Child protective services (CPS) refers to government agencies in the United States that investigate allegations of child abuse or neglect, and if confirmed, intervene by providing services to the family through a safety plan, in-home monitoring, supervision, or if a safety plan is not feasible or in emergencies, removing the child from the custody of their parent or legal guardian.
Some areas use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered (as opposed to child-centered) practices, such as "Department of Children and Family Services" (DCFS). CPS is also sometimes known by the name "Department of Social Services" (DSS or simply Social Services), though these terms more often have a broader meaning. However, their function remains equivalent.
Children, Youth, and Family – CYF Department of Children and Families – DCF Children and Youth Services''' - CYS (Pennsylvania only)Department of Child Protection and Permanency - DCPP (New Jersey only)Administration for Children's Services - ACS (New York City only) CPS/DCF is a department under a state's health and human services organization.
Laws and standards U.S. federal laws U.S. federal laws that govern CPS agencies include: 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, and depending on the circumstances, 1985 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Social Security Act Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
History In 1690, in what is now the Americas, there were criminal court cases involving child abuse.Pecora et al. (1992), p. 231. In 1692, states and municipalities identified care for abused and neglected children as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.Ibid., pp. 230–1. In 1696, The Kingdom of England first used the legal principle of parens patriae, which gave the royal crown care of "charities, infants, idiots, and lunatics returned to the chancery". This principle of parens patriae has been identified as the statutory basis for U.S. governmental intervention in families' child rearing practices.Ibid., p. 230.
In 1825, states enacted laws giving social-welfare agencies the right to remove neglected children from their parents and from the streets. These children were placed in almshouses, in orphanages and with other families. In 1835, a humane society founded the National Federation of Child Rescue agencies to investigate child maltreatment. In the late-19th century, private child protection agencies—modeled after existing animal protection organizations—developed to investigate reports of child maltreatment, present cases in court, and advocate for child welfare legislation.Pecora et al. (1992), pp. 230–31; Petr (1998), p. 126.
In 1853, the Children's Aid Society was founded in response to the problem of orphaned or abandoned children living in New York City. Rather than allow these children to become institutionalized or continue to live on the streets, the children were placed in the first "foster" homes, typically with the intention of helping these families work their farms as family labor.
In 1874, the first documented criminal case for child abuse originated from the story of eight-year-old Mary Ellen who was severely abused by her foster parents. Outrage over this case started an organized effort against child maltreatment Private organizations known as "anticruelty societies" such as The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) which was formed to lobby for criminal statutes for child abuse, abandonment, and neglect. These "anticruelty societies" rapidly expanded to other cities nationwide, growing from 37 SPCCs in 1880 to 161 by 1902. State governments also took action in other ways. The state of New York passed a law protecting children in 1877. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt convened the White House Conference on Child Dependency, which created a publicly funded volunteer organization to "establish and publicize standards of child care". By 1926, 18 states had some version of county child welfare boards whose purpose was to coordinate public and private child related work. Issues of abuse and neglect were addressed in the Social Security Act in 1930, which provided funding for intervention for "neglected and dependent children in danger of becoming delinquent".
Child protection functions shifted from anticruelty societies to public agencies in the 1930s. By the mid-twentieth century, federal funding rules led to the conversion of the societies into the public Child Protective Services known today. In 1912, the federal children's bureau was established with a mandate that included services related to child maltreatment. In 1958, amendments to the Social Security Act mandated that states fund child protection efforts.Laird & Michael (2006). In 1962, professional and media interest in child maltreatment was sparked by the publication of C. Henry Kempe and associates' "The battered child syndrome" in the JAMA. By the mid-1960s, in response to public concern that resulted from this article, 49 U.S. states passed child-abuse reporting laws.Pecora et al. (1992), p. 232; Petr (1998), p. 126. In 1974, these efforts by the states culminated in the passage of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) providing federal funding for wide-ranging federal and state child-maltreatment research and services.Pecora et al. (1992), pp. 232–3; Petr (1998), pp. 126–7. In 1980, Congress passed the first comprehensive federal child protective services act, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, which focused on family preservation efforts to help keep families together and children out of foster care or other out-of-home placement options.
Partly funded by the federal government, child protective services (CPS) agencies were first established in response to the 1974 CAPTA, which mandated that all states establish procedures to investigate suspected incidents of child maltreatment.
In the 1940s and 1950s, due to improved technology in diagnostic radiology, the medical profession began to take notice of what they believed to be intentional injuries, the so-called "shaken baby syndrome". In 1961, Kempe began to further research this issue, eventually identifying and coining the term battered child syndrome. At this same time, there were also changing views about the role of children in society, fueled in part by the Civil rights movement.
In 1973, Congress took the first steps toward enacting federal legislature to address the issues of poverty and minorities. The CAPTA was passed in 1974, which required states "to prevent, identify and treat child abuse and neglect".
Shortly thereafter, in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in response to attempts to destroy the Native Americans by taking large numbers of Native American children, separating them from their tribes and placing them in foster care or sending them to far away schools where many were maltreated, lost and some died. This legislation not only opened the door for consideration of cultural issues while stressing ideas that children should be with their families, leading to the beginnings of family preservation programs. In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was introduced as a way to manage the high numbers of children in placement. Although this legislation addressed some of the complaints from earlier pieces of legislation around the elimination of due process for parents, these changes were not designed to alleviate the high numbers of children in placement or continuing delays in permanence. This led to the introduction of the home visitation models, which provided funding to private agencies to provide parents with intensive services as an alternative to adoption.
In addition to family services, the focus of federal child welfare policy changed to try to address permanence for the large numbers of foster children care. Several pieces of federal legislation attempted to ease the process of adoption and taking away parental rights, including incentives for adoption and removal with the Adoption Assistance Act; the 1988 Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption, and Family Services Act; and the 1992 Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption, and Family Services Act. The 1994 Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, which was revised in 1996 to add the Interethnic Placement Provisions, also attempted to promote permanency through adoption, creating regulations that adoptions could not be delayed or denied due to issues of parental rights, the children's right, discrimination, race, color, or national origin of the child or the adoptive parent.
All of these policies led up to the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), much of which guides current practice. Changes in the Adoptions and Safe Families Act shifted the emphasis towards children's health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regard to prior abusiveness. This law requires counties to provide "reasonable efforts" to preserve or reunify families, but required that states move to terminate parental rights for children who had been in foster care for 15 out of the last 22 months, with several exceptions.
Comparison to other similar systems Brazil For decades, before 1990, there had been pressure from NGOs and children's organizations for protecting children battered by poverty and hunger and despised by sections of the community in Brazil. After this, became a chapter on the rights of children and adolescents in the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. In 1990, an even greater victory, when the Statute of the Child and Adolescent was approved ligating the government to protect child rights. This ensured a comprehensive child welfare system in Brazil. To ensure that the statute's provisions are enforced, councils for the rights of the child and adolescent were set up at federal, state and local levels.
The National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) is a federal authority. The councils of guardianship are the local authorities and have duties and responsibilities towards children in their area. All work is based in the Statute of the Child and Adolescents (Law No. 8,069, July 13, 1990).CONANDA (National Council for the Rights of the Child and the Adolescent) (2014, September 6). Statute of the Child and Adolescent. Law No. 8069, July 13, 1990. Retrieved from
Canada In Ontario, services are provided by independent children's aid societies. The societies receive funding from, and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. However, they are regarded as a non-governmental organization (NGO) which allows the CAS a large degree of autonomy from interference or direction in the day-to-day running of CAS by the ministry. The Child and Family Services Review Board exists to investigate complaints against CAS and maintains authority to act against the societies.
The federal government passed Bill C-92—officially known as An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families—in June 2019 coming into force on January 1, 2020. The new legislation creates national standards on how Indigenous children are to be treated. For example, when looking to place kids in foster care, authorities are to prioritize extended family and home communities. The law also allows Indigenous communities to create their own child welfare laws. Indigenous children make up 7% of Canada's population, but represent about 50% of youth in care.
Costa Rica The Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) is responsible for child protection in Costa Rica.