Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Required notification in abbreviated
ruled out and thorough investigations.
(1) We
must notify the following parties about the findings of an abbreviated ruled
out or thorough investigation unless one of the exceptions specified in
subsection (d) of this section apply:
(A)
Each parent or other person with primary or legal responsibility for each
alleged victim or alleged perpetrator who is a minor;
(B) Each person identified as an alleged
perpetrator. For an alleged perpetrator who is a minor, we may send the notice
to the child's parents or other person with primary or legal responsibility for
the child; and
(C) The reporter, if
the reporter's identity is known.
(2) We must provide notice to the persons
specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection within 15 days after the
investigation is closed by the supervisor.
(b) Required notification in administratively
closedinvestigations.
(1) We must notify the
following parties about the findings of an investigation that was closed
administratively unless one of the exceptions specified in subsection (d) of
this section apply:
(A) Each parent or other
person with primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim or alleged
perpetrator who is a minor; and
(B)
The reporter, if the reporter's identity is known.
(2) We must provide notice to the parents or
other person with primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim or
alleged perpetrator who is a minor no later than 24 hours after the
investigation is closed by the supervisor and to the reporter within 15
days.
(c) Optional
provision of investigation findings upon request.
(1) We may provide information about the
investigation to each parent or other person with primary or legal
responsibility for any child in the home under investigation, at the request of
the parent or person with primary or legal responsibility of the child, unless
one of the exceptions specified in subsection (d) of this section exists. We
may provide information from the investigation to the extent we deem necessary
for the protection and care of the child when such information is necessary to
meet the child's needs.
(2) We must
not release information that is subject to redaction under §700.204,
subchapter B, chapter 700, of this title (relating to Redaction of Records
Prior to Release).
(d)
Exceptions to providing notification.
(1)
During the investigation, we were unable to locate the person entitled to
notification despite having made reasonable efforts to locate the
person.
(2) Notwithstanding
requirements to notify certain persons of investigation results, we will not
provide the notice when we determine that the notice is likely to endanger the
safety of any child in the home, the reporter, or any other person who
participated in the investigation of the report. This safety exception does not
apply to a designated perpetrator entitled to receive notice under subsection
(f) of this section, or to a former alleged perpetrator entitled to receive
notice under subsection (g) of this section.
(3) We may delay notification of a person
entitled to notification under this section if a law enforcement agency
requests the delay because timely notification would interfere with an ongoing
criminal investigation. We may delay notification only in those circumstances
in which the law enforcement agency agrees to notify us at the earliest time
that the delay is no longer needed. We must provide the notification within 15
days after the date on which we are notified that the law enforcement agency
has withdrawn the request to delay the notification.
(4) We will not provide required
notifications or optional information about findings under this section if an
investigation is being closed administratively because the report was referred
for investigation to another authorized entity, such as law enforcement or
another state agency.
(e)
Form of notification. Notifications about the findings of an investigation may
be either written or oral, except the notifications in paragraphs (1)-(2) of
this subsection must be provided in writing:
(1) Written notification of the designated
perpetrator, or designated victim perpetrator; and
(2) Written notification of an alleged
perpetrator when all allegations in the case involving the person as an alleged
perpetrator have been ruled out.
(f) Required written notification of the
designated perpetrator. We must give written notice of the findings of the
investigation to everyone who has been identified as a designated perpetrator
as specified in § 707.497(b)(2) or (3) of this subchapter (relating to
What roles can we assign to persons involved in a case after the investigation
is complete?). For a designated perpetrator who is a minor, the notice is sent
to the child's parents or other person with primary or legal responsibility for
the child.
(g) Required written
notification of an alleged perpetrator when all allegations involving the
person as an alleged perpetrator have been ruled out. We must give written
notice of the right to request removal of role information to each person who
was identified as an alleged perpetrator when all the allegations in the case
involving the person as an alleged perpetrator have been ruled out. If the
person is a minor, we may send the notice to the minor's parents.
(h) Notifying the reporter. If the reporter
is not a professional working with the family, notification to the reporter
discloses only:
(1) That we investigated the
report; and
(2) Whether we provided
services to the family during the investigation or plan to provide services to
the family after the investigation.
