Speaker: Leah VanVels, BAA
Description: In this presentation, I will discuss some of the misconceptions of Child Protective Services (CPS), provide information to debunk some of the misconceptions, and answer common questions. I will provide information about what CPS does on a regular basis, what a CPS investigation looks like, what happens after there has been a substantiation of abuse/neglect, and how CPS coordinates with other agencies during investigations and post-substantiation. I will discuss the importance of documentation on the CPS side of things and how documentation in other agencies (hospitals and police reports, for example) can affect the decisions made in a CPS investigation. I will also provide information related to being a mandated reporter and how to go about reporting abuse and neglect of children.