Vol. 25, No. 1
November 2019

Hallmarks of Effectiveness in CPS Intake

What can child welfare systems and agencies do to make sure they get CPS intake right? To answer this question, let's consider some of the elements commonly found in effective intake systems, according to Casey Family Programs (2018a).

Consistent and Timely Response
To respond in a consistent and timely way to child maltreatment reports, agencies need enough intake staff to operate 24 hours a day, every day. To accomplish this, they must have the capacity to monitor report volumes and adjust workload levels in real time.

Emi Wyble, a Social Services Program Representative with the NC Division of Social Services, urges agencies to think carefully about how they assign staff to intake duties. "Agencies will do better if intakes are performed only by primary intake staff," she advises. "Even if this isn't possible due to county size, for consistency's sake, keep the pool of people who do intakes small."

State intake systems can be decentralized, regionalized (i.e., reports are made to regional offices), or centralized (i.e., all reports are processed through a centralized hotline). Currently NC is a decentralized system: reports are made directly to all 100 county child welfare agencies. (Click here to read about the Center for the Support of Families' recommendation that NC move to centralized intake.)

Clear Policy Guidance
To make accurate, consistent decisions at intake agencies need clear policies that include concrete definitions of abuse and neglect. Standardized decision tools also help, especially when they are accompanied by straightforward guidance and integrated into policy.

Policy around intake in NC is clear. Policy requires the use of the Structured Intake form (DSS-1402), and the CPS Intake section of the NC Child Welfare Manual includes maltreatment screening decision trees and response priority tools.

Skilled Workforce
The effectiveness of CPS intake rests on the stability and skill of intake staff. According to Casey Family Programs, many experts believe intake staff should be the most skilled and experienced in the agency.

When hiring, agencies should look for the strong interviewing and customer services skills needed to engage and guide reporters in discussion. Once hired, intake staff require consistent training, coaching, and supervision.

Reliable Decision-Making Processes
In NC, CPS intake decisions are two-level. This means they must include a discussion between the intake worker and a supervisor (or other management position) about the tools consulted, the response priority and assessment response, and a justification for those decisions.

Emi Wyble says it is hard to overstate how important it is that intake staff participate actively in decisions. "They have firsthand knowledge of the report, so they need to be in the room and part of the discussion. To leave them out of the process downplays their skills and all they can bring to screening decisions."

Supervisors are also key. Their role in the process allows them to ensure the consistency and quality of screening decisions. If necessary, they also support effective intake by responding when other units question screening decisions or assigned response times, and by participating in the Quality Assurance (QA) process when there are disagreements about intake decisions (CFP, 2018b).

CQI
Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is another hallmark of effective intake practice. Record reviews and other CQI processes ensure staff are engaging reporters, gathering all needed information, and documenting that information and the decision-making process. In some states and agencies, QA units use inter-reliability tests to ensure decisions are consistent across all intake staff. For more on data use, see Suggestions for Using Data to Improve CPS Intake.

To Learn More
For more insights on CPS intake practice from Casey Family Programs, see:

CPS Intake Documentation Tips

Documentation at intake should paint a clear picture of what the agency knows, what it decides based on that information (even when screening out), and the actions the agency takes based on its decisions (NCDSS, 2017a). For example, when documenting screen outs, writing "didn't rise to the level" isn't sufficient. This is an area NC DSS has identified as an area of concern. Workers must use specifics unique to the report to make it clear why the report was not screened in.

Intake documentation should record facts and avoid opinions or jargon. It should be based on observations of specific behaviors and conditions or obtained by asking open-ended questions to clarify opinions. When conclusions are drawn, they should be based on facts and observed behaviors.

For more about documentation, see "Decision Making and Documentation at CPS Intake" (Children's Services Practice Notes, April 2017).

References for this and other articles in this issue