Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Child Abuse Investigations: How Cps And Law Enforcement Engage In Collaboration, Viola W. Lindsey

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Child welfare social workers (CPS) and law enforcement professionals are the sole professional groups in California assigned the task of investigating child physical and sexual abuse allegations. Both professional groups report that child-well-being is the ultimate outcome desired when addressing the needs of vulnerable and “at risk” children. Despite this shared vision CPS and law enforcement professionals also described competing outcomes that are often contradictory; particularly in how each group characterizes different professional responsibilities in achieving child well-being. For example, CPS describes the dual responsibilities of preventing children from further harm while at the same time identifying factors that led …