Our goals
We work with families and the community to respond to and prevent child neglect and abuse. Our goal is to strengthen families so children grow up safe and nurtured.
We have a legal duty to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Our staff is trained to help families and communities make plans to keep children safe.
We get a report
When someone calls our child abuse hotline with concerns about a child, we ask the caller questions about the child’s safety. We review the report and decide whether the issue is serious enough to investigate.
Child Abuse Hotline: 800-344-6000
How we make decisions
We use Structured Decision Making, a set of evidence-based tools to help us determine:
- Whether to investigate
- The safety of a child
- Risk of future harm to a child
We investigate
A social worker meets with the child’s family and people close to the family to talk about safety concerns. We gather evidence to decide if there are safety concerns. If there are safety concerns, we work with the family and their support network to resolve those concerns.
If we determine a child is safe in the home, we close the investigation. It often takes about 30 days to complete an investigation.
We also refer families to other services during the investigation.
If we determine the child is not safe, we open a voluntary or court-ordered case for the family.
We open a case
We work with the family to create a plan for their child’s safety. We also connect the family to resources in the community one of the following ways:
Create support network
During an investigation or open case, a social worker works with the family to identify extended family and community members who can be a support network. This network helps the family keep their children safe and helps them thrive after the case closes.
Voluntary services
We offer voluntary services when we believe a family can keep their child safe without the court’s involvement. The family must agree to work with us for at least six months and make efforts to complete goals in their case plan.
Juvenile Court
We open a case in juvenile court if:
- A family cannot keep a child safe without court oversight.
- A child falls under any of the following Welfare and Institutions Codes (WIC) 300a-j.
Depending on the case, the child may live in or out of the family’s home during this period. A case may stay open at least six months while the family works toward resolving the concerns.
When a child cannot safely live at home
If the court decides it is not safe for the child to live at home, we work with the child’s family to identify people who can care for the child. We try to keep the child in a familiar setting to reduce the trauma they experience.
Until they can go home, the child may live with a:
- Relative
- Family friend
- Licensed resource (foster) home in the community
We may have the child stay for a short time at Polinsky Children’s Center while we find a good home option.
The court will give the family a timeline to take certain steps before the child can go home. If the family does not meet the requirements, we work with the family to explore other long-term options. This could include identifying a guardian or adoptive family who can permanently support the child’s well-being.
