Transcript

When someone reports child abuse, be it through a child abuse hotline, a teacher, or the police, the social service agency or CPS is required to come out to the family home, interview the family, or the condition where the child abuse is alleged to occur. They will interview the family, interview the children, and anyone else who’s reported or involved. They will conduct an investigation, sometimes the children are interviewed by a child abuse assessment team, and the parents are expected to cooperate with that.

Then, they will determine whether or not there are services that can be offered the family to keep the children safely at home, to keep the family together, or if it’s necessary to protect the child or children, to file a petition with the juvenile court.