Alabama Administrative Code
Title 660 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Chapter 660-5-34 - PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Section 660-5-34-.06 - Safety Assessment
Universal Citation: AL Admin Code R 660-5-34-.06
Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 5, February 29, 2024
(1) Determining Safety of Children.
(a)
Protecting children is the primary role of the Department's child welfare
program. The social work practice method is to assess whether children are safe
and to intervene when they are not. Children are considered safe when there are
no present or impending danger threats or the parent's/caregiver's protective
capacities control existing threats. Children are unsafe when they are
vulnerable to present or impending danger threats and parents/caregivers are
unable or unwilling to provide protection. Present danger threats are easily
observable, cause imminent concern and require immediate action to insure the
safety of the child. Impending danger threats are less obvious, more
challenging to identify and require as much information as necessary to
determine if safety threats exist.
(b) Safety threshold is a certain point at
which the threats become so great, the family situation is unsafe for the
child. In order for a present or impending threat to meet the safety threshold,
causing a child to be unsafe, each of the following items must exist.
1. Severity - The threat is consistent with
harm that can result in significant pain, serious injury, disablement, grave or
debilitating physical health or physical conditions, acute or grievous
suffering, terror, impairment, or death.
2. Vulnerability - Child's dependence upon
others for protection is based on an assessment of a child's age, as well as
his or her physical and mental health.
3. Out-of-Control Family conditions are such
that nothing within the family can manage the behavior, emotion, or situation
causing the safety threat.
4.
Specific Time Frame - Threats to child safety are present, likely to become
active soon or there is a certainty about occurrence within the immediate to
near future that could have severe effects on a child.
5. Observable and Specific - Facts obtained
indicate that the danger to the child is real.
(c) Parents'/caregivers' protective
capacities are assessed. Protective capacities are qualities and
characteristics that contribute to a parent's/caregiver's ability to protect
the child.
(d) After present and
impending safety threats are assessed and the parents'/caregivers' protective
capacities are assessed, a decision is made whether children are safe. If
present or impending safety threats are identified, a safety plan is developed
to control and monitor the safety threats.
(2) Developing Safety Plans.
(a) Safety plans are developed to protect
children from safety threats when the parents'/primary caregivers' protective
capacities are insufficient. Safety plans are based on identifiable safety
threats and coupled with diminished parental/primary caregiver protective
capacities which place the child at present or impending danger. Safety plans
shall use the least restrictive alternative for protecting the child, and any
outofhome placements shall be in the least restrictive, most familylike setting
that can offer safety and meet the children's individualized needs. When
developing an "inhome" or "out-of-home (nonfoster care)" safety plan, the
person responsible for protecting the children can be either a professional or
nonprofessional (e.g., family member, relative neighbor), and must be cleared
through the Central Registry when evaluating protective capacities.
(3) Types of Safety Plans.
(a) There are three (3) types of safety plans
that are based on children's living arrangement:
1. In-Home - Safety plans designed to provide
protection for children living in their own homes. Services are provided in the
home to control safety threats by substituting for diminished
parental/caregiver protective capacities.
2. Out of Home (Non- Foster Care) Safety
plans designed to provide protection for children whose parents, legal
custodians, or primary caregivers agree for them to live temporarily with
others (e.g., relatives, neighbors, friends). The agreement is made between the
parents, legal custodians or primary caregivers, the child welfare staff and
the person responsible for providing protection. The home of the person
providing protection does not have to be approved as a foster family home. As
part of the safety plan approval process, child welfare staff shall make a
visit to the home prior to the child being placed, except in emergency
situations, in which case a home visit is made no later than the next calendar
day or with supervisory approval the next working day. The maximum timeframe
that an Out-of-Home Non-Foster Care safety plan can be in place without court
involvement is ninety (90) days. Court involvement occurs either by filing a
dependency petition or initiating contact with legal counsel to start legal
action. Based on individual assessments, there are situations in which the 90
day timeframe is not appropriate and earlier court involvement becomes
necessary.
3. Out-of-Home (Foster
Care) is a safety plan intervention designed to provide protection for children
in licensed/approved placements (e.g., foster family homes, shelters) pursuant
to a court order granting DHR protective or temporary custody. This safety plan
intervention is used when children are at imminent risk of serious harm; the
parent or primary caregiver is unable or unwilling to provide protection; and
it is not possible to protect children through a less intrusive
means.
(4) Summary Removal and Protective Custody When children need immediate outofhome foster care to assure their safety, a summary removal may be used. Summary removal occurs when law enforcement or the Department of Human Resources removes children from parental care or custody without a court order; or the court issues a pickup order for the children. If the removal occurs without a pick up order, child welfare staff must notify the court and file a dependency petition the next working day. A preliminary hearing (shelter care hearing) must be held to determine whether continued out of home care is needed within 72 hours of the summary removal/pick up order.
Author: Jerome Webb
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, Title 12, Chapter 15, Title 26, Chapter 14, and Title 26146; R.C. v Walley, No 88H1170N, Consent Decree (M.D. Ala. Approved December 18, 1991).
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Alabama may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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