This strategy brief outlines how Arizona engaged in an intensive, multi-pronged strategy to reduce its investigation backlog.

Learn how several agencies successfully reduced backlogs that resulted from overdue child protective services investigations.

This document provides key themes and lessons learned from five states on practices involving intake screeners in their child welfare systems.

This information packet provides an overview of the tools tribal child welfare agencies use to assess safety of the children in their care.

This brief examines the parallels that exist between strategies for hiring staff and decision-making processes in child protection.

The first in a series, this strategy brief explores how behavioral science offers insights into critical decision points in child welfare.

Behavioral science offers insights into the hotline, screening, and investigation and assessment decision points in child welfare.

Learn from a study that explores how mandatory reporting laws may discourage survivors of intimate partner violence from seeking support.

Learn findings from a study that examined the efficacy of Universal Mandatory Reporting policies in identifying victims of physical abuse.

Learn from a study that examines the relationship between previously reported sentinel injuries and later physical abuse in infants.

Learn the findings from a study that assessed how caseworkers’ perceptions of domestic violence and parental substance use influenced the decision-making.

Learn findings from a study that describes the relationship between police contact with families and the reporting of child maltreatment.

Learn from a study that explores how making reports to CPS may lead to over-surveillance and trauma for families.

When public health nurses accompany caseworkers on investigations, the results can be beneficial to child and family well-being.

Learn about findings from a study that examines the outcomes related to having higher standards of proof for substantiation.

Learn findings from a study that examined how state-level policies can impact the number of child maltreatment reports and substantiations.

Findings from a study show alternative response assignments for child neglect differ based on a family’s race and income level.

This document provides key themes and lessons learned from five states on practices involving intake screeners in their child welfare systems.

Explore how analyzing hotline data can inform and improve practice, aid in prevention efforts, and connect families to resources.

Understand how the COVID-19 shutdown resulted in limited surveillance without compromising child safety in New York City.

Hotline systems provide the first contact between the public and the child protection agency; this strategy brief outlines key elements.

Learn from an analysis that evaluated the accuracy of decisions of a central hotline to screen in or screen out reports that come in.

Explore trends in child abuse and neglect investigations of infants due to reports from medical professionals.

Explore outcomes from research looking at child maltreatment referral sources by profession.