Social Services Department- Children & Family

Amy Ballard, Director
Lake of the Woods Social Services
206 8th Ave. SE
Baudette, MN 56623
Phone: 218-634-2642
E-mail:
Information or Reporting: (218) 634-2642
Crisis Response & After Hours: reporting can be done by calling Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Department at 218-634-1143
Children and Family Services is a division of Lake of the Woods County Social Services and is responsible for Screening and Intake of reports, as well as assessment services and case management services for child protection/child welfare and children’s mental health.
It is the goal of Children and Family Services to work with the community to empower families to overcome challenging life circumstances in order to raise safe and healthy children. We hold as core values that:
  • Children deserve to live in a nurturing, safe, and healthy environment, free of abuse.
  • Community involvement and support is essential for families to become self-sufficient.
  • Government has a responsibility to intervene in families when needed, but only in the most knowledgeable, respectful, and least restrictive way.
  • People have the capacity to change; families and children have strengths and assets that can be built upon, and all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
  • Family preservation, permanence and stability are important, noble, and achievable goals.
To report suspected abuse or neglect, please call 218-634-2642.
If the child is in immediate danger, call your local police or sheriff's department.
Social Services Department- Children & Family
Family Assessment Program
The program is based on the belief that parents love their children and want them to be safe, but sometimes need help to make that happen.
Receiving a call or visit from child protective services can be frightening, especially if families are alreadystruggling with stressful family issues. /
They may feel shame or anger at being reported, and threatened by the possibility of government involvement in their lives. Yet, it is important to help keep children safe. Alternative Response offers this opportunity.
What is Family Assessment?
Family Assessment is a program that responds to concerns about child abuse and neglect by:
  • Ensuring children are safe
  • Avoiding negative labels for parents
  • Setting aside the issue of fault
  • Working in partnership with parents
  • Identifying families' needs
  • Providing services and resources matched to families' needs
  • Building on parents' and communities' strengths and resources
For low to moderate risk reports, county workers use a holistic approach focusing on the safety of the children and the families' strengths to address concerns and needs, rather than focusing on the details of a specific incident to prove or disprove that abuse or neglect occurred. The families are often provided short-term case management services to help them connect to resources in the community. Screeners at the Intake Unit utilize a safety and risk assessment tool to determine whether family is referred into this program.
Social Services Department- Children & Family
Assessment of Child Abuse Reports
When Lake of the Woods County Social Service staff receive a report of abuse or neglect, we are mandated by state law to screen the information to determine if the report meets the criteria for abuse or neglect. If the information meets the criteria, our staff will open an assessment. /
These are the steps we follow:

1) Collect Information to Determine If the Child Was Maltreated and If the Child Needs Services

We work with the police department or sheriff's office to find out if the child was abused or neglected, if the harm was caused by something a person responsible for the child's care did or failed to do; and if child protective services are needed.
We conduct interviews jointly with law enforcement officers when the child is in immediate danger, or when the report involves physical or sexual abuse, neglect or endangerment, or malicious punishment of a child.
We interview:
  • the child
  • the person accused of the maltreatment
  • parents and others who take care of the child;
  • other children who live with or who have lived with the person accused of maltreatment, when necessary; and
  • others who may know of the alleged abuse or neglect, when necessary.
People who are interviewed are told verbally and in writing:
  • why we request the information
  • how we will use it
  • that they may refuse to answer questions
  • what will happen if they do or do not answer questions
  • what other agencies can get this information
  • what rights they have to get certain information agencies have collected; and
  • what rights they have to ask for a reconsideration of the determination
We will collect information on:
  • prior reports of maltreatment
  • the child's age, gender and development
  • the person who reported, his or her relationship to the child and the person accused of maltreatment, and how the reporter knows about the alleged abuse
  • the alleged offender, including age, prior reports of maltreatment, and criminal charges and convictions; and
  • other facts that will help us find out if the child has been maltreated.
We may collect other information, such as:
  • a medical examination of the child
  • medical records relating to maltreatment
  • interviews with health professionals
  • documentation provided by the person accused of maltreatment
  • other facts that help us find out if the child has been maltreated
We must tape record all interviews when possible. When the report involves sexual abuse, we must videotape interviews with the child witness when possible.
We will complete the assessment within 45 days of receiving the report

2) Tell the People Involved What We Found

Within ten days of completing the assessment, we send a letter to the parents or guardians of the child telling them:
  • whether or not the child has been maltreated
  • if we found that the family needs services;
  • the specific reasons for our decisions;
  • that we followed the law in collecting the information
  • about people's rights to get certain information on themselves from the report
We also send a letter to the person accused of maltreatment explaining:
  • whether we found that the child has been maltreated
  • specific reasons for this finding
  • that we followed the law in collecting information; and
  • what rights they have to get certain information about themselves.

3) Provide Services

As part of the assessment, we determine if child protective services are needed. If needed, we provide services and work with the family to plan for the continued safety of the child.
If protective services are not needed, we close the case, offer and provide information on other services that could help the family.
Social Services Department- Children & Family
Child Abuse & Neglect /
What is Child Abuse and Neglect?
  • Physical Abuse
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Neglect
  • Emotional Maltreatment
  • People Who Abuse
What is Physical Abuse?
Physical abuse is any physical injury inflicted on a child by a parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's care other than by accidental means; or any physical injury that cannot reasonably be explained by the history of injuries provided by the person responsible for the child's care.
Children who are physically abused sometimes bear signs of injury such as bruises, welts, burns, fractures, or swelling. While internal injuries are seldom detectable without a medical exam, anyone in close contact with children should be alert to multiple injuries, a history of repeated injuries, new injuries added to old, and untreated injuries.
The older child may attribute the injury to an improbable cause, lying for fear of retaliation. The younger child may be unaware that severe beating is unacceptable and may admit to having been abused.
The following are conditions of physical abuse that should be reported:
  • Child has suffered an injury that appears to be non-accidental in nature
  • Child has suffered an injury and the parent or guardian seems unconcerned and denies that anything is wrong, or gives unlikely or contradictory explanations
  • There is substantial likelihood that the child is in immediate danger of physical injury
  • Use of excessive force (i.e. choking, punching, shaking, biting, tying, caging)
What is Sexual Abuse?
Child sexual abuse is the sexual exploitation of a minor. Sexual abuse occurs when a child is manipulated, forced, or tricked into touch or sexual contact. It can also occur without touching, including times when a child is subjected to exposing or receives obscene phone calls.
Sexual abusers may be strangers, but approximately 75% of the abusers are known to the child or the child's family. Children are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse as they usually are not developmentally capable of understanding or resisting the contact. They may be psychologically, physically, or socially dependent on the offender.
By conservative estimates, a child is sexually abused in America every two minutes. One in every five victims is under the age of seven. Almost half of these children will be victims of repeated sexual abuse. Since the sexually abused child may lack the signs of injury evident in physical abuse or neglect, sexual abuse can be difficult to identify. The best indicators may be a sudden change in behavior or signs of emotional upset. The following are conditions of sexual abuse that should be reported:
  • Child is engaged in genital or oral stimulation, fondling, or sexual intercourse with a parent, guardian, caretaker, or other person in a position of authority
  • Child receives obscene phone calls or is the victim of indecent exposure
  • Child is engaged in prostitution
  • Child is the subject of pornographic materials
  • Juvenile is the perpetrator of sexual abuse
What is Neglect?
Child neglect is the continued failure by parents or caretakers to provide a child with needed care and protection. The following are conditions under which the law requires a report to Child Protection or a law enforcement agency:
  • Inadequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care
  • Abandonment
  • Exposure to threatening or endangering conditions
  • Educational neglect
  • Prenatal exposure to substance abuse
  • Inadequate supervision
  • Child has suffered a physical injury as a result of hazardous conditions uncorrected by parent or guardian
  • Child suffers injury or risk of injury due to domestic violence
  • Failure to provide for a child's special needs
  • Exposure to or involvement in criminal activities
Child neglect differs from child abuse, though their results may be similar. Both can cause physical injury, emotional harm, and even death. But neglect is what a parent or caretaker does NOT do, rather than what he or she does.
What is Emotional Maltreatment?
Emotional maltreatment is the consistent or deliberate infliction of mental harm on a child by a person responsible for the child's care that has an observable, sustained, adverse effect on the child's physical, mental or emotional development.
People who abuse...
People who physically abuse children are seldom severely emotionally or psychologically disturbed. Most abusers are normal people who are trying to be good parents but who react inappropriately to problems or other stressful situations. Factors that may contribute to a parent physically abusing a child include:
  • Immaturity - parents who do not understand a child's behavior or needs and have unrealistic expectations for the child's behavior
  • Lack of "parenting" knowledge or role models for healthy family relationships
  • Physical or social isolation
  • Frequent crises within the family
  • Drug, alcohol, or mental health problems that reduce coping ability
  • Unmet emotional needs of the parent
  • Parent was abused or mistreated as a child
Parents are the most frequent child abusers. However, children may also be at risk from relatives, friends, and other caretakers.
Parents who neglect their children rarely intend to bring harm to them. While seldom a willful act, neglect and its consequences can be devastating to children. Limited financial resources, poor housing, lack of family or community support, drug, or alcohol abuse, and limited parenting skills can leave parents and children trapped in a cycle of neglect.
People who sexually abuse children may be male or female, young or old, familiar or unfamiliar to the victim. Unlike parents who neglect or physically abuse their children, the sexual abuser is usually emotionally or psychologically impaired. The causes of child sexual abuse are complex and vary from person to person. Many abusers were victims of sexual abuse themselves as children.
Sexual abuse of children tends to be habitual. When the abuser is a stranger, he or she will probably abuse a child only once, but will continue to abuse other children. When the abuser is a familiar person, he or she may abuse a child over a long period of time.
Social Services Department- Children & Family
Child Protection Responsibilities
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ARE LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTY'S MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE
It is the responsibility of Lake of the Woods County Social Service staff to assure that children alleged to be abused or neglected are protected from harm and danger and those children in need of child welfare services receive appropriate responses. The agencybelieves that the child's best interest andprotection is maximized by maintaining the child at home whenever possible. The following expresses the various perspectives and expectations that are common to the various groups charged with caring for and protecting children.
Reporting Child Abuse or Neglect
  • What to report
  • When to report
  • Who should report
  • Why you should report
  • What happens after you report
What to report:
  • What happened to the child and when it happened
  • Where the child is now and whether he or she is in immediate danger
  • The names and addresses of the child's caretakers
  • Any additional information you may have that might help with an investigation
When to report:
  • If you know or suspect that a child is in immediate danger, call your local police or sheriff's office right away.
  • If the child is not in immediate danger, you may call either Lake of the Woods County Child Protection Services or your local law enforcement department.
If you are unsure whether or not you should report, call Lake of the Woods County Social Services and ask for assistance in making the decision
Who should report:
  • Any person may voluntarily report abuse or neglect.By law, your name cannot be revealed for reporting suspected child abuse.
  • If you work with children or their families in Minnesota, you are a mandated reporter. Mandated reporters who know, or have reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect are required by law to report that information.
Why you should report:
Your report may prevent further harm to the child. Child abuse affects the child, the family, the community, and society. Abuse of a child may result in:
  • Low self esteem, stemming from hidden shame and guilt
  • Psychosomatic illness
  • Chemical dependency
  • Sexual problems
  • Marital and other relationship problems
  • Depression
  • Suicidal tendencies
  • Obsessive/compulsive disorders
  • A cycle of abusive and exploitive relationships
It is difficult for abusive families to stop abuse on their own. However, many troubled parents can learn how to be effective mothers and fathers, to feel better about themselves, and to enjoy their children. Your report may assist the family in getting help and introduce them to available services and resources within the community.
Society is affected because mental and physical damage caused by child abuse can diminish a child's ability to become a productive, self-supporting citizen. People involved in delinquency and assaultive crimes often have histories of being victims of child abuse. Your report can have a positive influence on reducing or eliminating the abuse cycle for the child and the family.
What happens after you report:
In cases of neglect or abuse, a Child Protection Services worker is required to respond within 24 to 72 hours. Their responsibilities are to:
  • Assess the damage to children resulting from neglect or abuse
  • Evaluate the risk of further injury to the child while in the home and decide whether the child should remain in the home while rehabilitative services are provided
  • Determine and identify the family problem or problems which contributed to or resulted in neglect or abuse
  • Initiate the involvement of the Child Protection Team for planning and coordinating resources for the child and/or family
In cases where the child is in immediate danger, the police can remove the child to safety with the goal of reuniting the family members under better circumstances. A police or law enforcement investigation may be initiated to see whether a crime has been committed and whether the parents or other adults may be subject to prosecution.
Because of confidentiality and privacy laws, Child Protective Services and law enforcement persons may be limited in what information they can share with the reporter of the incident. However, unless the information would be detrimental to the child, the person reporting is entitled to receive a summary of the disposition of the report.