How do children enter the child welfare system and end up having a goal of adoption?
A child welfare system is a group of services designed to promote the well being of children by ensuring safety, achieving permanency and strengthening families to care for their children successfully. The DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is the local public organization authorized to protect child victims of abuse and neglect up to age 21. Our mission is to keep children safe from abuse and neglect, strengthen troubled families, meet the developmental needs of children and teens in our care and ensure that the children and teens that we serve grow up in stable, nurturing families or have relationships with caring adults for life-long support.
When parents, guardians or caretakers are suspected of child abuse or neglect, any concerned person can call us at 202-671-SAFE (7233) to report it. If a report is “screened in” by Child Protective Services (CPS) here at CFSA, then that means that there was enough information to suggest that an investigation is warranted.
CPS caseworkers respond within 24 hours to investigate the maltreatment reported by speaking with the child, the parent or caretaker and other people that might be in contact with the child. If it is determined that the child is in immediate danger, the child may be taken into foster care with CFSA or placed with a relative through CFSA during the investigation and while the court proceedings are pending. CFSA caseworkers will also identify agency and community resources that can help the family.
Once an investigation is concluded and if it is determined that the child was abused or neglected, CFSA will initiate a court action if we determine that it is necessary to ensure the safety of the child. If it is determined that a child would be safest in foster care, the child would be placed with relatives or a foster family. The child’s family also receives supportive services and engagement with the ultimate goal of safely reunifying the child with the parents or caregiver. Foster care is temporary, and every child in foster care has a permanency plan. The reunification effort is the permanency plan for most children in foster care.
If the reunification efforts are unsuccessful, then the goal of the permanency plan can change from reunification with the child’s parent or caregiver to another permanency plan, such as adoption. As dictated by federal law, the court will hold a permanency hearing that determines the permanency plan for a child within 12 months after the child enters foster care and for each 12 month period after that. It is important to remember that no child enters the child welfare system due to any fault of his or her own.