The second article in a 4-part series by the Star Tribune highlights how the “friendly” approach of family assessment may be doing more harm than good.
When a child abuse report is accepted or screened in, the report is routed to either:
1) Family investigation (which involves interviewing involved parties, deciding whether maltreatment has occurred and determining a safe disposition for the child)
or
2) Family assessment (designed for low-risk cases, which involves meeting with caregivers to determine needs and making recommendations).
The percentage of Minnesota reports referred to family assessment has grown from nearly 47% in 2005 – when the program began – to 65% in 2022. However, that’s not necessarily because more cases are low risk.
The article notes that some child protection workers believe family assessment offers a “gentler” approach to working with – rather than fighting against – parents, who may be more open to accepting service recommendations if county workers are not poised to take their children away.
However, many people are concerned that parents are not held accountable for their actions in family assessment cases. That’s because parents may or may not agree to seek treatment, counseling or other recommendations. And county workers do not actually issue maltreatment findings.
Safe Passage for Children would like to see clearer guidelines for reports that are routed to family assessment. This is one of several concrete suggestions for change that our group is discussing. We invite you to join us in this important work.