Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1) The Department commences a 51B response
to all screened in reports (emergency and nonemergency) pursuant to M.G.L. c.
119, § 51B. Through the 51B response, the Department gathers information
to determine:
(a) the existence, nature,
extent and cause or causes of the alleged abuse or neglect and other conditions
affecting the safety and well-being of the child(ren);
(b) the identity of the person or persons
alleged to be responsible therefor, if possible, and whether to list the person
as an "alleged perpetrator" in the Department's Central Registry; (c) the name,
ages and condition of all other children in the same household; and
(d) the Department's intervention, if any, to
safeguard the child(ren)'s safety and well-being.
(2) For all screened in reports, the
Department shall view the child(ren) who is the subject of the report in the
child(ren)'s home, except in situations identified in
110
CMR 4.27(2)(c).
(a) During the emergency response, the
Department shall visit the child(ren) who is the subject of the report a
minimum of once within two to four hours of receipt of the report and shall
visit all other children in the home within 24 hours of receipt of the
report.
(b) Where a report is
designated for a non-emergency response, the Department shall visit all
children and the home within three business days of receipt of the
report.
(c) For all Department 51B
responses, the Department's child visit should occur in the home. However, in
the certain situations the Department employee assigned to conduct the response
(the "response worker") and the supervisor may decide another location is more
appropriate, particularly where the child is hospitalized, the injury or
incident occurred outside the home, or the child would be placed at greater
risk if interviewed in the home. The response worker and supervisor may waive
the visit to the child(ren)'s home in appropriate circumstances, including
where the abuse alleged occurred outside the child(ren)'s home, such as a
childcare facility and the child(ren) is viewed at the childcare
facility.
(d) The Department
procedures where an individual or family refuses to permit the Department to
view a child(ren) are set forth in
110
CMR
4.27(5).
(3) The Department shall, consider the
reported child(ren)'s and family's linguistic capacity and cultural needs to
perform a fair and comprehensive response.
(4) The response worker shall view the
child(ren) who is the subject of a report in a manner that takes into account
and respects the child(ren)'s age, sex, and other circumstances, particularly
with respect to removal of the child's clothing which may be necessary to view
injuries.
(5) At the time of the
first contact with parent(s) or caregiver(s), the response worker shall deliver
to the individual(s) a written statement of rights, in a standardized form
established by the Department. The statement of rights shall include:
(a) Notice that the Department received a 51A
report alleging abuse or neglect of the child(ren);
(b) The subject matter and possible effects
of the report and the Department's 51B response; and
(c) Notice that any information provided to
the Department may be used in subsequent court hearings.
(6) Where an individual or family prevents
the response worker from viewing the child(ren) who is the subject of a report
or from determining the name, age, or condition of other children in the same
household the response worker shall proceed as follows:
(a) If the response worker has reason to
believe the child(ren) is in immediate danger of serious physical harm
resulting from abuse or neglect, the response worker shall seek the aid of the
local police in entering the home or otherwise viewing the child.
(b) If the response worker does not have
reason to believe the child(ren) is in immediate danger of serious physical
harm resulting from abuse or neglect, the response worker shall immediately
inform their supervisor of the lack of access.
(c) Where the Department is denied access to
view the subject child(ren) in the home, the Department may choose to waive a
home visit if the Department is able to view the child(ren) in another
location.
(d) If the response
worker is ultimately unable to view the child(ren), the supervisor shall make
the response Decision based on the supervisor's evaluation of the report and
any collateral information.
