1

WHAT'S INSIDE

How the Child Welfare 

System Works

FACTSHEET | OCTOBER 2020

What happens in substantiated cases?

What is the child welfare system?

The child welfare system is not a single entity. 

Many organizations in each community work 

together to strengthen families and keep children 

safe. Public agencies, such as departments of 

social services or child and family services, 

often contract and collaborate with private 

child welfare agencies and community-based 

organizations to provide services to families, 

such as in-home family preservation services, 

foster care, residential treatment, mental health 

care, substance use treatment, parenting skills 

classes, domestic violence services, employment 

assistance, and financial or housing assistance. 

Child welfare systems are complex, and their 

specific procedures vary widely by State. The 

purpose of this factsheet is to give a brief 

overview of the purposes and functions of child 

welfare from a national perspective. 

What happens when possible abuse or neglect 

is reported?

What happens after a report is screened in?

Children's Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov

Summary

References

Appendix: The child welfare system

| https://www.childwelfare.gov
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 2

WHAT IS THE CHILD WELFARE 

SYSTEM? 

The child welfare system is a group of 

services designed to promote the well-being 

of children by ensuring safety, achieving 

permanency, and strengthening families. 

While the primary responsibility for child 

welfare services rests with the States, the 

Federal Government supports States through 

program funding and legislative initiatives. 

The Children's Bureau within the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services' 

Administration for Children and Families holds 

the primary responsibility for implementing 

Federal child and family legislation. The 

Children's Bureau works with State and local 

agencies to develop programs that focus 

on preventing child abuse and neglect by 

strengthening families, protecting children 

from further maltreatment, reuniting 

children safely with their families, and finding 

permanent families for children who cannot 

safely return home. For more information on 

child welfare legislation and policy, see Child 

Welfare Information Gateway's Major Federal 

Legislation Concerned With Child Protection, 

Child Welfare, and Adoption. For more on 

how child welfare programs are funded, see 

Information Gateway's Funding web section.

Most families first become involved with the 

child welfare system because of a report of 

suspected child abuse or neglect, which is 

also referred to as "child maltreatment." Child 

maltreatment is defined by CAPTA as serious 

harm (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse, 

emotional abuse, neglect) caused to children 

by parents or primary caregivers, such as 

extended family members or babysitters.Child 

maltreatment also can include harm that a 

caregiver allows to happen to a child or does 

not prevent from happening. 

Each State has its own laws that define 

abuse and neglect, the reporting obligations 

of individuals, and the required State and 

local child protective services (CPS) agency 

interventions. In general, child welfare 

agencies do not intervene in cases of harm 

to children caused by acquaintances or 

strangers. These cases are generally the 

responsibility of law enforcement. (In 

those cases, criminal charges may be filed 

in court against the perpetrators of child 

maltreatment.) Some States authorize CPS 

The Child Abuse Prevention and 

Treatment Act 

The Child Abuse Prevention and 

Treatment Act (CAPTA), originally passed 

in 1974, brought national attention to 

the need to protect vulnerable children 

in the United States. CAPTA provides 

Federal funding to States in support of the 

prevention, assessment, investigation, and 

prosecution of child abuse and neglect 

as well as grants to public agencies and 

nonprofit organizations for demonstration 

programs and projects. Since it was signed 

into law, CAPTA has been amended 

several times, most recently by the CAPTA 

Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111–320). 

For more information, see Information 

Gateway’s About CAPTA: A Legislative 

History.
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 3

agencies to respond to all reports of alleged 

child maltreatment, while others authorize 

law enforcement to respond to certain 

types of maltreatment, such as sexual or 

physical abuse. To learn more about child 

maltreatment and State-by-State information 

about civil laws related to child abuse and 

neglect, visit Information Gateway's What Is 

Child Abuse and Neglect? Recognizing the Signs 

and Symptoms, Definitions of Child Abuse and 

Neglect, and the State Statutes database. For 

data regarding child maltreatment as well as 

outcomes within the child welfare system, 

refer to the Children's Bureau's Statistics & 

Research web section. 

Child welfare systems typically take the 

following actions:

 Investigate reports (receive and investigate 

reports of possible child abuse and neglect)

 Support families (provide prevention 

services to families that need assistance 

protecting and caring for their children to 

prevent entry into foster care)

 Provide temporary safe shelter (arrange 

for children to live with kin or foster 

families when they are not safe at home)

 Seek to return children to their families 

when safety has improved or find other 

permanent arrangements (arrange for 

reunification, adoption, or other permanent 

family connections for children leaving 

foster care)

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN 

POSSIBLE ABUSE OR NEGLECT IS 

REPORTED? 

Any concerned person can report suspicions 

of child abuse or neglect, and reports may be 

made anonymously. Most reports are made by 

people called "mandatory reporters," who are 

individuals required by State law to report 

suspicions of child abuse and neglect. These 

reports are generally received by CPS workers 

and are either screened in or screened out. A 

report is screened in when there is sufficient 

information to suggest an investigation is 

warranted. A report may be screened out if 

there is not enough information on which to 

follow up on or if the situation reported does 

not meet the State's legal definition of abuse 

or neglect. In these instances, the CPS worker 

may refer the person reporting the incident to 

other community services or law enforcement 

for additional help.

The flowchart at the end of this factsheet 

provides an overview of the process 

described in the following sections.

For additional information about the child 

welfare system, refer to the following 

Information Gateway resources:

 Making and Screening Reports of Child 

Abuse and Neglect

 Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse 

and Neglect

 Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect 

[webpage]
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 4

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A 

REPORT IS SCREENED IN? 

CPS caseworkers respond within a few 

hours to a few days after a report is entered 

depending on the type of maltreatment 

alleged, the potential severity of the situation, 

and requirements under State law. They may 

speak with the parents and other people 

in contact with the child, such as doctors, 

teachers, or child-care providers. They also 

may speak with the child, alone or in the 

presence of caregivers, depending on the 

child’s age and level of risk. Children who 

are believed to be in immediate danger of 

continued maltreatment may be moved to a 

shelter, a foster home, or a relative's home 

during the investigation and while court 

proceedings are pending. The caseworker also 

engages the family to assess their strengths 

and needs and initiate connections to 

community resources and services. 

At the end of the investigation, CPS 

caseworkers typically make one of two 

findings—unsubstantiated (unfounded) or 

substantiated (founded). These terms vary 

from State to State. Typically, a finding of 

unsubstantiated means there is insufficient 

evidence for the caseworker to conclude 

that the child was abused or neglected or 

that what happened does not meet the legal 

definition of child abuse or neglect. A finding 

of substantiated maltreatment typically 

means that an incident of child abuse or 

neglect, as defined by State law, is believed to 

have occurred. Some States have additional 

categories, such as "unable to determine," 

that suggest there is not enough evidence to 

either confirm or refute that abuse or neglect 

occurred. 

if the agency determines that the authority of 

the juvenile court is necessary to keep a child 

safe, it will initiate a court action, such as a 

child protection or dependency proceeding. 

To protect the child, the court can issue 

temporary orders placing the child in shelter 

care during the investigation, ordering 

services, or ordering certain individuals to 

have no contact with the child. Later, at 

an adjudicatory hearing, the court hears 

evidence and decides whether maltreatment 

occurred and whether the child should be 

under the continuing jurisdiction of the 

court For additional information about the 

legal process, refer to Information Gateway's 

Understanding Child Welfare and the Courts.

Some jurisdictions employ an alternative, 

or differential, response system. In these 

jurisdictions, when the risk to the child is 

considered low, the CPS caseworker—rather 

than investigating the occurrence of abuse 

or neglect—focuses on assessing family 

strengths, resources, and difficulties and on 

identifying supports and services needed. To 

learn more about differential response, read 

Information Gateway's Differential Response: A 

Primer for Child Welfare Professionals.
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 5

WHAT HAPPENS IN 

SUBSTANTIATED CASES? 

If a report of abuse or neglect is 

substantiated, the next steps for the child and 

parent depend on State or local policy, the 

severity of the maltreatment, an assessment 

of the child's immediate safety, the perceived 

risk of continued or future maltreatment, 

the services available to address the family's 

needs, and whether the maltreatment 

prompted the child's removal from the home 

and/or a protective court action. When a 

report is substantiated as a result of a court 

hearing, the court may enter a disposition 

ordering a parent to comply with services 

necessary to alleviate the abuse or neglect. 

Orders can also contain provisions regarding 

visitation requirements between the parent 

and the child, agency obligations to provide 

the parent with services, and services needed 

by the child.

Decisions about services and other next steps 

may be made by the CPS worker or the courts 

based on the following categories of perceived 

risk for future maltreatment:

 Little or no risk. The family's case may be 

closed with no services if a determination is 

made that the maltreatment was a one-time 

incident, the child is considered to now be 

safe, and there is little or no risk of future 

incidents. Any services the family needs 

will be provided through community-based 

resources and service systems—not the 

child welfare agency. 

 Low to moderate risk. Referrals may be 

made to community-based or voluntary 

in-home child welfare services if the CPS 

worker believes the family would benefit 

from these services and the child's present 

and future safety would be enhanced. (This 

may happen even when no abuse or neglect 

is found if the family needs and is willing 

to participate in services.) Local family 

resource centers or other organizations can 

provide community-based services related 

to parent skill training, child care, housing 

needs, job training, substance use and 

mental health counseling, or respite and 

crisis care services. 

 Moderate to high risk. The family may be 

offered voluntary in-home services to 

address safety concerns and help reduce 

the risks. If these are refused, the agency 

may seek intervention by the juvenile 

dependency court. The court may in turn 

require the family to cooperate with inhome services if it is believed the child can 

remain safely at home while the family 

addresses the issues contributing to the 

perceived risk of future maltreatment. If the 

child has already been seriously harmed, is 

Neglect

Nearly three-quarters of all child 

maltreatment cases are related to some 

form of neglect (Children’s Bureau, 2020), 

which may be the result of a family’s need 

for financial and related social supports. 

See the following Information Gateway 

resources to learn more about neglect and 

how to support families:

 Identification of Neglect [webpage]

 Family Support Policy and Program 

Support Approaches [webpage]

 Acts of Omission: An Overview of Child 

Neglect
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 6

considered to be at high risk of serious 

harm, or the child's safety is threatened, the 

court may order the child's removal from 

the home or affirm the agency's prior 

removal of the child. The child may be 

placed with a relative or in foster care.

Depending on the severity of the case and 

other factors, children may be removed 

from their homes and placed in foster care. 

Most children in foster care are placed with 

relatives or foster families, but some may 

be placed in a group or residential setting. 

While in foster care, the child attends school 

and receives medical care and other services 

as needed. The child's family also receives 

services to support their efforts to reduce 

the risk of future maltreatment and to help 

them reunite with their child. Visits between 

parents and their children and between 

siblings are established as appropriate or 

according to the case plan.

Every child in foster care should have a 

permanency plan. Federal law requires 

the court to hold a permanency hearing, 

during which a child's permanency plan is 

developed. This should take place within 12 

months of a child entering foster care and 

every 12 months thereafter. The courts may 

review each case more frequently to ensure 

the agency is actively pursuing permanency 

for the child. (See Information Gateway's 

Legal and Court Issues in Permanency web 

section for more information.) The child's 

family typically participates in developing 

the permanency plan for the child, as well as 

their own service plan. Family reunification, 

except in unusual and extreme circumstances, 

is the permanency plan for most children. In 

some cases, when prospects for reunification 

appear less likely, a concurrent permanency 

plan may be developed. If the efforts toward 

reunification are not successful, the plan 

may be changed to another permanent 

Central Registries for Child 

Maltreatment 

Whether or not criminal charges are filed, 

the name of the person committing the 

abuse or neglect may be placed in a State 

child maltreatment registry if the abuse or 

neglect is confirmed. A registry is a central 

database that collects information about 

maltreated children and individuals who 

are found to have abused or neglected 

their children. These registries are usually 

confidential and used for internal child 

protective purposes only. Information 

about perpetrators, however, may be 

used in background checks for certain 

professions that involve working with 

children to help prevent children from 

coming into contact with individuals who 

may mistreat them. 

For more information about these 

registries, see Information Gateway’s 

Establishment and Maintenance of Central 

Registries for Child Abuse or Neglect 

Reports.
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 7

arrangement, such as adoption or transfer of 

custody to a relative. For more information 

on reunification and concurrent planning, see 

Information Gateway's Supporting Successful 

Reunifications, Concurrent Planning for 

Timely Permanence, and Concurrent Planning 

for Permanency for Children.

In addition to receiving support in developing 

permanent legal and relational connections 

to family and other important people in their 

lives, older youth in foster care should receive 

transitional or independent living services 

to help prepare them for self-sufficiency in 

the event they leave foster care without a 

permanent family. Information Gateway's 

Achieving & Maintaining Permanency and 

Permanency for Youth webpages offer related 

resources. Depending on State law, youth may 

age out of foster care somewhere between the 

ages of 18 and 21. 

SUMMARY 

The goal of child welfare is to promote 

the well-being, permanency, and safety of 

children and families by helping families 

care for their children successfully or, when 

that is not possible, helping children find 

permanency with kin or adoptive families. 

Among children who enter foster care, most 

will return safely to the care of their own 

families or go to live with relatives or an 

adoptive family.

For more detailed information about the child 

welfare system, please refer to the resources 

listed below. For more information about the 

child welfare system in your State or local 

jurisdiction, contact your local public child 

welfare agency.

REFERENCES

Children's Bureau. (2020). Child maltreatment 

2018. U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Administration for 

Children and Families. https://www.

acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/childmaltreatment-2018

SUGGESTED CITATION: 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2020). 

How the child welfare system works. U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration for Children and Families, 

Children’s Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.

gov/pubs/factsheets/cpswork/

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/cpswork/.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau
Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov 8

The 

Child 

Welfare 

System