Standards for substantiation of abuse in foster care

["Peter Lyons" <SWOPXL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Georgia has recently undergone the Federal Child and Family Service Review process and is now writing  a Program Improvement Plan. One issue raised was the different standard for determining maltreatment in foster care. Currently the state records any breach of foster care, child discipline standards as maltreatment. Many incidents would not be recorded as substantiated maltreatment in the general population, because they would not rise to the standard of abuse. 

As part of the Program Improvement Plan, the state would like to address this issue by reducing the number of actual incidents, but also by comparison with practices in other states.

Long preamble - the question is: How do other states record incidents in foster care that breach foster care discipline standards, but would not be considered maltreatment, if the child were not in foster care. 

This is not to suggest that these incidents (minor physical discipline for example) should be condoned, or that the state should weazle out of its responsibility to ensure and maintain appropriate standards, It is an attempt to determine if we are making reasonable cross state comparisons.

Thanks

Peter

Peter Lyons Ph.D.
School of Social Work
Georgia State University
University Plaza
Atlanta GA 30303
404 651 3530
lyonsp@gsu.edu