Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 02, November 27, 2024
(1) The Department is required to provide for
the development and coordination of multi-disciplinary child protection teams
throughout the state to assist and supplement protective services to abused and
neglected children.
(2) The
guidelines and criteria relating to the operations and functions of
multi-disciplinary child protection teams as promulgated by the ad hoc advisory
committee and approved by the Governor are as follows:
(a) Membership - A multi-disciplinary child
protection team, hereinafter referred to as team, must be composed of
representatives from County Departments of Human Resources, and local law
enforcement agencies, district attorney's offices, educational systems, and the
medical community. In communities where local volunteer groups deal with child
protective service needs, those organizations should have a representative on
the multi-disciplinary team. Teams may also include other professional
representatives from the mental health, legal, juvenile court, child
development, and other disciplines as deemed appropriate;
(b) Functions - To the extent that resources
are available to each of the various teams, the functions of the teams shall
include, but not be limited to the following:
1. Advisory Case Consultation - Gathers
expert advice, opinions, or information as an aid in the assessment and
treatment planning for abused, neglected children and their families;
2. Information and Referral - Serves to
provide case coordination and assistance, including the types and locations of
services available to abused children and their family members from public or
private agencies in the community, in an effort to provide the fullest range of
services without duplication of services;
3. Education - Provides for educational and
community awareness campaigns on child abuse and neglect in an effort to enable
citizens to more successfully prevent, identify, report, and treat child abuse
and neglect victims in the community;
4. Resource Development - Occurs when the
team identifies recurring gaps in services and unmet needs of child
abuse/neglect victims and their families, and explores methods by which
resources can be developed or enhanced to fill these gaps and unmet
needs;
5. Treatment - Allows for
comprehensive medical and psychological programs for the identification and
diagnosis of child abuse/neglect and treatment and rehabilitation programs for
abused/neglected children and their families.
(c) Meetings - Teams must meet at least once
every two months, unless prior approval has been given in writing by the
Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources;
(d) Case Referrals - Any case may be
presented by any team member when the case meets Alabama laws defining child
abuse/neglect or the case involves children who are at risk of serious harm and
are, therefore, in need of child protective services;
(e) Confidentiality - Confidentiality of
family information must be ensured pursuant to state law and each team member
must sign an agreement of confidentiality; and
(f) Individual Team Plan - The directors of
each County Department of Human Resources, or their designee, shall submit an
operational plan to the Commissioner of the Department of Human Resources
within 90 days after adoption of these guidelines. This plan shall include
functions of the teams; membership; and provisions for referrals, case load,
team standards, record keeping, membership selection and retention, follow-up
reporting, meeting location, scheduling, coordination, and other provisions as
needed. Likewise, any revisions to the plan must be submitted to the
Commissioner.
Was previously
660-5-34-.10, renumbered
660-5-34-.11 and the former
660-5-34-.11, Administrative
Record Reviews, was repealed as per certification filed September 4, 2003;
effective October 9, 2003. Previous Rule
660-5-34-.11 was renumbered to
.12 as per certification filed May 4, 2007; effective June 8,
2007.