"A new, less confrontational approach to working with families on child neglect and abuse cases may help build stronger families and avoid expensive out-of-family placements in the long run.
"But a preliminary report presented here Monday also indicates short-term costs might be higher, a reality that could put budget pressure on the emerging approach that soon will be practiced in all 88 Ohio counties....
"The first, called the Traditional Response, is to view child welfare cases as investigations in which social workers “really go out to see who the perpetrator was (and) who the victim was.”
"The second, termed the Alternative Response, focuses instead on what services social workers can provide to families “so the partnership between the worker and the family might be helpful to the families.”...
"She said that follow up studies also showed “statistically significant lower levels” of serious problems and “significantly fewer” reports of new problems of any kind.
“That’s huge for us,” she said.
"In addition, she said, “The removals (of children from families) and out of home placements were lower.”
"That’s important because those are the most costly methods of treatment...."
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/new-approach-to-child-abuse-cases-discussed/nbxFh/
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