Child Protective Specialists Say Work Never Gets Easy But Never Gets Old

“When we go into that home, we need to show that family the same respect we ourselves desire,” said Jill Campbell, 41, who has worked as a Child Protective Specialist for the Administration for Children’s Services for almost 11 years. “Because if you walk in there and you’re bombarding them with questions and you’re not listening for key points, you’re going to miss things, and if you miss things, you’re leaving children unsafe.”

The agency is gearing up to celebrate Child Protective Specialist Appreciation Week, which was launched by Commissioner David Hansell last year to honor the work 2,000 CPS staff do to investigate more than 60,000 reports of child abuse or neglect each year. This year’s celebration begins June 3, with a focus on recruitment.