Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart 1.
Basic procedures.
The local agency shall follow the basic requirements in part
9560.0216 when a report alleges
maltreatment by a person within the family unit who is responsible for the
child's care. The local agency shall also collect available and relevant
information to determine whether maltreatment occurred and whether protective
services are needed as specified in Minnesota Statutes, section
626.556,
subdivision 10, paragraph (h). Relevant information includes information on the
existence of substance abuse and domestic violence as specified in Minnesota
Statutes, section
626.556,
subdivision 10, paragraph (a).
Subp.
2.
Coordination with law enforcement.
The local agency shall:
A. ask a representative from a law
enforcement agency to accompany the child protection worker to interview the
child when a report of maltreatment:
(1)
indicates there is imminent danger to a child or danger to the child protection
worker; or
(2) alleges violation of
a criminal statute involving sexual abuse, physical abuse, malicious punishment
of a child, or neglect or endangerment under Minnesota Statutes, section
609.378;
B. coordinate its assessment or
investigation with the law enforcement agency's investigation to avoid
duplication of fact finding efforts and multiple interviews; and
C. prepare an independent report of its
assessment or investigation.
Subp.
3.
Child interviews.
For family assessments, it is the preferred practice to
request a parent or guardian's permission to interview the child prior to
conducting the child interview, unless doing so would compromise the safety
assessment. When a local agency and a law enforcement agency that coordinate
assessments and investigations jointly determine that an interview by one
person with the child who is reported to be maltreated is in the best interests
of the child, and the interview is conducted by the law enforcement agency, the
interview can be substituted for the procedures in items A to F.
When necessary to make the determinations in subpart
6, the local agency shall
interview any other minors within the family unit. When interviewing children,
the local agency shall follow the procedures in items A to F.
A. The local agency shall interview the child
in a face-to-face meeting in a manner appropriate to the child's age,
development, and ability to understand and verbalize. The agency shall use a
question-and-answer interviewing format with questioning as nondirective as
possible to elicit spontaneous responses. A face-to-face observation of the
child is required immediately for reports alleging substantial child
endangerment and within five calendar days for all other reports.
B. The local agency may waive the notice
required in part
9560.0216, subpart
7, when interviewing a child
under ten years of age who is reported to be maltreated.
C. The local agency may interview a child
under this part without parental consent. By the time the assessment or
investigation is completed, the local agency shall notify the parent, legal
custodian, or guardian that the interview has occurred unless ordered by the
juvenile court to withhold notification.
D. If a parent, legal custodian, or guardian
prevents the local agency from interviewing a child, the local agency shall ask
the county attorney to obtain a judicial order to produce the child for an
interview.
E. For investigations
only the local agency shall make a record of every interview according to
subitems (1) and (2):
(1) interviews must be
audiotaped whenever possible and, in cases of alleged sexual abuse, interviews
with alleged victims and child witnesses must be audio-videotaped;
and
(2) the record must include:
(a) the date, time, place, and duration of
the interview;
(b) the identity of
the persons present at the interview; and
(c) a written summary completed within 72
hours if the interview is recorded in writing.
F. When a child is interviewed at the child's
school, the local agency shall:
(1) before the
interview, give the school a written notice, signed by the chair of the county
board or the chair's designee, that includes the following:
(a) the name of the child to be
interviewed;
(b) the purpose of the
interview; and
(c) the authority of
the local agency under Minnesota Statutes, section
626.556,
subdivision 10, to interview the child on school premises;
(2) conduct the interview within 24 hours
after the school receives the notification in subitem (1);
(3) determine the persons present during the
interview; and
(4) cooperate with
the school officials' reasonable conditions as to the time, place, and manner
of the interview.
Subp.
4.
Parent interviews.
The local agency shall interview parents and persons
responsible for the child's care within the family unit. The agency must use a
question-and-answer interviewing format with questioning as nondirective as
possible to elicit spontaneous responses. These interviews must take place
immediately if substantial child endangerment is alleged and within five
calendar days for all other reports unless postponement is necessary to prevent
risk to a child or interference with law enforcement's investigation. If, after
reasonable effort, the local agency is unable to locate a parent, this
requirement is waived. All interviews with witnesses and collateral sources
must be audiotaped when conducting investigations whenever possible.
Subp. 4a.
Interview of
alleged offender.
In the initial stages of an assessment or investigation, the
agency must conduct a face-to-face interview of the alleged offender. The
interview with the alleged offender may be postponed if it jeopardizes an
active law enforcement investigation. The agency must use a question-and-answer
interviewing format with questioning as nondirective as possible to elicit
spontaneous responses. The local agency must provide the alleged offender with
an opportunity to make a statement. The alleged offender may submit supporting
documentation relevant to the assessment or investigation. The interviews must
be audiotaped when conducting an investigation whenever possible.
Subp. 5.
Other
interviews.
When necessary to make the determinations in subpart
6, the local agency shall
interview other persons whom the agency believes may have knowledge of the
alleged maltreatment. The agency must use a question-and-answer interviewing
format with questioning as nondirective as possible to elicit spontaneous
responses. All interviews with witnesses and collateral sources must be
audiotaped whenever possible.
Subp.
6.
Local agency determinations.
When the local agency has completed its investigation under
subparts
1 to
5, the local agency shall
make determinations.
A. The local
agency shall make a determination that maltreatment has occurred if:
(1) there is a preponderance of evidence that
a child is a victim of maltreatment; and
(2) the maltreatment was caused by the act or
failure to act of a person within the family unit who is responsible for the
child's care.
B.
[Repealed, L 2005 c 159 art
1
s
15]
Subp. 6a.
Early determination of
maltreatment allegations.
If the collected information shows no basis for a full
assessment or investigation, the local agency may make a determination of no
maltreatment early in an assessment, close the case, and retain
immunity.
Subp. 7.
Determining the need for protective intervention.
The local agency shall determine the need for protective
intervention according to items A to C.
A. If there is a determination that child
protective services are needed, regardless of whether there is a determination
that maltreatment occurred, the local agency shall provide protective
intervention under subpart
8.
B. If there is a determination that
maltreatment occurred and a determination that no child is in need of child
protective services, the local agency shall offer any needed alternative
services.
C. If there is no
determination that maltreatment occurred and no determination that child
protective services are needed, the local agency shall not provide protective
services.
Subp. 8.
Protective intervention procedure.
When the local agency provides protective intervention, the
local agency shall:
A. evaluate the
risks to all children in the home;
B. provide for the protection of the child
under subitems (1) to (3), which are listed in order of preferred action:
(1) maintain the child within the home and
provide protective services on a voluntary basis or through protective
supervision;
(2) have the alleged
offender removed from the home under Minnesota Statutes, section
260C.148;
or
(3) seek removal of the child
from the home according to subpart
9 if the child is found in
surroundings or conditions which endanger the child's health or welfare and the
child cannot be protected from harm while remaining in the home;
C. if the family refuses to accept
protective services, request the county attorney to obtain a judicial order
authorizing the local agency to provide involuntary protective services;
and
D. if the family accepts or a
court authorizes services, formulate a written protective services plan and
provide protective services under part
9560.0228.
Subp. 9.
Removal procedures.
The local agency shall follow the procedures in items A to E
when a child is removed from the home.
A. The local agency shall place the child
pursuant to part
9560.0223.
B. The local agency shall determine whether a
voluntary placement provides for the child's health, safety, and
welfare.
C. If the child is not
placed voluntarily and the child is in imminent danger, the local agency:
(1) shall obtain the emergency removal of the
child from the home by:
(a) seeking the
assistance of the law enforcement agency to take the child into immediate
custody; or
(b) petitioning the
juvenile court for immediate legal custody of the child; and
(2) shall, if the child is placed
with a relative or in a shelter care facility, advise the person taking the
child into custody or the court whether disclosure of the child's location
would endanger the child.
D. If a child is not placed voluntarily and
the child is not in imminent danger, the local agency shall ask the county
attorney to petition the juvenile court for placement of the child under parts
9560.0500 to
9560.0670.
E. When a child is placed on an emergency
basis for alleged maltreatment, the local agency shall review the placement to
determine the services necessary to allow the child to return home.
Statutory Authority: MS s
14.388;
256.01;
256E.05;
257.175;
393.07;
626.556
