Child Protective Service Issues

Successful intervention in child sexual abuse cases is built upon an effective system of procedures being established prior to a specific child sexual abuse (CSA) case being referred for investigation.

Following GA code, 19-15-2, each county in Georgia has been mandated to develop, utilize, and revise a county protocol to address how child abuse cases will be handled systemically in that county. A review of some of the existing county child abuse protocols reflects significant diversity in how each community has written it's protocol and how stringently the written protocol is followed, reviewed, and updated.

It is not the purpose of this section to judge the quality of a community's current intervention efforts regarding forensic investigations of CSA cases. However, careful attention to the development, implementation, and revision of the county child abuse protocol is certainly an excellent process for improving the overall intervention effort in child abuse cases including CSA cases.

In addition, despite the diversity between counties in the appearance of their county protocols, a sample of about a dozen such protocols from urban, rural, northern, and southern areas indicates that most counties have addressed the majority of issues in a similar manner. Therefore, Basic Guidelines for a Child Abuse Protocol are offered below covering the main points common to most counties. Any county considering revision of it's county Child Abuse Protocol may find these issues helpful in considering and review. These are suggested guidelines only, and do not override any laws or policies currently in effect.