New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 3A - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Chapter 10 - CHILD PROTECTION INVESTIGATIONS
Subchapter 2 - CHILD PROTECTION INVESTIGATION PROCESS
Section 3A:10-2.3 - Evidence needed to support a finding

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 3A:10-2.3

Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 6, March 17, 2025

(a) The child protective investigator shall, in completing the investigation of a report containing one or more allegations of abuse or neglect:

1. Obtain evidence whether the child has an injury or condition;

2. Obtain evidence whether the injury or condition is a direct result of one of the following:
i. Some action by a parent or guardian;

ii. The failure of a parent or guardian to stop the action of another person; or

iii. The parent or guardian's reckless disregard of a harmful situation;

3. Obtain a detailed explanation from the alleged child victim, the alleged perpetrator, each witness and each other person with knowledge of the injury or condition;

4. Document the final police investigation result, if any, whenever there is police involvement in the investigation; and

5. Document each verbal statement by the police and the request for the police report, whenever there is police involvement in the investigation and a police report is not made or is unavailable.

(b) The child protective investigator shall, in completing the investigation of a report containing one or more allegations of abuse:

1. When there is not a clear preponderance of evidence regarding the allegation, obtain a medical opinion which states whether the explanation given by the parent or guardian for the injury or condition is inconsistent with the injury or condition and that the most likely manner in which the injury or condition occurred was abuse; or

2. Obtain a statement by the alleged perpetrator that he or she has admitted causing the injury or condition.

(c) The child protective investigator shall, in completing an investigation of a report containing an allegation of sexual abuse:

1. Document the consistency between each statement and any existing physical evidence;

2. Assess, for each allegation of sexual abuse, the credibility of each subject involved in the investigation and document the reasons for the assessment, for example, demeanor of witness, consistency of reports over time; and

3. Obtain, for each allegation of sexual abuse, a statement from a mental health professional, which does or does not corroborate behavioral or emotional problems when the child's emotional or behavioral problems are used to corroborate the information used to make the finding.

(d) The child protective investigator shall, in completing an investigation, obtain circumstantial evidence that identifies the most likely perpetrator if multiple alleged perpetrators are identified.

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