Services for Children and Families

Crisis Intervention
CPU caseworkers are on-call 24 hours to receive reports of suspected child abuse & neglect. They are responsible for conducting the initial assessments/investigations of reported cases.

Child Advocacy
Caseworkers play a vital role in ensuring that the rights and interests of children are protected.

Emergency Shelter
The shelter provides a temporary place of refuge for abused/neglected children.

Foster Care Placements
Foster Care families provide 24-hour support, care and supervision for children who have been temporarily removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.

Family Service Plans
Caseworkers work with families to plan and coordinate services that would assist the family and help alleviate incidents of harm to children.

Parenting
Parents receive needed support through classes offered free of charge that would assist them to develop healthy and safe child rearing practices.

Monitoring/Home Visitations
To ensure safety and build family strengths, caseworkers conduct multiple contacts with families as they work together to make needed changes.

Adoption/Custody Study
Through court order, caseworkers prepare adoption and custody studies that would assist the court in rendering a decision on adoption/custodial related issues.

Referrals
If appropriate, families are linked to other resources in the community that would provide them with the services they need.
Child and Neglect Sessions
Sessions on child abuse and neglect are incorporated into the parenting classes to equip parents with a better understanding of how child abuseaffect children.

Multidisciplinary Response Team (MDRT)
Due to its complexity, CPU alone cannot effectively intervene in the lives of troubled and dysfunctional families. Other professionals, from the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Public Safety, and members of the CNMI MDRT Center, may be involved to assist in meeting the needs of abused and neglected children and help reduce the risk of maltreatment. These professionals, with CPU, each play vital and significant roles in a multidisciplinary response team which provides assistance to victims of abuse and helps to alleviate trauma suffered by victims.