Child Welfare Review Panel ReportHotline Guided Decision Making
Hotline Guided Decision Making is a safety-focused approach to how reports of abuse and neglect are taken from referral sources in the community. This new approach will not only help DHS social workers better address safety concerns but will also ensure that children and families receive the most appropriate services based on their needs. Changes in practice include:
- Information for reports will be collected in a standardized way.
- There will be an increased focus on collecting information about issues known to affect child safety
- Response times will be prioritized based on an analysis of available information
- “Accept” or “not accept” for investigation decisions will be clearly linked to statutory and regulatory mandates
Hotline Guided Decision Making, which is based on a national perspective of safety practice, was developed over the past 8 months with input from DHS staff and leadership. All staff taking reports have received two full days of training on this new approach.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of Hotline Guided Decision Making, over the next 30 days, a team of DHS Administrators and Supervisors, with technical assistance from national safety consultants, will review each report accepted or rejected. A methodology for continuing review will be designed at the end of this 30 day intensive review process.