Creating a Child Protection Team (CPT)

The following are issues to consider when forming a team:

• How many members will be on the team?
• Who will the members be? Who decides?
• Will the team include a representative from DCF?
• When, where, and how often will the team meet?
• Will the team be responsible only for reviewing allegations of suspected child maltreatment, or will the team also be responsible for making the initial report and filing the 51A?
• Since reporting suspected abuse and neglect is an immediate requirement, what happens if team members are unavailable?
• If the team will be responsible for filing the 51A report, which team member will do this?
• What type of feedback will be provided to the educator who referred the case to the team, and what mechanism will be used to communicate this information?
• What role will the team take after the report has been filed?
• Who determines if, at what intervals, and how the composition of the team will change?
• What type of training will be needed for all school personnel and for team members specifically to effectively implement the protocol?