DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Department of Human Services caseworkers are taking a new approach in child welfare cases that emphasizes helping families deal with their problems. The idea, called differential response, is to not launch formal investigations into parents when there are questions about a child’s well-being but no signs of abuse or imminent danger. Instead, caseworkers connect families with assistance to help them get their lives back on track.

The Des Moines Register reports examples of minor concerns include a messy house or a child who wanders off and is later found by a neighbor. The department said that social workers have used this approach almost 40 percent of the time during the first half of 2014 when looking into cases about a child’s welfare.