Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1)
Responding to Reports.
(a) The child
protective investigator supervisor may downgrade an immediate response to a
24-hour response only if the local investigative unit has obtained additional
information from the reporter or law enforcement subsequent to the information
collected by the Florida Abuse Hotline that indicates the child is no longer in
imminent danger of being harmed. The rationale for this determination shall be
approved by the supervisor and documented in the Florida Safe Families Network
(FSFN).
(b) When a report is
received on a child who is a resident of Florida and the alleged maltreatment
occurred in Florida, but the child is temporarily out of state, the
investigation shall be commenced by contacting the child welfare agency
responsible for child abuse or neglect investigations in the state where the
child is temporarily located. The purpose of the contact is to request a timely
face-to-face interview with the child in order to ascertain his or her safety,
and to determine when the child is expected to return to Florida.
(c) In instances where the Florida Abuse
Hotline accepts an abuse report but the child protective investigator
subsequently determines through obtaining additional information that the
allegations or facts do not meet the criteria for an investigation, the report
shall be closed as "No Jurisdiction, " after review and approval by the child
protective investigator supervisor.
(2) Investigative Requirements. For every
report received, the following actions shall be completed:
(a) A determination shall be made as to
whether the reporter should be contacted prior to commencement of the
investigation to obtain additional information on the child or family or to
clarify information obtained by the Florida Abuse Hotline. If the reporter is a
professional mandatory reporter under Section 39.201(1)(b)2., F.S., within 24
hours of being assigned the investigation, the child protective investigator
must provide his or her contact information and advise the reporter that he or
she may provide a written summary of their concerns which shall become part of
the child's electronic case file. When circumstances preclude contacting a
reporter prior to commencement (such as when a concern for child safety and the
need for expediency warrants a post-commencement contact) or when an attempted
contact is unsuccessful, the investigator shall contact the reporter after the
initial on-site response is completed.
(b) All household members residing in the
maltreating caregiver's home and not identified in the original intake must be
added to the investigation within 24 hours of the individual's identity and
presence in the home becoming known. All household members shall be assessed as
to their relationship and role within the family, interactions, and caregiving
role over the children in the home.
(c) Information shall be collected describing
the physical, developmental and behavioral characteristics and overall
functioning of the children in the home and documented in the case record.
While interviewing and visually observing the child, the child protective
investigator shall be sensitive to issues arising from a child's age and
developmental stage, ethnicity, and gender.
(d) Information shall be collected on the
parent's or caregiver's overall functioning, parenting style and disciplinary
and behavior management practices and documented in the case record. Any person
alleged to have maltreated a child shall be interviewed.
(e) If during the course of the investigation
it is determined that there is a need to remove physical evidence from the
home, other than taking a child into protective custody, the investigator shall
request local law enforcement to initiate a criminal investigation.
(f) Determine whether any person alleged to
have maltreated a child is employed in an institutional setting or holds a
professional license. In instances which the caregiver is found to be
responsible for abuse, neglect, or abandonment, the child protective
investigator (CPI) shall determine whether information obtained provides
credible evidence to support that children or vulnerable adults within the
caregiver's employment may have been or are at risk of being similarly
maltreated, in which case the CPI must contact the Florida Abuse Hotline to
initiate an institutional investigation.
(g) Abuse history and criminal records checks
shall be obtained by the child protective investigator on all household members
age 12 or older not screened by the Florida Abuse Hotline at the time the
report was accepted. The criminal records and abuse checks shall be initiated
within 24 hours of the individual's identity and presence in the home becoming
known to the investigator. Records checks shall also be completed on any adult
visitor to the home who provides care or supervision to the child outside the
parent's immediate presence while visiting the home. If the family has lived in
another state within the past five (5) years, the child protective investigator
shall contact the appropriate child protection agencies in the state where the
family resided and request abuse history check on all subjects and household
members of the report. The investigator shall contact law enforcement agencies
in the other state to request local criminal history information when necessary
for assessment purposes.
(h) Safety
Assessments.
1. The child protective
investigator shall complete a present danger assessment for all investigations,
excluding institutional and special conditions investigations. Upon completion
of the present danger assessment, the child protective investigator shall
complete all additional investigation activities necessary to assess for
impending danger threats in the home unless it is determined, with supervisory
approval, that the report is:
a. Patently
unfounded, or
b. A false report.
Cessation of investigative activities may not occur prior to
the investigator obtaining the approval of the child protective investigator's
supervisor.
2.
When a child protective investigator identifies the presence of present or
impending danger, the investigator shall take the least intrusive actions to
ensure the child's immediate and on-going safety. If the child protective
investigator determines the need to engage ongoing services, whether these
services are non-judicial or court ordered, a case transfer conference shall be
convened between the investigator, contracted service provider and the
parent(s) to arrange for the provision of case management
services.
(3)
Safety Planning Requirements. For every report received in which a danger
threat has been identified, the following actions shall be completed:
(a) Upon the identification of a danger
threat, the child protective investigator shall determine if, with the
provision of safety management services and the implementation of an in-home
safety plan, the child can safely remain at home.
1. If the child cannot remain in the home
with safety management services, the child protective investigator must develop
an out-of-home safety plan and identify the conditions for return. If the
family has not made a family-made arrangement prior to the Department's
intervention or the family-made arrangement is inappropriate due to the
circumstances surrounding the danger threat(s) in the home, the child
protective investigator shall take the child into protective custody and place
the child in accordance with the placement priority in Section
39.4021(2),
F.S., and the best interest criteria as established in Section
39.01375,
F.S.
(b) If a child is
removed from the home, the child protective investigator shall maintain the
child in the current school setting unless it is determined that continuing
attendance is not in the child's best interest, or ongoing safety issues
require transfer to a new school.
(c) Supervisors shall review all safety plans
within 24 hours of identification of present or impending danger to ensure that
the plan appropriately addresses the identified danger
threats.
(4) Supervisors
shall conduct an initial supervisory consultation with the investigator within
five (5) days of the assignment of the investigation to discuss the status of
the investigation and the assessment activities conducted to date.
(5) A second tier consultation shall review
and document in FSFN all reports in which:
(a)
An in-home present danger safety plan is initiated with the family.
(b) There are no identified danger threats in
the home, i.e. the child is assessed as "safe, " but the child's risk
assessment score is very high.
(d)
There is a child death with surviving siblings in the home.
(6) The child protective investigator shall
determine in all investigations whether a child is an Indian child or Alaskan
Native child, as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act, codified at
25 U.S.C. s.
1901 et seq. When it is determined that the
child is an Indian child or Alaskan Native child, the child protective
investigator shall comply with the provisions of the Act.
(7) If the child protective investigator,
while acting in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of
employment, knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that animal cruelty, as
defined in Section 828.27, F.S., has occurred at
the same address, he or she shall report such knowledge or suspicion in
accordance with the requirements in Section
39.208(2), F.S.
The child protective investigator must document the notification to a local
animal control agency in the FSFN.
(8) This rule will be reviewed and repealed,
modified, or renewed through the rulemaking process five years from the
effective date.
Rulemaking Authority
39.012,
39.0121,
39.208(6),
39.301(14)(c)
FS. Law Implemented 39.01375,
39.208,
39.301,
39.4021 FS.
New 5-4-06, Amended 12-31-14, 12-13-15, 3-29-16, 6-5-16,
12-24-17, 7-16-20, 1-9-22.
