What Does the New CPS Standard of Evidence Mean?

New York State has changed the standard of evidence that Child Protective Services must use in order to indicate a case of child abuse or neglect. Mandated reporters will be happy to learn that this change does not affect what and how they report, if they have a reasonable suspicion that a child is being maltreated.

SCR Reform Legislation

Effective January 1, 2022, all SCR (Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment) reports registered and assigned to Child Protective Services (CPS) for investigation will be held to a new standard of evidence for a determination. The previous standard of evidence required to indicate a case of child abuse or neglect was “some credible evidence.” The new standard of evidence is “a fair preponderance of the evidence.”

“The truth is they just moved the standard already being applied in administrative reviews, fair hearings and family court to the forefront of the process,” said Julie Nichols, Administrative Caseworker for Monroe County Child Protective Services. Nichols oversees teams that investigate reports of neglect, maltreatment and abuse as well as the team that trains new staff to do so. She added, “This change does not impact our ability to help families.”

SCR reform has been years in the making.  One of the reasons for the reform is the attempt to address the issue of overrepresentation of low-income families and people of color in the system.  “This reform also helps to provide clarity and consistency,” said Nichols, “in the levels of evidence necessary for decision-making processes in CPS work.”
 

So What Exactly Is a “Fair Preponderance”?

The more reliable, credible, and capable of being believed the evidence is, the more weight it carries in an investigation. For example, medical records, a photograph of the child’s injuries, voicemails, videos, and information provided through family interviews with CPS are all forms of evidence that may be gathered during an investigation.  If all the evidence collected and reviewed in its totality supports the
allegations, then this would be considered a fair preponderance.

To reach a determination that a case is indicated, the case record must demonstrate how the failure on the part of the subject of the report to exercise a minimum degree of care caused impairment or imminent danger of impairment to the child’s physical, mental or emotional condition. The important concept here is that a causal connection must be established by law, and the failure must be documented, for a report of maltreatment to be indicated.

In other words, did the failure of the parent to provide supervision, education or medical care cause the child to become impaired or be in imminent danger of impairment? Failure to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter may be cause for a report, but only if the parent is financially able to do so.

Serious Consequences

Indicated reports can have serious consequences on the personal and professional lives of the subject of the report and the person(s) legally responsible for the child. They also have the ability to impact someone’s current or future career and volunteer opportunities. “Many professions, jobs, and volunteer positions that involve working with children conduct background checks to see if the individual has any previous indicated CPS history” said Nichols.  “Indicated cases can hinder a person’s ability to obtain one of these positions, even if the indicated case is many years old.”  

“CPS works with families across every ability, race, ethnicity, culture and socio-economic background,” said Nichols, “and part of our job is to gain an understanding of how each family’s unique differences, experiences, and backgrounds affect their parenting.” She added, “While there might be a lot of risk factors that are impacting a family—poverty being a huge one—risk factors don’t mean that children are being abused or neglected.” 
 

Prevention is the Goal

“It’s important to note that the legal definitions for neglect, maltreatment and abuse have not changed,” said Nichols. Regardless of the new standard of evidence in effect, mandated reporters should continue to remain vigilant and reach out when they suspect a child is being abused or neglected.

“At CPS, our role is not only to gather evidence and investigate cases of suspected child maltreatment,” said Nichols. “Assessing safety and connecting families to needed resources to prevent child abuse and neglect in the future is still our goal.” 

Resources:

How Do I Recognize Child Abuse and Neglect?
https://www.dorightbykids.org/how-do-i-recognize-child-abuse-and-neglect/

NYS Office of Children and Family Services 
Preventive Services
https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/prevention/