From the CCDJFS Director's Corner

It’s 2AM on Sunday morning. You are awoken by a call about the abuse or neglect of a child too young to explain what happened. You rush to the hospital and meet with the parents who say that nothing odd has occurred over the past several days. The medical staff have been tending to the child for hours and can only tell you that the child has an injury with an unknown cause. With no answers and a serious injury, the child cannot go home. Now the difficult work begins. You see if the family has anyone that could care for the child. You are relieved when the child’s grandmother arrives, and the child’s face lights up with familiarity. Tonight, this little one will sleep somewhere safe with someone they know.  

Caseworkers are available 24/7 to answer the call, day or night, to meet kids and families where they are to provide services. Sometimes service can be provided in the family’s home and sometimes it can’t. When it can’t, our caseworkers are diligent in working to find relatives because trauma is reduced when children are able to go with someone they know. When the child is placed outside of the home, our caseworkers develop a plan detailing what needs to happen to ensure the child is able to return home safely. In the event that is not possible, the plan identifies an alternative, safe, stable, and permanent living situation that promotes the child’s health, growth, and development.  

To report a concern about a child, call 937-484-1500 during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm) and ask to speak to the Children Services Intake. To make a report on holidays or after hours, contact the Champaign County Dispatch Center at 937-653-3409 and ask that the on-call children services worker be paged. 
​If you believe a child is in immediate danger of serious harm, call 911. ​​