Standard of Proof in Child Welfare Cases

The lack of federal standards at the most crucial decision points of child welfare cases allows agencies across the country charged with ensuring the safety of children to abuse their authority by overregulating and policing Black and Brown families while interfering with their constitutional right to family integrity. Throughout this paper, I will share my experiences working in child welfare. Since 2001, I have worked with children and families in various roles involving the child welfare system. Over the course of my career, I have worked with children in foster care, providing therapeutic services as a case manager working with families toward reunification, and in child protective services as an investigator, supervisor, and program manager. I have spent the last 21 years have been spent working in Kansas and the District of Columbia (D.C.). Section II of this paper will discuss the history of family rights in the context of child welfare as identified by the courts. Section III focuses on the disproportionate impact the child welfare system continues to have on families of color. Section IV discusses the challenges that families face as a result of being substantiated as a maltreater of abuse or neglect. Section V reviews the differences between court adjudication and child welfare agencies' substantiation. Section VI brings attention to the dissolution of the family unit by permanently terminating parental rights. Further, Section VI examines how the current standards of proof at various stages of a child welfare case allow agencies to interfere with the right to family integrity. Lastly, Section VII will identify solutions to restructure the child welfare system while aligning the state’s interest in protecting the child and the family's constitutional rights to make decisions regarding the care of their children.