WHY ALL CHILD MALTREATMENT RISK AND SAFETY ASSESSMENTS
ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
ATTN: Attorneys with cases involving child protection agencies
Look closely at the risk assessment tool your state uses during investigation to assess a child's immediate safety. This instrument may be the most targeted way the essential job of child protection is - or is not - done.
While all states use a tool, only about half use an actuarial risk assessment. The remaining states use consensus-based tools that have not been empirically validated.
Cases for the defense may be strengthened if an actuarial risk assessment was properly utilized. Plaintiff attorneys will want to know whether the instrument has been validated.
You will find further information at the Child Welfare Information Gateway;
Orsi, Rebecca, 2014, "Reliable and Valid; A Procedure for Establishing Item-Level Inter-rater Reliability for Child Maltreatment Risk and Safety Assessment
or
feel free to call me.