The local community has many resources available for information on child protection. The goal of Child Protective Services is to identify, assess and provide services to children and families in an effort to protect children, preserve families, and prevent further maltreatment. Child Protective Services is non-punitive in its approach and is directed toward enabling families to provide adequate care for their children. The Department operates a statewide hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive reports of child abuse and neglect and refer these reports to the appropriate local department of social services for investigation. In addition, the hotline staff provides information and referral services to callers about prevention programs, crisis intervention services to callers, and general information concerning child abuse and neglect. Anyone may report suspected child maltreatment incidents to local departments of social services or to the statewide Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. The state Hotline is staffed by experienced social workers. The primary role of the Hotline is to provide a timely means for the receipt and referral of reports of child abuse and neglect for follow-up 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Individuals may contact the state Hotline within Texas at 1-800-252-5400. The Hotline social worker records information about the alleged victim, perpetrator, and others having knowledge about the situation and the incident(s). The report provides the local CPS (Child Protective Services) worker information needed to initiate an immediate investigation of the alleged incident and to make an assessment about the child's immediate safety and the family's needs. The state Hotline provides additional services to callers, who include: child victims, caretakers who have become or think that they might become abusive toward a child, persons required by law to report suspected child maltreatment, the general public, and local and out of state social services departments. Hotline staff is responsible for: Providing immediate telephone counseling and crisis intervention to individuals in crisis, providing general information about child maltreatment and educational materials to the general public, child care providers, school educators and medical professionals on recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, directing callers to community based agencies such as local law enforcement, child abuse prevention programs, mental health and mental retardation and substance abuse services, juvenile and domestic relations courts, youth emergency shelters, and local programs providing for emergency needs, and reporting cases of suspected child sexual assault perpetrated by non-caretakers to local law enforcement agencies.