Department of Economic Security - Division of Children, Youth and Families - Child Protective Services - Complaint Management Process

Although the Division has implemented two important elements of an effective complaint-handling process, ensuring that the complaint process is easily accessible to the public and adequately addressing complainants’ concerns when it provides a written response, it needs to take additional actions to improve the management and oversight of formal complaints about CPS. Specifically, the Division should clarify and expand complaint policies and procedures to ensure complaints are processed in a consistent and timely manner, centrally track and analyze information on all formal CPS complaints to identify systemic problems and improve services, and periodically review the complaint management process to ensure it remains effective and efficient.