Department of Children and Family Services

What is the Department of Children and Family Services?

The Department of Children and Family Services is a state-run governmental agency that is responsible for numerous family-based objectives. The mission of a typical Department of Children and Family Services department is to protect children who are abused or neglected and to increase a family’s capacity to safely raise their offspring. Additionally, the Department of Children and Family Services will also provide for the well-being of children, through the institution of state-run daycare facilities.

There are numerous Departments of Children and Family Services throughout the nation; they are state-funded agencies that possess multiple offices within a particular state’s boundaries. The main objective of these agencies is to prevent child abuse or neglect, through educational programs and through the delivery of quality child welfare services.

If cases of child abuse or neglect are present, the Department of Children and Family Services, with the said of community partners, will strip the custodial rights from the abusive or neglectful parents. In this instant, the child will become property of the department and more broadly the state. Once this unfortunate instance is realized the child will be taken care of through foster care.

This is a last resort situation for the Department of Children and Family Services; the state agencies aim to prevent such situations from occurring through the development of educational programs that teach parents how to raise a child in a safe and healthy manner.