If the children in your care were not able to be cared for by their parents, a county public children services agency may become involved with your family. The county agency’s job is to help families and ensure that children are safe from abuse and neglect. Sometimes the agency becomes involved because a family asks for help. Other times, someone else may have reported their belief that a child may be in danger.

Because they have the important job of keeping children safe, the public children services agency has responsibilities that other agencies do not have. If an agency worker finds a child in danger, the agency can ask a court for permission to physically remove the child from the parent or legal guardian. When this happens, the agency will look for relatives or family friends to care for the child while the agency works with the parents to resolve the concerns.

Additional Resources:

• The Process for Becoming a Kinship Caregiver
• Rights & Responsibilities