The CCS intake process facilitates the capture of a report (or referral) of a child in need of services or protection. Persons may contact the child welfare agencies via various access channels to report suspected child abuse or express concerns regarding a family situation. Intake workers are required to capture narrative information provided by the reporter, record participant information, determine intake type, and capture other information relevant to the intake type. For example, allegations must be captured for Child Protection Services intakes, but they are not required for other intake types.
The intake worker makes an initial screening recommendation to screen in or screen out a report based on the information provided by the reporter and agency screening criteria. If an intake is screened in, an investigation will be conducted to determine the appropriate response by the agency. The intake worker may submit the recommendation for approval to the intake supervisor, based on the agency workflow. The supervisor or designated staff reviews and approves or denies the intake recommendation. The intake worker may also make a recommendation regarding the response time. This determines how quickly the agency must respond to the allegations.