What is the Multiple Response System?

North Carolina law requires that local county departments of social services ensure children's safety in their homes.  When a Child Protective Services (CPS) report meets the legal definition of neglect, the Department of Social Services (DSS) will decide whether to conduct a Traditional Investigation response or whether to conduct a Family Assessment. All abuse reports, and some neglect and dependency reports require the Traditional Investigation response.  Since there may be more than one option for the type of response from DSS, this process is called the Multiple Response System.