SDM comprises a safety assessment, a risk assessment and reassessment, a family needs and strengths assessment and a treatment plan.

The safety assessment assesses imminent danger, determines whether or not to initiate protective interventions when danger is identified, and addresses reasonable efforts to keep families in tact. The safety assessment result can be safe, safe with services or unsafe.

Safe means the child is not in imminent danger by remaining at home.

Safe with services means protecting interventions are in place to help the child remain safely at home.

Unsafe means the child cannot be maintained safely in the home.  A finding of unsafe results in court action. 

The risk assessment determines the risk of future abuse or neglect in the family and the frequency of service to be provided.

Risk levels are intensive, high, moderate, or low. The greater the risk level, the more likely there will be subsequent harm to a child without intervention by CPS. 

Research by the Children's Resource Center at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency has determined that children's protective services should serve high and intensive risk families to prevent recurrence, subsequent injury and/or removal of the child from home.  For low and moderate risk cases, using children's protective services does not significantly affect the rate of recurrence, subsequent injury or removal. Therefore, low and moderate risk cases (Category III) are referred to other community based services so that children's protective services' resources can be focused toward Category II cases (high and intensive risk).

No matter what risk level is, as determined by the risk assessment, there are required overrides to intensive in the following situations:

• Sexual abuse cases in which the perpetrator is likely to have access to the child.
• Cases with non-accidental physical injury to an infant.
• Serious, non-accidental, physical injury requiring hospital or medical treatment.
• Death of a sibling as a result of abuse or neglect.

Discretionary override also can be done and are based on unique case circumstances warrants a higher risk level.  Discretionary Overrides must have supervisory approval.

There is a risk reassessment at specific intervals during a family's involvement with children's protective services. The risk reassessment determines the risk of future abuse or neglect taking into account the family's response to protective services intervention and determines the level of service for each family considering their current circumstances.

The family needs and strengths assessment identifies needs contributing to child abuse and neglect; identifies strengths already present in the family, and focuses services to improve family functioning to ensure the safety and well-being of the children.

The treatment plan records those services provided or arranged by the CPS worker to ameliorate the conditions which contribute to child abuse and neglect in the family. The treatment plan, therefore, is guided by the family needs and strengths assessment.  For detailed information about the assessment tools and the policies and procedures for children's protective services in Michigan, see the Children's Protective Services Manual.