Current through all regulations passed and filed through March 18, 2024
(A) The public children services agency
(PCSA) shall conduct a specialized assessment/investigation if the child abuse
or neglect report involves an alleged perpetrator who meets one or more of the
following criteria:
(1) Is a person
responsible for the alleged child victim's care in an out-of-home care setting
as defined in rule
5101:2-1-01
of the Administrative Code.
(2) Is
a person responsible for the alleged child victim's care in out-of-home care as
defined in section 2151.011 of the Revised
Code.
(3) Has access to the alleged
child victim by virtue of his/her employment by or affiliation to an
organization as defined in section
2151.011 of the Revised
Code.
(4) Has access to the
alleged child victim through placement in an out of home care
setting.
(B) A
specialized assessment/investigation shall require a third party if a principal
named in the report poses a conflict of interest for the PCSA pursuant to rule
5101:2-36-08
of the Administrative Code.
(C) If
a specialized assessment/investigation of an abuse and/or neglect report
involves multiple alleged child victims from multiple cases, the PCSA shall
complete a separate assessment/investigation for each case. The completion of
the JFS 01403, "Specialized Assessment and Investigation" (rev. 2/2006) is
required for each case.
(D) The
PCSA shall initiate the screened in child abuse and/or neglect report in
accordance with the following:
(1) For an
emergency report, attempt a face-to-face contact with the alleged child victim
within one hour from the time the referral was screened in, to assess child
safety and interview the alleged child victim.
(2) For all other reports, attempt a
face-to-face contact or complete a telephone contact within twenty-four hours
from the time the referral was screened in, with a principal of the report or
collateral source who has knowledge of the alleged child victim's current
condition, and can provide current information about the child's
safety.
(E) If
face-to-face contact with the alleged child victim was not completed within the
twenty-four hour time frame, an attempt of face-to-face contact with the
alleged child victim shall be made within seventy-two hours from the time the
report was screened in to assess child safety and interview the alleged child
victim.
(F) The PCSA shall document
in the case record the date, time, and with whom the specialized
assessment/investigation was initiated.
(G) If the attempted face-to-face contact
with the alleged child victim, as specified in paragraphs (D) and (E) of this
rule is unsuccessful, the PCSA shall continue to make attempts for face-to-face
contact, every five working days until the child is seen or until the PCSA is
required to make a report disposition pursuant to paragraph
(U) of
this rule.
(H) If a child abuse
and/or neglect report involves an alleged child victim, or the sibling of an
alleged child victim who was not named as an alleged child victim, who is not
in the custody of a PCSA or PCPA, the PCSA shall not interview the child
without parental consent unless one of the following exigent circumstances
exists:
(1) There is credible information
indicating the child is in immediate danger of serious harm.
(2) There is credible information indicating
that the child will be in immediate danger of serious harm upon return home
from school or other locations away from home.
(3) There is credible information indicating
that the child may be intimidated from discussing the alleged abuse or neglect
in his or her home.
(4) The child
requests to be interviewed at school or another location due to one of the
circumstances listed in this paragraph.
(I) Should an alleged child victim provide
information during an interview that indicates a sibling might be in immediate
danger of serious harm or that the sibling could provide information regarding
immediate danger of serious harm to the alleged child victim, the interview of
the sibling who was not identified as an alleged child victim may commence
without parental consent.
(J) The specific facts necessitating that
assessment/investigative interviews of a child be conducted without parental
consent must be documented in the case record.
(K) If an alleged child victim
or sibling is interviewed without parental
consent, then the same day, the PCSA shall attempt a face-to-face or complete a
telephone contact with the alleged child victim's parent, guardian, or
custodian to inform them that an interview of their child occurred.
(1) If the attempt to contact the child's
custodian pursuant to this paragraph
is unsuccessful, the PCSA
shall continue to attempt to contact the child's parent, guardian or custodian
once every five working days until contact is made with the child's parent,
guardian, or custodian, or until the PCSA makes a report disposition pursuant
to paragraph
(U) of this rule.
(2) The PCSA shall document in the case
record the date and time of the contact, or attempted contacts.
(L) If the PCSA conducts a
specialized assessment/investigation, the PCSA shall:
(1) Within twenty-four hours of the screening
decision contact the out-of-home care setting or
organization administrative officer, director, or other chief
administrative officer, or if the administrative officer, director or other
chief administrative officer is alleged to be the perpetrator, the board of
directors, county commissioners, or law enforcement as applicable in order to:
(a) Share information regarding the
report.
(b) Discuss what actions
have been taken to protect the alleged child victim.
(c) Provide information about the
assessment/investigation activities that will follow.
(2) No later than the next working day from the date the referral was screened in as a
child abuse and/or neglect report, inform the
parent(s), guardian, or custodian of the alleged child victim that a report of
abuse and/or neglect involving his or her child is being assessed/investigated
and of the allegations contained within the report.
(3) No later than the next working day from the date the referral was screened in as a
child abuse and/or neglect report, contact
licensing and supervising authorities, as appropriate, to share
information.
(4) Attempt to
coordinate the interview of the alleged child victim if another agency is
required by statute or administrative rule to conduct its own assessment/
investigation to minimize the number of interviews of the child.
(5) Conduct and document face-to-face
interviews with the alleged child victim to:
(a) Evaluate the alleged child victim's
condition.
(b) Determine whether
the child is safe.
(c) Obtain the
alleged child victim's explanation regarding the allegations contained in the
report.
(6) Conduct and
document all face-to-face interviews with the alleged perpetrator, unless law
enforcement or the county prosecutor will interview the alleged perpetrator
pursuant to the procedures delineated in the county child abuse and neglect
memorandum of understanding, in order to assess his or her knowledge of the
allegation.
(7) Advise the alleged
perpetrator of the allegations made against him or her at the time of the
initial contact with the person. The initial contact between the PCSA and the
alleged perpetrator of the report includes the first face-to-face or telephone
contact, whichever occurs first, if information is gathered as part of the
assessment/investigation process.
(8) Conduct and document face-to-face or
telephone interviews with any person identified as a possible source of
information during the assessment/ investigation to obtain relevant information
regarding the safety of and risk to the child. The PCSA shall exercise
discretion in the selection of collateral sources to protect the privacy of the
principals of the report.
(9) As
appropriate, conduct and document all face-to-face interviews with the parent,
guardian, or custodian and/or caretaker of the alleged child victim to gather
relevant information regarding the parent, guardian, or custodian and/ or
caretaker's ability to keep the child safe and identify what, if any, services
are needed by the family.
(10)
Attempt to secure any relevant records necessary to assess safety and risk to
the child, including but not limited to school, mental health, medical,
incident reports in an out-of-home care setting.
(11) Take any other actions necessary to
assess safety and risk to the child. These actions may include, but are not
limited to:
(a) Taking photographs of areas of
trauma on the child's body.
(b)
Taking photographs of the child's environment with the consent of the
out-of-home setting administrator.
(c) Securing a medical examination or
psychological evaluation, or both, of the child with the consent of the child's
parent, guardian, or custodian or with a court order.
(M) The PCSA
need not interview a child if it is documented in the
case record that does not have to interview an alleged child victim if
the PCSA determines that:
(1) The child does
not have sufficient verbal skills, or
(2)
Additional interviewing would be detrimental to the child, unless requested by
the lead PCSA pursuant to paragraphs (R) and
(Z) of this
rule.
(N) At any time
the PCSA determines a child is in immediate danger of serious harm, the PCSA
shall follow procedures outlined in rule
5101:2-37-02
or
5101:2-39-03
of the Administrative Code.
(O) If
the PCSA determines supportive services are necessary, the supportive services
shall be made available to the child, his or her parent, guardian, or custodian
during all of the following pursuant to procedures established in rule
5101:2-40-02
of the Administrative Code:
(1) The safety
planning process.
(2) The
assessment/investigation process.
(P) The PCSA shall request assistance from
the county prosecutor, the PCSA's legal counsel, or the court if refused access
to the alleged child victim or any records necessary to conduct the specialized
assessment/investigation.
(Q) The
PCSA shall have an interpreter present for all interviews if the PCSA has
determined that a principal of the report has a language or any other
impairment that causes a barrier in communication, including but not limited to
a principal of the report who is deaf or hearing impaired, has limited English
proficiency or is developmentally delayed.
(R) If two or more Ohio PCSAs are involved in
an assessment/investigation the lead county shall be determined by the
following criteria:
(1) The PCSA located
within the county where a juvenile court has issued a protective supervision
order.
(2) The PCSA located within
the county where the custodial parent, legal guardian, legal custodian of the
alleged child victim resides.
(3)
If an order of shared parenting has been issued, and a residential parent has
not been designated by the court, the PCSA located within the county of
residence of the custodian who has physical care of the alleged child victim at
the time the incident occurred.
(S) If requested by the lead PCSA, either
verbally or in writing, the non-lead PCSA located in a non-contiguous county
shall conduct interviews of any principals of the report and collateral sources
presently located within its jurisdiction to provide the lead agency with the
information necessary to complete the JFS 01403 within the time frames outlined
in this rule. All PCSAs involved shall document the request in the case
record.
(T)
For all reports involving an infant identified as affected
by legal or illegal substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms resulting from
prenatal or postnatal substance exposure pursuant to rule
5101:2-1-01
of the Administrative Code the PCSA shall:
(1)
Ensure the plan
of safe care has been developed.
(2)
Ensure the plan
of safe care addresses the safety needs of the infant.
(3)
Ensure the plan
of safe care addresses the health and substance use disorder treatment needs of
the affected family or caregiver.
(U) The PCSA shall
complete the report disposition and arrive at a final case decision by
completing the JFS 01403 no later than forty-five days from the date the PCSA
screened in the referral as a child abuse and neglect report. The PCSA may
extend the time frame by a maximum of fifteen days if information needed to
determine the report disposition and final case decision cannot be obtained
within forty-five days and the reasons are documented in the case record
pursuant to rule
5101:2-36-11
of the Administrative Code.
(V) Investigative
activities conducted independently by other agenciesdo not relieve
the PCSA of its responsibility for concluding an assessment/investigation in
accordance with this rule. The PCSA shall not waive the completion of the
report disposition.
(W) Within two working days of completion of the JFS
01403, the PCSA shall do all of the following as
applicable:
(1) Notify the child,
unless the child is not of an age or developmental capacity to understand, and
the child's parent, guardian, or custodian of the report disposition and the
final case decision.
(2) Notify the
alleged perpetrator in writing of the report disposition; the right to appeal;
and the method by which the alleged perpetrator may appeal the disposition as
outlined in rule
5101:2-33-20
of the Administrative Code.
(3)
Refer all children under the age of three to "Help Me Grow" for early
intervention services if there is a substantiated report of child abuse or
neglect regardless of the child's role in the report.
(4) Refer any infant who has been born and
identified as affected by legal or illegal
substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder resulting from prenatal drug exposure to "Help Me
Grow."
(5)
Notify all participants involved in the plan of safe care of
the final case decision. The final decision includes whether the case will be
tranferred for ongoing PCSA services, closed and referral made to community
services, or closed. The following plan of safe care participants shall be
notified:
(a)
Parents, guardians, custodians or other caregivers for the
infant.
(b)
Health care providers invovled in the delivery or care
of the infant.
(c)
Collaborating professional partners and agencies
involved in caring for the infant and family.
(6)
Notify the child's non-custodial parent, who holds residual parental rights to
the child and maintains an ongoing relationship through visitation with the
child and/or payment of child support, of the receipt of the report, the report
disposition, and the case decision.
(7) Document in the
case record, the date and method of notification to the principals of the
report of the above listed activities.
(X) No later than
three working days from the date of the completion of the report disposition,
the PCSA shall provide written notification of the report disposition to the
following entities, as applicable, in accordance with rules
5101:2-33-21
and
5101:2-36-12
of the Administrative Code:
(1)
Administrator, director, or other chief administrator of the out-of-home care
setting or organization.
(2) The owner or governing board of the
out-of-home care
setting or organization.
(3) The appropriate licensing and supervising
authorities of the out-of-home care
setting or organization.
(Y)
The PCSA shall not provide witness statements, police reports, or other
investigative reports to the
out-of-home care setting or organization
described in paragraph
(X) of this rule.
(Z) If a report of
child abuse and neglect involves a child who is living in a shelter for victims
of domestic violence or a homeless shelter, the PCSA that received the report
shall do one of the following:
(1) Determine
if the child was brought to the shelter pursuant to an agreement with a shelter
in another county. If a determination is made that there was an agreement in
place, the PCSA from the county from which the child was brought shall lead the
assessment/investigation and provide the required supportive services or
petition the court for custody of the child, if necessary.
(2) Lead the assessment/investigation if a
determination is made that the child was not brought to the shelter under an
agreement with a shelter in another county. If two or more PCSAs are involved,
all PCSAs shall be responsible for following procedures outlined in this
rule.
(3) Commence the
assessment/investigation if a determination cannot be made immediately if an
agreement is in effect.
(AA) The
assessment/investigation documentation and any materials obtained as a result
of the assessment/investigation shall be maintained in the case record. If any
information gathering activity cannot be completed, justification and the
written approval of the director or the designee shall be filed in the case
record in accordance with rule
5101:2-36-11
of the Administrative Code.