CPS Worker: Case Study

As the CPS worker on the case, in order to determine that the children were safe in the care of the mother I would want to interview the 9 year old. According to Virginia Department of Social Service’s CPS publications, Virginia law does not determine a set age in which a child is able to legally stay home alone. Furthermore, according to Child Welfare Information Gateway (2013), only three states have laws that indicate a specific age that children can stay home alone: Illinois, age 14, Maryland, age 8, and Oregon, age 10. With some many factors to consider, pinpointing a specific appropriate age almost seems impossible. Therefore, determining the safety of the child will depend mostly on the assessment of the CPS worker.
Assessment Questions
The first question that I would want to ask the 9 year old in order assess if the child is safe is “how many times has mommy left you home alone”. In addition, I might also ask him how many times his mother has left him home to care for his little sister. This question will assess to see if this lack of supervision was a one-time occurrence or if it has occurred multiple times, which then would be considered neglect. If the 9 year old reports that his mother leaves him home multiple times during the day or week, then this may cause rise for concern.
Another question that I would
want to ask the 9 year old to assess his safety is does he know what to do in the case of an emergency. Additional follow up questions may also include, is there anyone nearby you can go to in case of an emergency and are there any neighbors that you could knock on their door if you needed anything. I would also ask him questions concerning the supervision of his little sister. For example, I may ask the 9 year old “what do you do if your little sister starts crying”. This question would be able to assess if the 9 year old has the maturity to take care of a 3 year old. These questions could also assess to see if the mother has prepared the 9 year old to stay home alone or if mom just leaves without letting the children know.
I might also ask the 9 year old what time of day does his mother leave him home alone. Leaving a child alone during the day is very different from leaving a child home alone at night. Furthermore, if children are left alone during dinner and lunch hours then that means they may be expected to feed themselves. This puts the children at an increased risk of fire or burns; therefore, hinting that the children may not be safe in the home.
I would also want to ask the 9 year old how long he generally stays home alone. If the 9 year old indicates a time frame longer than it would take to get a few blocks away then I may assess that the children are not in a safe environment. Furthermore, I would be less likely to trust the mother because what her child is reporting and what she reported do not match.
Lastly, I would want to assess the home environment. I would want to ensure that the home was safe and free of hazards. For example, are cleaning chemicals out of reach other children and are electrical sockets covered. In addition, are any fire arms in the home locked away and how safe is the neighborhood that they live in. All of these aspects would be important to assess in order to make a determination concerning the safety of the 9 year old and the 3 year old in the home.
Safety is a Concern
If after the assessment, but before the court hearing, it was determined that the children were unsafe, then I would file an Emergency Removal Order and remove the children from the home. Then within five days of the removal the family would be seen before the judge and the judge would determine, based off the evidence, if the children should remain out of the home. If the judge decided that there was no enough evidence for the children to remain out of the home then the case would probably be transferred to a Child Protective Services On-going worker to be monitored.
The Interventions
The utilization of the CPS On-going worker would be the first intervention for this family. The On-going worker would then collaborate with the mother and put in place services for the mother. If I were the On-going worker then the second intervention I would suggest is parenting classes. I would choose parenting classes in order to improve the mother’s knowledge regarding child development and appropriate expectations. It would also be my hope that in the parenting classes they would discuss child safety and issues regarding appropriate supervision. In the case that the mother was non-compliant with services, then I would file an order with the court to mandate her to complete services to ensure the children’s safety and help the mother maintain custody of her children.
Transference and Countertransference
When working with cases dealing with child neglect the worker may experience issues of countertransference and also notice personal biases. The worker may notice that she is thinking things such as “what was this mother thinking” or “I would never leave my children alone like she has”. Both of these phrases are examples of how personal biases have influenced the workers thoughts regarding the mother. It is important to ensure that these thoughts do not influence how hard you work to help this family. Furthermore, if a clinician did have these thoughts it would be important for them to process them in supervision.

Family Systems Theory
As the CPS On-going worker with this family I would want to utilize a family systems theory perspective.
If it was assessed that the children were unsafe in the mother’s home then there are probably some other risk factors in the home. I think that through the use of family systems theory I could get insight to where the mother inherited her parenting practices from. Furthermore, by utilizing this theory I could get more data concerning the mother’s family or origin and personal history. By having this information I would be able to determine if the mother had any past trauma and if this trauma was impacting the way that she parents her children
now.