Overview

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This site is meant to offer some guidance for protective investigators on how to complete an in-home child safety assessment, along with some examples of completion for the different areas.  This site is divide into pages which represent the various sections of the safety assessment, along with 'Additional Actions' and 'Background History'.  The focus of the site is to provide a guide, through examples, of how to writing the implication sections of the above areas. 

Here are some basic tips for completing the assessment:

  • All ratings within the assessment need to be supported by evidence (reports, observations, statements, etc.) and that evidence needs to be summarized in the implication sections.
  • The safety assessment should be comprehensive, meaning that it should include both identified risks and strengths of the family.
  • Since the implication sections build the Investigation Summary, which various persons may read (professional & non-professional), they need to be written as a professional document- avoid typos, acronyms, abbreviations and pronouns.
  • The assessment should be a stand-alone document which parallels the rest of the investigation- chronological notes, court work, etc.  A person should be able to read the assessment and have full understanding of what is happening with the family.
  • The assessment is not a static document and can be updated as necessary to reflect changes within the family situation and assessed risk level.