I agree with the rest of what you wrote, I just don’t want to fill up the board by quoting it all.
I think the best thing to do is hire more caseworkers and train them well. Really, that’s it. Obviously, these things should be taken care of on a case-by-case basis by reasonable people. These people should be up-to-date on the latest research, including the studies that have been discussed in this thread. They should have reasonable case loads so that they can actually have the time to get to know their families and keep an eye on what’s going on.
I mean, if you had 400 kids on your ongoing schedule and say another 50 who were dropped in your lap by concerned teachers each week for one-time investigations, how the hell would you schedule your month so that everyone got taken care of properly? You simply couldn’t. There’s not enough hours in the day or sanity in your skull. We need more people, that’s the only answer.