intake? To answer this question, we turned to data from the NC DSS program monitoring team, which reviewed 1,800 CPS reports in 2016 and found:
93% of screened-in reports were screened according to CPS policy.
- Appropriate intake tools were consulted in 86% of these reports.
82% of screened-out reports were screened according to policy.
- Appropriate intake tools were consulted in 71% of these reports.
- Of these reports, 87% had written justification.
- Of these justifications, only 64% were appropriate.
Of accepted reports, 20% were investigative assessments and 80% were family assessments.
What these numbers tell us
- NC does a good job screening in reports according to policy, but we can do better on screen outs.
- We must use the screening tools and decision trees in the intake policy, every time. Consult the screening tool for anything that is alleged, even if you don't think the report will be screened in for that.
- We must improve written justification for intake reports. Our documentation should include behaviorally specific information on why the allegations don't meet the legal definitions for child maltreatment.
- If there is a notable disparity in the way your county assigns accepted reports (i.e., 20% investigative and 80% family assessments), be curious. What do you think accounts for this difference?
In addition, according to NC DSS Program Monitor Holly McNeill, the monitoring team found these trends in its spring 2019 reviews:
- Collaterals: There was a lack of information about collateral contacts in reports, particularly for NC FAST counties. When collateral information is not obtained at intake, fewer collateral contacts occur during the CPS assessment.
- DV allegations: When domestic violence is alleged, agencies are not asking enough follow-up questions to discern if there is a power and control dynamic in the family.
- Plan of Safe Care: Only the first county that receives notification of a substance affected infant should complete the POSC and submit it to CC4C, even if the family lives in another county. Unfortunately, in this situation both counties have been submitting this information to CC4C, resulting in duplicate data.
While all of the above may not be issues in your county, we encourage you to do a targeted review of reports to see what strengths and challenges you have around CPS intake, and to develop a plan to address any practice issues you identify.