How do we know child abuse when we see it?
As April — Child Abuse Prevention Month — wraps up, we speak with Cim Brailer, the program administrator and deputy director if Chatham County’s Department of Social Services about child abuse, and about what happens when it’s reported. For more information, contact Brailer at cim.brailer@chathamcountync.gov.
What constitutes child abuse? How should we define it, and know it when we see it?
There are many forms of abuse and neglect. N.C. General Statute 7B defines an abused child as one who sustains a serious injury or the substantial risk of a serious injury, serious emotional damage, or exploitation by a parent, guardian, custodian or caretaker. The types of things that would fall under the abuse category include physical injuries such as cuts, bruises lasting more than 24 hours, fractures and head injuries; sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking; causing serious emotional damage by chronic belittling, yelling, isolation, or withholding of emotional needs.
N.C. General Statute 7B defines a neglected juvenile as one whose parent, guardian, custodian or caretaker does not provide proper care, supervision or discipline; has abandoned the juvenile, has not provided or arranged for necessary medical care, creates or allows an environment that is injurious to the juvenile, has participated or attempted to participate in the unlawful transfer of custody of the juvenile, or has placed the juvenile for care or adoption in violation of law. The types of things that fall under neglect include not providing proper supervision to a child sufficient for the child’s age and abilities, creating an injurious environment due to parental substance use, domestic violence, or not providing a safe place to live, abandonment of a child without a plan in place for the care of the child, malnourishment and truancy.
How prevalent is it here in Chatham County?
In state fiscal year 2021/2022, Chatham County Child Protective Services (CPS) accepted 300 reports for child abuse, neglect and/or dependency, representing 523 unique children, compared to 289 reports and 632 unique children reported in the previous year. Injurious environment allegations represented nearly 38% of reports, with domestic/family violence reflecting 15%. Substance use represented nearly 13% of the reported allegations for child protective services within the county.
Chatham County mirrors North Carolina and the United States in that the majority of reports received by CPS are for neglect versus abuse. In FY22, reports alleging abuse represented less than 5% of all reports received. Substance use, domestic violence, and/or improper supervision are among the leading causes of CPS reports in the county.
To find national and N.C. statistics, go to https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2021.pdf.
How does abuse get reported?
N.C. law requires all adults to report suspected child maltreatment. Reports are made by calling the local county Department of Social Services (DSS) where the child lives. Chatham County DSS’s CPS Hotline is 919-642-6988 during business hours or 919-542-2911 after hours and on weekends. (See ‘Prevent Child Abuse N.C.’s Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment’ at preventchildabusenc.org.)
The report will be taken by a child welfare social worker using a standardized process. Important information to have available is the name, age, and address of the child and parent, information about the child’s condition and the specific nature of the maltreatment, any information about safety concerns such as the presence of weapons, substance use, or other factors that could impact the child or social worker’s safety.
After the report is received it will be reviewed and a determination is made as to whether or not it meets the criteria to be assigned for an assessment.
What typically happens after a report is made? What’s the investigative process?
When a report of abuse or neglect is accepted for an assessment, it is assigned to a Child Protective Services (CPS) social worker. Depending on the nature of the allegations, the social worker will either respond immediately, or within 24 or 72 hours. The social worker will meet with the family, discuss the allegations, interview the children and all adults living in the home, and others who have knowledge of the family, and gather and review records during the course of the assessment. Depending on the family’s needs and the issues identified, parents may be referred to services and supports within the community. Most CPS assessments are completed within 45 days, and a case decision is made as to whether further services are needed. If it is determined that no further services are needed the case is closed.
What happens after that?
If the CPS assessment finds that further services are needed, the family may be referred for In-Home Services. The primary goal of CPS In-Home Services is to support families to safely maintain their child(ren) in their own home by eliminating identified safety and threat concerns and reducing risk of future child maltreatment.
What factors determine whether a child is removed from the home of the parent or caregiver? And what happens after that?
If parents or caregivers are unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection and care for their children a determination is made to file a petition to ask the court to grant custody to DSS, and the child enters foster care. This can happen at any point during a CPS assessment or during an In-Home Services case. When a child enters foster care, the Department immediately tries to locate relatives/kinship families who are able to care for the child(ren.) In Chatham County, between a third and a half of all children in foster care are placed with kinship families with the goal of keeping as many children as possible in their home community and schools with people they know and trust. If this is not possible, they will be placed in family foster homes.
Information about how to become a licensed foster family in Chatham County can be found on the county website or by calling 919-642-6953.
What can we collectively do as a community to prevent child abuse?
• Be a connection for a child by volunteering such as with Communities In Schools of Chatham County to be a mentor or to participate in the lunch buddy program. Studies show that it only takes one positive stable adult relationship to help a child have better outcomes.
• Be a good neighbor and lend a helping hand to families who may be going through a rough patch and need some temporary assistance to get back on their feet.
• Support community agencies providing services to young children such as childcare and early intervention services.
• Concrete supports for families such as food, clothing, housing and transportation are vital to a family’s ability to care for their children.
• Increase your knowledge of positive parenting practices, child development, and healthy ways to discipline your child by taking a parenting class or asking for resources.
See Prevent Child Abuse N.C.’s website for more information about Protective Factors:
https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/resource-hub/protective-factors
Are there specific concerns Social Services has that we’ve not addressed?
Chatham County has seen an increase in CPS reports involving children who may have access to an unsecured firearm in the home. Due to the immediate safety risk this creates, DSS is required to respond to these allegations immediately. We ask that all Chatham County residents who own firearms to keep them safely stored, separate from ammunition, in a locked place where children and youth cannot access them. Project ChildSafe gives out free gun locks and safety instructions: https://projectchildsafe.org/safety_kit_site/?safety_kit_state=north-carolina
Find more information about a public health approach to safe gun storage here:
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/public-health-approaches-reduce-violence-and-firearm-misuse-leading-injury-and-death/open
What services and treatments are available to parents and caregivers?
• Triple P’s- Positive Parenting Program is available free online: https://www.triplep-parenting.com/nc-en/triple-p
• DSS can help refer parents and caregivers looking for services and supports like childcare vouchers, Food and Nutrition Services, emergency housing and financial assistance, as well as other community supports and services.
• The Chatham County Partnership for Children can help locate childcare, enroll kids in N.C. Pre-K, and sign up for free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: https://chathamkids.org/families or by calling 1-855-231-8717
• KidSCope provides parent education and support as well as mental health consultation at 919-806-6447 or https://fcrinc.org/portfolio-items/kidscope-early-intervention/#KID
• Chatham County Court Programs offers domestic violence services, a Family Treatment Court for parents involved with DSS, parenting education, and other supportive services at 919-642-1213.
• Daymark Recovery Services provides walk-in crisis and a variety of behavioral health services and can be reached at 919-663-2955.
• Renaissance Wellness provides behavioral health services and can be reached at 919-704-8449.
• A variety of mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability services are available through Vaya Health. The access line to call for assistance locating services is 1-800-962-9003.