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Navigating Child Welfare ToolKit

When Child Protective Services (CPS) enters your family's life, the experience can be overwhelming—especially for survivors of domestic violence. It’s normal to feel uncertain about what lies ahead or unsure of your rights. That’s why the National Center to Advance Peace for Children, Youth, and Families created the Navigating Child Welfare Toolkit. This toolkit is made to help you understand your rights and, most importantly, show you how to stand up for them.

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Mom holding and kissing her baby

Why We Created This Toolkit

The Navigating Child Welfare Toolkit was developed to empower survivors of domestic violence to face CPS investigations with confidence. We recognize how stressful and confusing these situations can be, which is why we’ve crafted this toolkit to provide clear, practical information. Our goal is to support you in making informed decisions for both you and your children during an already stressful situation.

Tool #1

What to Expect When CPS is at Your Door: A Guide for Domestic Violence Survivors

The purpose of this guide is to help survivors of domestic violence with how to handle an investigation by Child Protective Services (CPS). Family and friends of survivor parents can also benefit from this guide and find useful information to support survivors.
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Para descargar una versión en español de esta herramienta, haga clic aquí.

Tool #2

Know Your Rights When Dealing with CPS: A Tip Card for Survivors

A practical, printable card to reference should CPS show up at your door. This card succinctly details your rights so you can make the most informed decisions to keep your family safe.
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Para descargar una versión en español de esta herramienta, haga clic aquí.

Tool #3

How to File a Complaint: An Overview of the CPS Grievance Process

This guide outlines the basic steps for filing a grievance if you feel Child Protection Services has treated you unfairly, especially as a survivor navigating a complex and confusing system.
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Interactive Tool Aid

Check out our map to view the different rules and procedures for filing a grievance by state.
View Map

Tool #4

Can I Record a CPS Interview in My State?

This tool provides state-by-state information to help survivors and families understand their recording rights during CPS interviews.
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Interactive Tool Aid

Check out our map to view the different recording rights during CPS interviews, organized by state.
View Map

Tool #5

Preparing for Initial Conversations with Child Protective Services (CPS)

This tool will help you prepare for early conversations with CPS, understand what to expect, and navigate the child welfare system with clarity, safety, and confidence.
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To learn more about this toolkit, and the impact it can have for survivors of Domestic Violence, check out our blog post.

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