NCJ Number
173921
Journal
Future of Children Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 1998 Pages: 23-38
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the history, current status, and future roles of child protective services (CPS) concludes that the crucial issues for the future are to determine which situations require the agency's intervention and to develop ways in which broader community resources can be mobilized in the effort to protect children.
Abstract
Today's CPS system evolved from a past of almshouses, orphan trains, anticruelty societies, and legislation establishing the protection of children as a government function. The history of child protection is marked by a continuing, unresolved tension between the goal of rescuing children from abusive homes and that of strengthening the care that their families can provide. The typical CPS agency is a unit that focuses on child abuse and neglect and is located within a broader public child welfare department. The police, the courts, private and public social service agencies, and the community at large also have roles in child protection. The support and commitment of the public are crucial to sustaining an effective response to child abuse and neglect. Photographs, figure, checklists, and 31 references (Author abstract modified)