CPS reports [Oct. - Nov. 2000]

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REPORTS

October/ November 2000
Meet the Case Manager of the Year

If there's a resource to be found for her clients, Troup County Case Manager Doris Cromwell will find it, according to her former supervisor Dottie Henson.
"No one can get their families the help they need, whether it's housing, clothing, whatever, like Doris can," Henson says.
That's just one of the reasons Henson nominated Cromwell for Case Manager of the Year. There's also her willingness to volunteer for special projects, "she's
always the first one to stick up her hand," Henson comments.
If Cromwell still sounds gung-ho about her work after six years with DFCS maybe it's because, in her words, "! always wanted to
be a social worker and it took me years to get here."
Prior to coming to DFCS Cromwell had a wide variety of job experiences, including counseling substance abusers. But she explains that in other jobs she dealt

with only "a piece of the problem" when the whole family needs to be involved if issues are to be truly resolved .
"! wanted to work with the entire family and CPS gave me the chance to do that," Cromwell says.
It also gave her the chance to see what every other worker sees: lots of drug use, people without jobs, and people following in their parents' footsteps and not knowing what to do when children misbehave.

Cromwell has developed her own style for getting through to clients. This includes trying to relate to people on their own level, learning how to defuse their anger, and encouraging parents to think of their own ways to solve their problems.
"I can't just go in and tell people what to do, instead I give ideas and ask them for theirs because we have to work together," she explains.
Well aware of all the recent publicity about DFCS and the
director's emphasis on accountability, Cromwell comments, "Sometimes
it seems that we're supposed to be more accountable than the parents we work with, still I think this emphasis will make us more responsible on the job."
But that doesn't seem too big a problem for a person who says she likes to go home every night with a clear conscience, "knowing
I've done everything

I could."

Juanita Blount-Clark (J) presents Doris Cromwell with her award.

Lowndes to Pilot Newest Child Death Investigative Team

Inside

Safety for Babies

CPS and the Courts: A
Partnership for Protection
By Rebecca Jarvis, CPS consultant
The first statement in Georgia's CPS manual is: "The goal of Child Protective Services (CPS) is to ensure the protection and safety of children who are victims of
abuse and neglect." (see 21 oI. I,
Purpose ofChild Protective Services) This is followed in 2101.3
(Statement of Good Practice Principles) by "Parents have a right not to be unduly interferect with by the state, yet children have a right to be protected from neglect or abuse. To safeguard the right of parents to responsibly rear their children as they see fit, except for neglecting or abusing them, is to protect children . The safety and protection of children is always the primary goal of Child Protective Services. In situations where a child's safety cannot be ensured, out-of-home placement must always be considered."
These statements mean that CPS case managers and supervisors must always keep in mind the possibility of using the court system to ensure a child's safety. An article on the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Infor-mation web site suggests questions staff should ask themsefves about when or if to involve the courts: "There are two basic questions to ask when deciding whether to initiate a court proceeding to remove a child, provide in-home protective supervision or [require] treatment: Is the child in clear danger of significant harm? Can the child's safety be maintained by providing help to the family without court proceedings?"
Georgia policy states that, "Child welfare and law enforcement agencies have a specific legal mandate to investigate, to intervene and to protect children from maltreatment. Critical to this role is the ability to differentiate unintentional, circumstantial or isolated incidents of maltreatment from deliberate, cruel

or repeated maltreatment." (2102. I Court Intervention to Protect Children).
This is followed by the requirement that DFCS, aided by law enforcement and the courts, intervene in a number of specific
Continued on page 4
The Age!lcy's
Rofe 1n
Preventing Burnout
The following is the fourth in a series of excerpts from "Supervising Child Protective Services Caseworkers -Increasing Job Satisfaction and Preventing Burnout," by Thomas D. Morton and Marsha K. Salus.
The three most effective antidotes to burnout are sound management, positive work climate, and ample caseworker support and recognition. Specific strategies for preventing burnout include the following:
varying tasks in the daily work routine instituting flex time developing a team approach for case intervention encouraging staff to openly share concerns about their work and taking steps to solve problems together recogni~ing staff efforts and contributions streamlining paperwork educating the community about the roles and responsibilities of frontline staff providing a forum for dealing with major issues within the agency and the unit establishing ongoing support groups to help supervisors and caseworkers discuss freely their feelings and reinforce attitudes of concern for each other and for clients.
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Safety for Babies
Since educating parents about child safety is often part of a worker's job, here is information you can use to make homes safer for small children or to teach parents you work with about some common hazards:
Avoid suffocation by removing pillows, comforters and quilts that are too soft. Do not lay babies on their face in the crib. Putting babies to sleep on their back has greatly reduced deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Check crib slats and bunk bed railings to make sure that the spaces are smaller than your baby's head. Crib slats that are too wide present a strangulation risk.
Place the crib where pictures cannot fall in, babies cannot reach electrical outlets, and babies cannot topple out of a window.
Place child safety gates atop stairways or blocking other places where you don't want your baby to be. Close doors of unused rooms.
Cut off drawstrings from sweatshirts, jackets and any other clothing. They present strangulation risks because they can catch on playground equipment.
Check window blind cords. Make sure there are no loops on the bottom because the loops can cause strangulation. Cut any loops and place the cords high, out of reach.
Keep medicines and pet food out of reach.
Consider window guards and window locks to make sure your baby will not fall through the window screen.
Adapted from tips provided by The Pediatric Law Group, trial lawyers who represent injured and abused children against thedersons or products that cause them harm. The group also seeks to prevent injury through education and legislation. For more information see: www.pediatriclaw.com.

Lowndes To Pilot Newest Child Death Investigative
Team
Since CPS Reports announced the formation of the state's first official child death investigation team a year ago, the statewide Child Abuse Prevention Panel has been busy helping more teams to get off the ground.
These teams, made up of personnel from law enforcement, the DA's office, along with the coroner or medical examiner, and a CPS worker or DFCS investigator conduct the death scene investigation of any suspicious child death.
The prevention panel recently selected Lowndes County as one of the sites for a pilot. Acting Lowndes County DFCS director Ginny Carroll is more than ready for the pilot to start because she knows first hand how effective the team concept is.

"For example, our child advocacy
center team is the single finest thing I've seen in this county," she says. "It has put us light years
ahead in investigations of sexual and physical abuse."
The team approach results in more arrests and prosecutions,
according to Carroll. "Staff turnover in law enforcement and CPS can lead to fragmented investigations, but a multidisciplinary team helps keep things on track."
Eva Pattillo, director of the
prevention panel, notes that since there is no funding available for them it takes hard work "and a lot of begging" to get teams started. It is particularly difficult for law
enforcement since the judicial districts cross police department or sheriff's offices boundaries. Buy-in
is simpler for district attorneys because they don't have jurisdiction

issues, and solid investigations
help their prosecution rates. Pattillo says she hopes to have
twelve teams operating by the first
of next year. "However, one thing we have to realize is it takes money to do this, especially because it crosses county lines, so we will need funding to make it
available in every judicial district." The six circuits that currently
have teams operating are Lookout Mountain, Douglas, Dougherty, Stone Mountain, Middle Georgia and Eastern.
"Child fatality reviews are only as good as the information provided to the reviewing committees," Pattillo says. "That's why it's imperative
that we have accurate data on the cause and manner of a child's death. Specially trained professionals working as a team can provide
that information."

Eva Pattillo, director ofthe statewide Child Abuse Prevention Panel, makes a point.

Lowndes County officials discussing the team concept during the presentation by Eva Pattillo. They are (l-r) Steve Heaton, commander, Valdosta Police Department; Frank Simons, chief Valdosta PD; and David Miller, district attorney, Southem judicial Circuit.
Policy Online
By sometime in December,CPS policy and procedures should be as close as your computer. That's when the policy manual goes on the DHR web site: www.dhr.state.ga.us. In conjunction with the manual going online, the CPS unit has put together instructions on how to access and use the site. The site will be updated monthly.

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"CPS and the Courts," Cont. from page 3

situations to protect children. These include situations where a child has

experienced life-threatening maltreatment or serious permanent injury at the

hands of the parent, intentional abandonment by the parent, the parent has

caused the death of another child through maltreatment, and others. It is a

long list which all CPS staff must familiarize themselves with and use to

initiate court action, if necessary.

CPS procedure requires involving the court whenever conditional safety

cannot be guaranteed through the use of a safety plan agreement. (2104.17,

Assessing Safety) When a workable safety plan can be established, with the

input and agreement of the parents, the department commits to exploring

further with the family what changes are necessary to provide for a child's

long term safety in the home. This is done by completing a case plan with

the family that sets goals and describes the steps needed to accomplish

those goals.



As long as the child is safe and the family is making progress toward the

case goafs, it will usually not be necessary to take a case to court. However,

in Georgia, the Juvenile Court Code (0.C.G.A. 15-11-75) provides for the

court to issue a protective order (2102 .7 Juvenile Court Procedures), if

needed. Protective orders include requiring a parent to take a drug screen,

ordering the alleged perpetrator from a home so the child can remain, or

requiring a family to receive protective services. These orders often provide

the persuasion needed to help keep a family on track towards the goals of

the case plan .

Criminal cases are under the jurisdiction of law enforcement in Georgia.

Child protective services staff may be subpoenaed to testify to evidence

found in the investigation of a child maltreatment report; however, CPS staff

do not file criminal charges against a child's parent or caretaker.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

November 28-30, Building Successful Teams, Macon Crowne Plaza
This the second conference aimed at improving child death investigations by using multidisciplinary teams. Participants should include district attorneys, CPS staff, medical examiners, police officers and physicians. For more information contact D'Anna Uber at 404-657-3413; (Go-Mail) dkliber.

December 4-19, CPS Policy Training
The two-day workshop will review current policy and discuss new ones. Participants should include CPS supervisors, case manager associates and case managers. For more information, contact Bebe Jordan at 404-657-7730 or bmjordan@dhr.state.ga.us or call Lon Roberts at 404-463-7273.
4-5-Dougherty County Health Department, Albany 6- 7-Rural Development Center, Tifton 11-12-Gainesville College 13-14-Macon Technical College 18-19-Muscogee County DFCS, Columbus

January 29-February 2, 2001, B.1.T.E. workshops

The one-day sessions will teach CPS staff to better recognize and investi-

gate physical abuse. Locations to be announced. For more information,

contact, Bebe Jordan at 404-657-7730 or bmjordan@dhr.state.ga.us

Jan 29-Tifton

Feb I-Athens

Jan.30-Statesboro

Feb 2-Cartersville

Jan 31-Macon

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REPORTS
Published by the Georgia Department of Human Resources Office of Communications Tell us your story. What, or whom do you want to read about? Fax your ideas and the name and number of a contact person to Renee Huie, editor, CPS Reports
Cd 404-651-6815.
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DHR