The Protection and Preservation Services (PPS) program helps families who are at heightened risk of child abuse or neglect, as well as families in need of services after abuse or neglect has occurred, by enhancing their ability to provide safe, stable and nurturing environments for their children.
These services:
- Strengthen families.
- Promote child safety, well-being, permanency and placement stability, including maintaining the child in his or her own family.
- Minimize harm to children.
- Maximize families’ abilities to protect and care for their own.
- Prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring or reoccurring.
- Prevent out-of-home care, including foster care.
Who We Serve:
- Families at risk of abuse and neglect.
- Families in need of services after abuse and neglect have occurred.
- Families facing a multitude of challenges including substance abuse, mental health, or domestic violence issues; major physical illness or disabilities; social isolation; parent-child conflicts; and/or poverty.
Protection and Preservation Services provides clinical case management and support services to children living at home with their families. Services are provided in two types of cases:
- Child Protective Services (CPS) Ongoing Cases
- These cases are received from CPS Intake workers after a family assessment or investigation has determined that a family needs ongoing services to prevent further child abuse or neglect. They include cases in which families are court-ordered to participate in services as well as cases where families are not court-ordered to participate in services.
- Prevention Cases
- These cases are received directly from the CPS Hotline and do not meet state criteria for a CPS response to child abuse or neglect. These cases, however, do meet the local Families in Need of Services (FINS) criteria which focus on characteristics that place families at heightened risk of child abuse or neglect.
Casework responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Assessing safety and risk concerns for children.
- Assessing families’ strengths and needs.
- Completing comprehensive assessments.
- Creating service plans with families to minimize safety and risk concerns, build on strengths, and address needs.
- Connecting families to resources and services such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, domestic violence interventions, parenting education and support, income and employment assistance, and medical care.
- Helping families identify and connect with natural supports such as extended family.
To share concerns and/or request services, contact the Child Protective Services Hotline: 703-324-7400, TTY 711.