Evaluation of the Transfer of Responsibility for Child Protective Investigators to Law Enforcement Agencies
| 2000-IJ-CX-0002 | |
| Grantee: | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. |
| Principal Investigator: | Richard Gelles (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Title: | Evaluation of the Transfer of Responsibility for Child Protective Investigators to Law Enforcement Agencies |
| Monitor: | Shelly Jackson |
| Increasing demands on public child welfare agencies, concerns about the safety of children, and confusion between the law enforcement and public service delivery functions have led some policy makers and researchers to recommend a separation between investigations and services within the child welfare system. In response to these concerns, Florida has become the first state in the country to pass legislation that allows for the transfer of the entire responsibility for child protective investigations to a law enforcement agency. Three counties in Florida are in various stages of implementing this transfer of responsibility. This proposed project will compare the outcomes in the three counties where responsibility for investigations is being transferred to the Sheriff's Office (Manatee, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties) to three comparison counties in the State of Florida. The researchers will primarily be concerned with whether children are safer, whether perpetrators of severe child abuse are more likely to face criminal sanctions, and whether there are impacts on other parts of the child welfare system. A randomized experiment will also be explored in one of the counties. The researchers will conduct a thorough process evaluation in order to describe and compare the implementation processes in the three counties and to identify the major factors that could have an impact on project outcomes. Currently, the research team has established working relationships with the Department of Children and Families, the Sheriff's Offices in the experimental counties, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Data collection and site visits are underway. The researchers are developing methods for matching data sets, scheduling additional site visits, developing flowcharts of the investigative process, and refining outcome measures. | |
Date Entered: November 29, 2007