4.0 Introduction to Initial Safety Assessment | CWS

O.C.G.A. § 19-7-5 Reporting of Child Abuse (e)(f)
O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-12 Definitions
O.C.G.A. § 49-5-8 Powers and Duties of Department of Human Services
O.C.G.A. § 49-5-40 Definitions; Confidentiality of Records; Restricted Access to Records
O.C.G.A. § 49-5-41 Persons and Agencies Permitted to Access Records
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act Section 471(a) (9)
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)
Public Law 105-89 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997
Final Notice of Statewide Data Indicators and National Standards for Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR)
National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) Agency File and Child Codebooks

As the designated child welfare agency in Georgia, the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is legally mandated to respond to reports of known or suspected instances of child abuse; including physical or mental injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, or negligent treatment or maltreatment under circumstances that indicate that the child’s health or welfare is threatened.

DFCS has a two-track differential response system to address accepted reports of known or suspected child abuse. The tenets of differential response systems as recognized by the Child Welfare League of America and the American Humane Association are incorporated into Georgia’s practice model, which includes:

To determine the track assignment for an accepted report of maltreatment, an ISA is conducted. The ISA is designed to provide an initial response to the reported maltreatment within an assigned timeframe of immediate, 24 hours, or five weekdays of the intake report to assess the safety of the alleged victim child(ren). After the initial response, DFCS has up to an additional 72 hours from the expiration of the assigned response time to complete the ISA process. This includes seeing all household members, making a safety determination, and track assignment.

The ISA offers a consistent and comprehensive approach to determining the level of intervention. Unlike traditional methods that rely solely on intake report information, the initial assignment to FSS or Investigations is based on direct engagement with the alleged victim child and their family. Following child and family engagement, a supervisor staffing is conducted, to make a child safety decision which determines track assignment:

Using this criterion ensures the scope of DFCS intervention is the least intrusive necessary – only what is essential to assess child safety, implement protective actions and services, and determine the need for ongoing or permanency services

DFCS utilizes a Solution-Based Casework (SBC) Practice Model. Grounded in a framework of safety, and wedded to full family engagement, the SBC practice model is best thought of as the architecture that holds our practice to a consistent focus on safety outcomes. At the heart of SBC is the belief that by building a partnership with the family, a true focus on developing pragmatic solutions to the everyday problems in life the family is facing can be developed. Documenting and celebrating the successes of the family are also acknowledged and provide a framework for the family to sustain positive change moving forward. By using the SBC model, the case manager is able to follow a conceptual map for family-centered practice from assessment through case closure.^[1]

DFCS believes in a family-centered approach to working with families. At the core of this family-centered practice is the belief that children have a right to be safe and secure, to be with their families, to be associated with their culture and to experience the least trauma or interference in their lives as is possible. Parent(s) and children have the right to family, integrity, privacy, and due process when their constitutional rights may be deprived by a government entity. Parent(s) also have the right to be informed and involved, have, and care for their children and receive prompt responses regarding their children.