When should a caseworker seek Protective Custody and/or Court Intervention?
If the child welfare assessment of the parent or caregiver’s willingness and ability to protect indicates the child cannot be safe unless there is no contact or only supervised contact with one or both parents, DHS must bring that concern to the attention of the court by filing a juvenile court petition. During the CPS assessment, the caseworker may, on a very limited basis, develop a temporary “protective action” such as one parent leaving the home voluntarily or a temporary plan being implemented with a safe and available family member while necessary interviews are completed. Such a temporary “protective action” can only be considered if DHS can rely on the parent to accept the temporary “protective action” and not compromise the safety of the child (ren). These are immediate, short term interventions to manage child safety. These actions must be reviewed as soon as additional information is obtained to determine the ongoing plan that best manages child safety. If DHS determines tha
