We're building the evidence base for safer helping systems.
Our Policy Briefs
What happens when professional policies meet real-world complexity? The Center for the Helping Professions produces policy briefs that answer this fundamental question across the helping professions. We examine how systems and professionals actually make decisions—not just what they’re supposed to do. Using our Policy-to-Practice methodology, we combine formal policy analysis with practitioner insights to reveal where policies work as intended, where they diverge, and what conditions matter most. Our briefs provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening decision-making and outcomes across the helping professions.
When Definitions Meet Reality: Why Stronger Child Maltreatment Fatality Decisions Require More Than Clearer Policy
August 2026
This brief examines how child welfare professionals across 30 jurisdictions screen and respond to child fatalities and uncovers gaps between what policies say and how they’re actually applied. Through our Policy-to-Practice methodology, we studied how professionals handle the same fatality scenarios and discovered some differences that can’t be explained by policy alone. If you’re responsible for child safety decisions, designing systems that support them, or working to improve consistency across jurisdictions, this Policy Brief details some of the factors that really drive decision-making — and what actually needs to change.
Our Research in Peer-Reviewed Publications
The Center for the Helping Professions’ peer-reviewed research applies safety science to the real-world conditions facing child welfare, healthcare, law enforcement, corrections, emergency medical services, public health, education, fire response, and other safety-critical sectors — generating knowledge that drives meaningful, measurable change. If you find you cannot access the full-text article, please email us, and we will send it to you.
Exploring Approaches to Child Maltreatment Responses: Dichotomies of Mandatory Reporting and Community Support
in Children and Youth Services Review, June 2026
by Margaret L. McGladrey, Shelby L. Clark, Elizabeth N. Riley, Kristen Theile, Lexi Mueller, Waveney Brooks, Foysol Ahmed, and Valerie Frost
Risk Factors for Child Abuse and Neglect: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
in Public Health, April 2025
by Zhidi Luo, Yeyige Chen, and Richard A. Epstein
“The Process Is Built for Psychological Safety”: Behavioral Health Providers’ Experiences Using a Systems-based Information Integration Tool for Critical Incident Review
in the Journal of Patient Safety, December 2025
by Margaret L. McGladrey, PhD; Tiffany Lindsey, EdD; Scott Fairhurst, PhD; Corinne Andriola, PhD; Elizabeth Riley, PhD; Carly Meyers, BPH; and Michael Cull, PhD
Analysis of Longitudinal Patterns of Child Maltreatment Reports in the United States
in Child Abuse & Neglect, February 2025
by Jamie Joseph, Zhidi Luo, Richard A. Epstein, Kathy Gracey, Tarah M. Kuhn, Michael J. Cull, and Rameela Raman
To Be Both Seen and Heard: A Systems Map of Barriers to Father Engagement in Child Welfare as Learned from Child Death Reviews in Oregon
in Child Welfare, Special Issue: Fathers and Child Welfare: Conceptual Frameworks, Theoretical Foundations, Empirical Approaches, and Innovations in Research and Practice, 2025
by Edward J. McDonald and Tiffany O. Lindsey
Evaluation of Telehealth in Child Behavioral Health Services Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic
in Psychiatric Services, March 2023
Elizabeth N. Riley, PhD, Kate D. Cordell, PhD, MS, Stephen M. Shimshock, PhD, Rafael E. Perez Figueroa, MD, MPH, John S. Lyons, PhD, and Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya, PhD
The Safe Systems Improvement Tool: A Quality Improvement Approach to Learning from Child Fatalities and Other Critical Incidents in Child Welfare
in Child Welfare, 2022
by Michael J. Cull, Tiffany O. Lindsey, Elizabeth N. Riley, and John S. Lyons
Incidence and Neighborhood-Level Determinants of Child Welfare Involvement
in Child Abuse & Neglect, November 2020
by Sarah C. Lotspeich, Ryan T. Jarrett, Richard A. Epstein, April M. Shaffer, Kathy Gracey, Michael J. Cull, and Rameela Raman
A Population-Based Examination of Maltreatment Referrals and Substantiation for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
in Autism, July 2019
by Marisa H. Fisher, Richard A. Epstein, Richard C. Urbano, Alison Vehorn, Michael J. Cull, and Zachary Warren
Heavy, Problematic College Drinking Predicts Increases in Impulsivity
in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, September 2018
by Elizabeth N. Riley, MS, Heather A. Davis, MS, Richard Milich, PhD, and Gregory T. Smith, PhD
The Effects of Safety Culture on the Outcomes for Children in State Care
Doctoral Dissertation, Trevecca Nazarene University, May 2018
by Tiffany O. Lindsey, EdD, LPC-MHSP
Assessing Safety Culture in Child Welfare: Evidence from Tennessee
in Children and Youth Services Review, June 2016
by Timothy J. Vogus, Michael J. Cull, Noel E. Hengelbrok, Scott J. Modell, and Richard A. Epstein
Examining Placement Disruption in Child Welfare
in Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, November 2015
by Richard A. Epstein, David Schlueter, Kathy A. Gracey, Rameela Chandrasekhar, and Michael J. Cull
Strategies for Enhancing Perioperative Safety: Promoting Joy and Meaning in the Workforce
in AORN Journal, Special Focus Issue: Patient Safety, October 2014
by Julianne Morath, MS, RN, Rhonda Filipp, MPA, RN, and Michael Cull, PhD, MSN
Applying Principles from Safety Science to Improve Child Protection
in Child Welfare, Special Issue: Preventing Severe Maltreatment-Related Injuries and Fatalities: Applying a Public Health Framework and Innovative Approaches to Child Protection, 2013
by Michael J. Cull, Tina L. Rzepnicki, Kathryn O’Day, and Richard A. Epstein
Join Us in Research
Researchers interested in collaborating on topics relevant to helping professionals, please reach out to discuss working together.