Minnesota Rural Project for Women and Child SafetyGlossary of TermsChild Protection Terminology Definitions of terms in this glossary are general and do not adhere strictly to the Code of Law for the State of Minnesota or its jurisdictions. Child Protection TerminologyRefer also to the Minnesota Department of Human Services publication entitled Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect: A Resource Guide for Mandated Reporters (April 2000), which is regularly updated by the Family and Children’s Services Division. Copies can be obtained in paper version, on-line, and in alternative formats by request. Adjudicatory Hearings - held by the Juvenile/Family Court to determine whether a child has been maltreated or whether some other legal basis exists for the State to intervene to protect the child. Each State has its own terms and definitions in the jurisdiction provisions of its law. Depending on the State, a child may be subject to the Juvenile Court's authority if he/she is abused, battered and abused, abused or neglected, sexually abused, maltreated, dependent, deprived, abandoned, uncared for, in need of aid, in need of services, or in need of assistance, to name a few. Alternative Response - also called “differential response,” this refers to a relatively new form of response by child protection agencies to situations that come to there attention where there is some risk for child maltreatment, but the family may be better served by a strengths-based assessment and service referral than a more traditional legal investigative procedure. CASA - court-appointed special advocates (usually volunteers) who serve to ensure that the needs and interests of a child in child protection judicial proceedings are fully protected. Case Plan - the professional document which outlines the outcomes, goals, and strategies to be used to change the conditions and behaviors resulting in child abuse and neglect. Case Planning - the stage of the child protection case process when the CPS caseworker and other treatment providers develop a case plan with the family members. Child Protective Services (CPS) - the designated social service agency (in most States) to receive reports, investigate, and provide rehabilitation services to children and families with problems of child maltreatment. Frequently, this agency is located within larger public social services agencies, such as Departments of Social Services or Human Services. Disposition Hearing - held by the Juvenile/Family Court to determine the disposition of children after cases have been adjudicated, such as whether placement of the child in out-of-home care is necessary and what services the children and family will need to reduce the risk and address the effects of maltreatment. Egregious Harm - as defined in Minn. Stat. 260C.007, subd. 26, "Egregious harm" means the infliction of bodily harm to a child or neglect of a child, which demonstrates a grossly inadequate ability to provide minimally adequate parental care. Emergency Hearings - held by the Juvenile/Family Court to determine the need for emergency out-of-home placement of a child who may have been a victim of alleged maltreatment. If out-of-home placement is found to be unnecessary by the court, other measures may be ordered to protect the child. These might include mandatory participation by a parent in a drug abuse treatment program or a parenting skills class or regular supervision by a caseworker. These hearings must be held between 24 and 72 hours of any emergency placement, depending on State law, once an emergency custody order has been issued. Evaluation of Family Progress - the stage of the child protection case process (after the case plan has been implemented) when the CPS caseworker and other treatment providers evaluate and measure changes in the family behaviors and conditions which led to child abuse and neglect, monitor risk elimination/reduction, and determine when services are no longer necessary. Frequently, community treatment providers coordinate their evaluation of case progress through periodic team meetings. Family or household members - means spouses, former spouses, parents and children, persons related by blood, and persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time. Family Assessment - the stage of the child protection process when the CPS caseworker, community treatment providers, and the family reach a mutual understanding regarding the most critical treatment needs that need to be addressed and the strengths on which to build. Family Preservation/Reunification - established in law and policy and the philosophical belief of social services agencies that children and families should be maintained together if the safety of the children can be ensured. Good Faith - the standard used to determine if a reporter has reason to suspect that child abuse or neglect has occurred and to assess the basis for a decision to petition the court. In general, good faith applies if any reasonable person, given the same information, would draw a conclusion that a child may have been abused or neglected. Guardians ad Litem - a lawyer, legal counsel, or lay person assigned to represent the best interest of children in juvenile and family court proceedings. Usually, this person considers the best interests of the child and may perform various roles including those of independent investigator, child advocate, legal advisor, and/or guardian for a child. A lay-person serving in this capacity is sometimes known as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA). Immunity - established in all child abuse laws to protect reporters from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution resulting from filing a report of child abuse and neglect. Immunity is provided as long as the report is made in good faith. This protection also applies to those who make decisions to petition the court. If the basis for the decision is based on good faith, immunity applies. Depending on each State's law, this immunity may be absolute (complete) or qualified (partial). Intake/Screening - the stage of the child protection case process when community professionals and the general public report suspected incidents of child abuse and neglect to CPS and/or the police; CPS staff and/or the police must determine the appropriateness of the report and the urgency of the response needed. If it is deemed appropriate, the report will be further investigated. (Approximately 50% of all reports do not raise to the level of concern needed to continue past this stage.) Initial Assessment - the stage of the child protection case process when the CPS caseworker and/or law enforcement personnel determine the validity of the child maltreatment report, assess the risk of maltreatment, and determine the safety of the child and the need for further intervention. Frequently, medical, mental health, and other community providers are involved in assisting in the initial assessment. Interview Protocol - a structured format used to ensure that family members are seen in a planned strategy, that community providers collaborate, and that information gathering is thorough. Juvenile and Family Courts - established in most States to resolve conflict and to otherwise intervene in the lives of families in a manner that promotes the best interest of children. These courts specialize in areas such as child maltreatment, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, divorce, child custody, and child support. Liaison - the designation of a person within an organization who has responsibility for facilitating communication, collaboration, and coordination between agencies involved in the child protection system. Mental Injury (Psychological Abuse) - Type of maltreatment that refers to acts or omissions that caused or could reasonably case psychological or emotional instability of a child. It includes emotional neglect, psychological abuse and mental injury, etc. Frequently occurs as verbal abuse or excessive demands on a child’s performance and may cause the child to have a negative self-image and disturbed behavior. Multidisciplinary Team - established between agencies and professionals to mutually discuss cases of child abuse and neglect and to aid decisions at various stages of the child protection system case process. These teams may also be designated by different names, including child protection teams, interdisciplinary teams, or case consultation teams. Neglect - A type of maltreatment that refers to the failure by a person responsible for a child’s care to supply a child with necessary care such as food, clothing, shelter, health, medical, supervision or other care required for the child’s physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so. May also include failure to protect the child from conditions or actions that imminently and seriously endanger the child’s physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so. Out-of-Home Care - child care, foster care, or residential care provided by persons, organizations, and institutions to children who are placed outside of their families, usually under the jurisdiction of Juvenile or Family Court. Parent/Caretaker - person responsible for the care of the child. Parens Patriae Doctrine - originated in feudal England, this doctrine vests in the State a right of guardianship of minors. This concept has gradually evolved into the principle that the community, in addition to the parent, has a strong interest in the care and nurturing of children. Schools, juvenile courts, and social service agencies all derive their authority from the State's power to ensure the protection and rights of children as a unique class. Petition - a document filed with the court that is used to initiate a civil child protective proceeding. The petition contains the essential allegations of abuse or neglect that make up the petitioner's complaint about a particular child's situation. It does not include all of the detailed facts available to the petitioner to support these allegations. Physical Abuse - Types of maltreatment that refer to physical acts that caused or could have caused physical injury to the child. Primary Prevention - activities geared to a sample of the general population to prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring. Preponderance of Evidence - the burden of proof for civil cases in most States, including child maltreatment proceedings. The attorney for CPS or other petitioner must show by preponderance of evidence that the abuse or neglect happened. This standard means that the evidence is more credible than the evidence presented by the defendant party. Protection Order - may be ordered by the judge to restrain or control the conduct of the alleged maltreating adult or any other person who might harm the child or interfere with the disposition. Protocol - an interagency agreement between CPS and law enforcement that delineates joint roles and responsibilities and establishes criteria and procedures for working together on cases of child abuse and neglect. Reasonable Efforts - as required by State law, the State child welfare agency must make reasonable efforts to keep the family together or, if the child has already been removed, to reunify the family. Before a State may receive Federal financial support for the costs resulting from a child's removal from home into out-of-home care, a judge must determine that reasonable efforts have been made to keep the family together. Similarly, placement may not be continued with Federal support without a finding by the judge that such efforts have been made to reunite the family. Reporting Policies/Procedures - written referral procedures which delineate how to initiate a suspected child maltreatment report and to whom it should be made. These procedures were established by professional agencies with a mandated responsibility to report suspected child abuse and neglect cases. Response Time - a determination made by CPS and law enforcement after receiving a child abuse report regarding the immediacy of the response needed by CPS or law enforcement. Review Hearing - held by the Juvenile/Family Court to review dispositions (usually every 6 months) and to determine the need to maintain placement in out-of-home care and/or court jurisdiction of a child. Every State requires State courts, agency panels, or citizen review boards to hold periodic reviews to reevaluate the child's circumstances if he/she has been placed in out-of-home care. Federal law requires, as a condition of Federal funding eligibility, that a review hearing be held within at least 18 months from disposition, and continuing at regular intervals to determine the ultimate resolution of the case (i.e., whether the child will be returned home, continued in out-of-home care for a specified period, placed for adoption, or continued in long-term foster care). Risk - the likelihood that a child will be maltreated in the future. Risk Assessment - an assessment and measurement of the likelihood that a child will be maltreated in the future, usually through the use of checklists, matrices, scales, and/or other methods of measurement. Risk Factors - behaviors and conditions present in the child, parent, and/or family, which will likely contribute to child maltreatment occurring in the future. Secondary Prevention - activities targeted to prevent breakdowns and dysfunctions among families who have been identified as at risk for abuse and neglect. Sexual Abuse - A type of maltreatment in which a child is involved in some form of sexual activity, often to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit to the perpetrator. It includes contacts for sexual purposes, molestation, statutory rape, prostitution, pornography, exposure, incest or threat to sexual abuse. Tertiary Prevention - treatment efforts geared to address situations where child maltreatment has already occurred with the goals of preventing child maltreatment from occurring in the future and avoiding the harmful effects of child maltreatment. Treatment - the stage of the child protection case process when specific treatment and services are provided by CPS and other service providers geared toward the reduction of risk of maltreatment. Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) Hearing - a legal proceeding to free a child from a parent's legal custody, so that the child can be adopted by others. The legal basis for termination of rights differs from State to State but most consider the failure of the parent to support or communicate with the child for a specified period (extreme parental disinterest), parental failure to improve home conditions, extreme or repeated neglect or abuse, parental incapacity to care for the child, and/or extreme deterioration of the parent-child relationship. In making this finding, the court is determining that the parents will not be able to provide adequate care for the child in the future by using a standard of clear and convincing evidence. This burden of proof is higher than a preponderance of the evidence which is used in civil abuse or neglect cases where termination is not sought.
Domestic Violence: Concept with various names such as wife beating, spouse abuse, intimate violence, battering or partner abuse. It also has varying definitions depending on the context in which it is used. The clinical or behavioral definition is usually more comprehensive than its legal definitions. It includes physical, sexual and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion. Legal definitions vary from state to state, they usually do not include economic coercion or many types of psychological abuse. It typically does not include child abuse, child-to-parent violence or sibling violence. Here we use term domestic violence as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partners. It is primarily purposeful and instrumental behavior. Perpetrator’s pattern of abusive acts is directed at compliance from or control over the victim. The pattern is not impulsive or “out of control” behavior. Perpetrator selectively chooses tactics that successfully control the victim. Economic Coercion: Perpetrators control victims by controlling the access to the family resources (time, transportation, food, clothing, shelter and money.)
Physical Abuse: Most overt type of domestic violence. Includes kicking, hitting, biting, choking, pushing, hair pulling, throwing across the room or down on the floor and assaults with weapons. Sometimes particular areas of the body are targeted, such as abdomen of pregnant woman. Psychological/Emotional Abuse: More than verbal arguments and demeaning language, this form of abuse is systematic destruction of individual’s self-esteem. It includes; Sexual Assaults: It includes from pressured sex when the victim does not want sex, to coerced sex by manipulation or threat of physical force, to violent sex. Victims may be coerced or forced into a kind of sex they do not want or at a time they do not want it. In pressured sex, the perpetrator’s tactics might be more subtle (sulking or complaining when the victim say no.) It also includes force to look at sexual material and threat to sexual abuse. Marital rape is similar to rape occurring outside the family. It is act of violence and aggression in which sex is the method used to humiliate, punish, hurt, degrade, and dominate the victim. Survivor: Used to emphasize self-empowerment rather than the term victim. The term battered women is used to keep focus on the fact that gender has a power dynamic attached to it. There is recent discussion why the term victim is perceived as negative. Use of Children to Control Adult Victim: Perpetrators use tactics involving children to control or punish the intimate partner. It includes; Battered Women’s Programs: Any program that serves battered women or other victims of domestic or partner violence. In Minnesota, such programs include the following: Ganley, A. and Schechter, S. (1996) Domestic Violence: A National Curriculum for Child Protective Services. Family Violence Prevention Fund. Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. Battered Women’s Programs in Minnesota [On-line document: http://www.mcbw.org/programs.htm] Minnesota Department of Human Services. Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect; A Resource Guide for Mandated Reporters. Family and Children’s Services Division, MN-DHS, 2000. Minnesota Statutes 2000. Office of the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/statutes.htm National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). (2000) The NCANDS Glossary. [On-line document: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/dis/ncands98/glossary/glossary.htm] National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. Glossary of Terms. [On-line document: http://www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/usermanuals/cpswork/glossary.cfm] National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. What is Child Maltreatment? [On-line document: www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/factsheets/childmal.cfm]
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This is a cooperative project between: VAWO, the Violence Against Women Office, in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice; Minnesota Center for Crime Victim Services in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety; Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women; Minnesota Department of Human Services; Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning; and MINCAVA - the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse at the University of Minnesota. © Copyright 2000 -2004 Minnesota Rural Collaboration on
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