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This perception has resulted in numerous lawsuits and court takeovers of CPS in 35 states, and calls for profound restructuring in other states. A widely prescribed remedy for decision errors and faulty judgments is an improvement of risk assessment strategies that enhance hazard evaluation through an improved understanding of threat potentials and exposure likelihoods. We examine the reliability and validity problems that continue to plague current CPS risk assessment and discuss actions that can be taken in the field, including the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve technology to improve the predictive validity of risk assessment strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1539-6924.2012.01931.x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,12,13]],"date-time":"2012-12-13T14:50:30Z","timestamp":1355410230000},"page":"1636-1649","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Decision Making in Child Protective Services: A Risky Business?"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"33","author":[{"given":"Michael J.","family":"Camasso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Food &amp; Resource Economics, Rutgers University 55 Dudley Road New Brunswick NJ USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Radha","family":"Jagannathan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bloustein School of Planning &amp; Public Policy Rutgers University 33 Livingston Avenue New Brunswick NJ USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","volume-title":"Child Maltreatment 2010: Summary of Key Findings","author":"Child Welfare Information Gateway","year":"2012"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","unstructured":"National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.Highlights from Child Maltreatment 1999 2001. 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