English

Call the county social service agency or the police where the child lives if you believe that a child is being hurt or neglected. The local social service agency determines if a report made to child protection will be assessed, based on the definitions in statute of child abuse, neglect and sexual abuse. When a case is accepted for an assessment, a child protection social worker and in some cases, a law enforcement officer, will conduct an assessment of the allegations. Information will be collected about the allegations including previous history of abuse, neglect or sexual abuse, criminal history of household members, existence of substance abuse and any other information relevant to the assessment. The alleged offender must be interviewed about the alleged child maltreatment. Based on the child protection assessment, the child protection social worker will make two determinations: -whether child maltreatment occurred; and whether child protection services are needed.

County social services assess family's need for services without regard to family income. However, if further services are needed, such as foster care placement or counseling, counties may charge a fee based on family income

Cass County, MN