Resources

Ortiz, M. J., Shusterman, G. R., & Fluke, J. D. (2008). Outcomes for children with allegations of neglect who receive alternative response and traditional investigations: Findings from NCANDS. Protecting Children, 23(1 & 2), 57-70. 

This article presents comparative re-reporting rates for groups of children who received assessments and investigations in five states that implemented alternative response between 2004 and 2005. Case-level data from NCANDS are analyzed, focusing on whether children in alternative response systems are being kept as safe as are those children receiving traditional investigations. The study examines the re-reporting trajectories for 12 months of children in families with allegations of neglect. The data showed that overall, 17 to 19 percent of children experienced a re-report within 12 months regardless of whether they received alternative response or an investigation; however, children who received assessments were at somewhat less risk of re-reporting. Data for alternative response findings is also provided: Across all states, 32 percent of children in the child welfare system with allegations of abuse received assessments with an equal distribution of gender; race and ethnicity did not appear to be relevant in the decision to refer to a certain track; and children receiving assessments in various states were generally older and were more likely to be reported by nonprofessionals (e.g., parents, friends, anonymous). The report also discusses the study’s limitations and future topics for study, and states that re-reporting data may not fully represent a child’s subjective experience of safety.

Keywords: National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, NCANDS, trajectory pattern analysis, proportional hazards analysis, Cox regression, alternative response, differential response, track, re-report, child safety, investigation, assessment, neglect

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Provincial and Territorial Directors of Child Welfare. (2003). New directions in child welfare. In N. Trocmé, D. Knoke, & C. Roy (Eds.), Community collaboration and differential response: Canadian and international research and emerging models of practice (pp. 1-13). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Child Welfare of Canada.

This book chapter provides a historical overview of the major paradigm shifts in the delivery of Canadian child welfare services, including the child rescue era, the family preservation era and a recent renewed focus on child protection. Within the current system’s “better safe than sorry” mandate, professional workload pressures and the number and complexity of family needs have increased. Workers spend a disproportionate amount of their time investigating the family and collecting evidence to mobilize child protective services. Consequently, this “one size fits all” approach fails to recognize the diverse and individual needs of children and families. The chapter advocates for a “narrowing plus” strategy in order to provide a broad and more flexible set of responses; a dual response system could help workers assess families according to the degree of risk and need. This framework could also clarify agency mandates and encourage professionals to focus their time on both working with high-risk families and connecting low-risk families to supports and services. The chapter also acknowledges the importance of developing and fostering more distinct roles for community-based supports, encouraging collaboration between and among provinces and territories to implement and evaluate “narrowing plus” pilot projects and including aboriginal tribes and representatives in all child welfare discussions.

Keywords: aboriginal, battered child syndrome, Canada Assistance Plan, CAP, Canada Health and Social Transfer, CHST, child rescue, collaboration, community, disease prevention model, dual response, evidence, family preservation funding, historical overview, investigation, learning environment, legislation, mandate, narrowing plus, need, neglect, one size fits all, physical abuse, pilot, pressure, provincial, referral, resource, risk, service design, sexual abuse, shift, social services, strategy, substitute care, workload

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Richardson, J. (2008). Differential response literature review. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Children and Family Research Center, Office of the Research Partnership, School of Social Work. 

This recent review provides a comprehensive synthesis of existing literature regarding the potential benefits and challenges of differential response (DR) and summarizes evaluation findings from previous studies. Several descriptions of jurisdictional efforts to implement DR are included. The document then specifically considers how DR might be integrated into the current child welfare statutes and policies of the state of Illinois, including recommendations for changes to better accommodate DR as a “front-end” strategy. These recommendations focus on an examination of current statutes and changes in organizational culture and indicate that the implementation of DR might lead to cost savings in child protective services by streamlining current intake practices. Worker training, data system changes and community resource capacity assessments are also identified as potentially necessary for the successful implementation of DR in the state. An inclusive bibliography is included.

Keywords: disproportionality, risk assessment, community services, recurrence, recidivism, safety platform, Strengthening Families, family engagement, funding, training, SACWIS, core elements, central registry, voluntary services, case disposition, workload, statutory schema, mandated reporters, path reassignment

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Ryan, K. M. (2007). Differential response: Supporting families in crisis. New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://www.njslom.com/featart0407.html 

This document is a posting from New Jersey’s Commissioner, Kevin Ryan, in the Department of Children and Families and provides background information on the number of calls New Jersey’s child abuse hotline received in 2006. In 2006, the hotline received 54,000 reports concerning active child abuse or neglect. These calls required a child protective services investigation. There were also 12,000 calls received directly from families, or on behalf of families. This posting also describes the announcement by the Department of Children and Families of availability of funding for up to four counties in New Jersey to develop and implement a differential response pilot initiative. The differential response system seeks to provide services that will promote families’ safety, permanency, well-being and self-sufficiency. The state anticipates that the families involved in the pilot program will need child care, mental health and emotional services, housing, emergency financial assistance, employment and training, utility assistance, family respite care and transportation.

Keywords: pilot initiative, differential response, community-based organizations, families, services, safety, permanency, well-being, self-sufficiency, hotline

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Sawyer, R., & Lohrbach, S. (2005). Differential response in child protection: Selecting a pathway. Protecting Children, 20 (2 & 3), 44-53. 

Olmsted County Child and Family Services in Minnesota has developed a domestic violence response team in partnership with Family Service Rochester, a non-governmental agency. This team is part of Olmsted County’s differential response system and takes in over 90 percent of reporting cases that present domestic violence where a child was present. The domestic violence response requires separate assessment and planning with the adult who was harmed and the children; there is no requirement for a formal finding of child maltreatment in this response. The reports referred to the domestic violence-specific pathway are those that present with known intimate partner violence with children present in the environment. This innovative response was initiated in 1999 after legislation was passed (and has since been repealed), to include that child exposure to domestic violence was a valid report of child maltreatment. This type of intervention required some modification of the differential response approach to ensure safety for the adult at risk of harm as well as the child. This article notes that using a differential response approach in domestic violence cases may lead to lower rates of revictimization and that building community capacity is essential to providing a community-based protection program for children and families.

Keywords: domestic violence, alternative response, RED Team, DVRT, engagement, child exposure, community collaboration, intimate partner violence, maltreatment, intervention, safety, risk of harm, revictimization

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Schene, P. (2001, Spring). Meeting each family’s needs: Using differential response in reports of child abuse and neglect. Best Practice, Next Practice: Family-Centered Child Welfare. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/docs/protecting-children/PC-DR-using-reports.pdf

This article describes differential response as an approach that recognizes the variation in both child maltreatment reports and individual family needs, and one in which family engagement, empowerment and involvement are emphasized. The author provides an overview of typical differential response practice: More severe cases of child maltreatment (e.g., sexual abuse) are placed on an “investigation track” while low- to moderate-risk cases go on an “assessment track.” Families that follow the “assessment track” are provided with resources and supports from child protective services and community-based organizations in an effort to help them care for their children more effectively. This article describes the implementation of differential response practice in eight states and includes findings from practice evaluations done in two states (Missouri’s dual-track approach and Virginia’s multiple response system). A major finding from Missouri is that child safety did not worsen in dual-track pilot counties, and in some cases children’s safety increased. Likewise, many Virginia caseworkers responded favorably to the multiple response system and stated they believed child safety increased when this system was used. Recommendations for widespread implementation of differential response are noted, including staff training, practice evaluation and appropriate “tracking” of maltreatment cases in order to ensure the safety and protection of children.

Keywords: alternative response, assessment track, community responsibility, differential response, dual-track approach, family cohesiveness, family engagement, family group decision making, investigation track, kinship involvement, multiple-track approach, multipurpose collaborative bodies, MPCBs, practice evaluation, staff training, stakeholder satisfaction, strengths-based interventions, Virginia’s multiple response system

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Schene, P., & Kaplan, C. (2007, November). Getting started with differential response: Fundamentals and first steps. Presentation at the American Humane Association Conference on Differential Response, Long Beach, CA. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/docs/protecting-children/PC-DR-conf2007.pdf 

This presentation provides an overview of differential response in child protective services (CPS). It describes the core elements of differential response, including the use of two or more discrete response paths to accepted CPS reports, the ability to change response paths, the voluntariness of services on the assessment path and the provision of services without making a formal “substantiation” decision on the assessment path. It lists some benefits of differential response, including a shift of focus from investigative fact-finding to family support and services, allowing services to be provided earlier. It also notes both commonalities and differences between an assessment path and investigative path. The presentation provides guidance on implementation of differential response and highlights the importance of family engagement and community partnerships as part of the differential response model.

Keywords: alternative response, assessment path, collaboration, collaborative partnership, differential response, dual track, family engagement, investigative path, multiple response, multiple track, strengths-based

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Schene, P., & Oppenheim, S. (2005, Summer). Choosing the path less traveled: Strengthening California families through differential response. What Works Policy Brief. Sacramento, CA: Foundation Consortium for California’s Children and Youth.
Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://www.californiafamilyresource.org/PDFs/Choosing%20the%20Path%20Less%20Traveled%20Strengthening%20CA%20Families%20through%20Differential%20Response.pdf 

This policy brief summarizes the rationale and key characteristics of differential response (DR) as one of the strategies identified by the state of California to address challenges to its child welfare system. The state’s adaptation of DR, which includes a third path for non-screened-in reports called Community Response, and its status at the time of the document’s writing, are explained and scenarios are provided for each path. The brief concludes by identifying fiscal and administrative barriers to the implementation of the state’s adaptation of DR, and asserts that adequate funding and the ability of public agencies to collaborate with private service providers would be required for the approach to succeed.

Keywords: community services, funding, caseloads, family engagement, community collaboration, intervention, First Five

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Shusterman, G. R., Fluke, J. D., Hollinshead, D. M., & Yuan, Y-Y. T. (2005). Alternative responses to child maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS. Protecting Children, 20(2 & 3), 32-42 

This study examines data from six states (Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Wyoming) that offer both traditional investigation and alternative response (differential response) as part of child welfare services. Data from the 2002 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is used for the analysis and data from each state is analyzed separately. Each state previously had an alternative response model in place. The study compares children who received alternative response with those who received traditional investigations in terms of their own characteristics, the circumstances of the reported maltreatment and the subsequent reports and dispositions. This study focuses on three key research questions: 1) What are the characteristics of children who received alternative response? 2) How are the circumstances of the reported maltreatment related to whether a child receives an alternative or investigative response? 3) How do outcomes differ between children who receive an alternative response and children who receive an investigation response? This study found that in general, alternative response systems are able to meet their goal in that they are able to serve children and families who are at a lower risk or face less serious allegations, and perhaps prevent future maltreatment. Findings are also given for overall referral trends, child characteristics, source of report, maltreatment type, circumstances of the report and re-response. There is no information given regarding the details of any of the alternative response programs, and guidelines and findings betweens states are sometimes inconsistent.

Keywords: NCANDS, child characteristics, outcomes, alternative response, maltreatment, investigation, level of risk, referral trends, re-response, re-referral, guidelines, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Wyoming

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Shusterman, G. R., Hollinshead, D., Fluke, J. D., & Yuan, Y-Y. T. (2005, July). Alternative responses to child maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/05/child-maltreat-resp/report.pdf 

After a review of the literature on alternative response (AR), this study compares National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data across states, for children referred for AR compared to children referred for traditional investigations. Factors examined include demographic characteristics, whether the child had been previously victimized, circumstances surrounding the alleged maltreatment and a comparison of outcomes related to services, foster care placement and recurrence. Program descriptions for each of the six states included in the analyses are provided in appendices. Key findings comparing select data across states are also presented, as well as data for each state individually in a case study format. Findings include similarities across states in trends for the use of AR in terms of report source and the extent to which AR was used with lower risk cases (more frequently) and sexual abuse (not at all). Differences are found in proportions of total reports referred, impact of AR on the total number of investigated reports and how other types of maltreatment were referred.

Keywords: child and family characteristics, dispositions, living arrangement, maltreatment type, NCANDS, placement, prior victimization, report source, recurrence, state policies, substantiation, victimization

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