Risk Assessment in Child Protective Services

Abstract

A major goal of structured risk assessment systems in Child Protective Services (CPS) practice is to predict the likelihood of future child maltreatment. The implementation of such systems by child protective agencies has increased dramatically during the past 10 years. The Child at Risk Field (CARF) System, developed by ACTION for Child Protection, is considered by some to be one of the more comprehensive risk assessment models developed to date. This article presents the results from an independent evaluation of the CARF system. Two hundred and seven indicated cases of child maltreatment were compared pre- and post-CARF implementation. Using a multimethod evaluation process, the authors found that, although the CARF system had been imperfectly implemented, there were statistically significant differences between samples in some of the client services offered or received and in the associations between major casework decisions and the information collected by workers using the CARF system.