2.1 Receiving and Assigning the Report

Legal Authority

45 CFR 1355.34 Public Welfare-Criteria for determining substantial conformity...

42 USC Section 5106a Grants to States and public or private agencies and organizations...

KRS 158.144 Adult caregiver with whom minor student resides may, by affidavit, establish authority to make school-related decisions for minor student -- Conditions -- Caretaker's decision may be superseded -- Obligations and liability of person relying on affidavit of authority -- Revocation...

KRS 405.024 Adult caregiver with whom minor resides may, by affidavit, establish authority to make health care treatment and school-related decisions for minor -- Conditions -- Authority may be revoked or superseded -- Obligations and liability of health care provider -- Penalty....

KRS 405.075 Anonymity of parent who places newborn infant with emergency provider, police station, fire station, hospital, or participating place of worship-- Transport to emergency room -- Implied consent to treatment -- Waiver by parent -- Sign posted at facility -- Immunity of provider, officer,...

KRS 620.30 Duty to report dependency, neglect, abuse, or human trafficking-- Husband-wife and professional-client/patient privileges not grounds for refusal to report -- Exceptions -- Penalties....

KRS 620.040 Duties of prosecutor, police, and cabinet -- Prohibition as to school personnel-- Multidisciplinary teams....

KRS 620.050 Immunity for good faith actions or reports-Investigations–Confidentiality of reports-Exceptions-Parent's access to records-Sharing of information by children's advocacy centers-Confidentiality of interview with child-Excepti...

922 KAR 1:330 Child protective services...

Introduction

Child protective services (CPS) are specialized services aimed at safeguarding the rights and welfare of abused, neglected, or dependent children. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet/CHFS) has the legal authority and obligation to assure that reports meet the statutory and regulatory definitions of abuse, neglect, or dependency before a child protective assessment or investigation begins.

The Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) accepts reports that meet the statutory and regulatory definitions of abuse, neglect, or dependency where the alleged perpetrator is in a caretaking role. There are two (2) exceptions when DCBS will accept a report when the alleged perpetrator may not be a caretaker - an allegation of human trafficking or an allegation of female genital mutilation. The identity of persons who report allegations of child abuse or neglect is kept confidential. Reported allegations of child abuse or neglect from persons who wish to remain anonymous will be accepted; however, staff encourage all reporters to provide contact information so follow-up can occur if more information is needed. The Division of Service Regions (DSR) is responsible for establishing and maintaining centralized intake (CI) teams in each service region. Management of the CI teams occurs within DSR by a statewide branch manager.

Practice Guidance

When a CPS report is received and accepted, the agency’s primary responsibility is to establish the safety of the child(ren). The most critical element in deciding where to assign a report is determined by which county can ensure safety of the child(ren) in the most timely manner.
Because situations vary between regions, an all-inclusive list of potential scenarios is not possible. However, when making decisions about where to assign an investigative report, the following questions should be considered by central intake (CI) teams and on call staff :
- Is there an immediate safety threat to the child?
- Where does the child typically reside?
- Which location would minimize time and travel for an assigned investigator?
The service region administrator (SRA) or designee has the discretion to assign a report, within their region, to the county determined to be the most appropriate based on workload, staffing, or other personnel needs.
When more than one region is involved, regional management, from both regions (SRA or designee) are to work together to make the best possible assignments of CPS reports. The Child Protection Branch is available for consultation regarding SOP clarifications about assignment issues and DSR is available to assist with mediation and resolution of situations as needed.
Each region has an e-mail box to receive information that is monitored by CI during regular business hours.
The Kentucky Child/Adult Protective Services Reporting System is not available for use on evenings, weekends, or holidays and the website should not be used for emergency referrals.

Procedure

The CI FSOS or Designee

Ensures that the Kentucky Child/Adult Protective Services Reporting System is monitored continuously during business hours (8:00am-4:30pm Eastern Standard Time).

The CI SSW

Explains to the reporting source:

His/her immunity from liability pursuant to KRS 620.050; and
The Cabinet’s requirements to maintain the confidentiality of the reporting source, unless ordered to report such by a court.

Attempts to elicit from the reporter as much information about the child’s circumstances as possible, including:

The identity of the reporting source and his/her relationship to the child or situation;
Specific information about the nature and extent of the abuse, neglect, or dependency;
The suspected cause of the abuse, neglect, or dependency;
The current location of the child and family/caretaker;
Identifying information regarding any witness to the alleged incident;
The condition of the child;
Knowledge or suspicion of a previous occurrence of child abuse or neglect;
Whether the reporting person, or any other person, has taken any action;
Whether there are any immediate safety threats for the child;
Whether there are any safety threatsfor the investigative worker; and
General information regarding the perpetrator including name, location, and relationship to the child.

Enters reports in TWIST by utilizing the SDM Intake Assessment Tool as directed by the CPS Case Naming Protocol Tip Sheet; and
Assigns reports to the county where the victim resides, except in cases where allegations of abuse or neglect are made against a staff in a specialized setting. Those referrals are assigned to the county where the facility/home is located. For additional guidance, please refer to the FAQ on Residency Determination of Children for CPS Reports.

When a web based report is received from the Kentucky Child/Adult Protective Services Reporting System, the intake SSW:

Follows procedure three (3) above;
Ensures that the web tracker ID is entered in TWIST on the DPP- 115 Confidential Suspected Abuse-Neglect, Dependency, or Exploitation Reporting Form to allow the reporting source to follow-up regarding whether the report was accepted;
Ensures that all reports received from the site are screened according to the same criteria as all other reports;
Contacts the reporting source via e-mail to advise when the report does not meet criteria, following the template in practice guidance below;
Assigns a report received involving a DCBS or PCP foster/adoptive home, crisis stabilization unit, family registered child care home, licensed child care facility, registered or family child care provider, school employee, supports for community living (SCL), community mental health (CMHC), psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF), psychiatric hospital, or day treatment facility to the county where the foster home, facility, or school is located victim resides and forwards it to the FSOS and SSW (for information purposes) in the county where the case of origin is assigned; and
Assigns all other reports to the county where the victim resides.

Procedure for Specialized Reports

The CI SSW:

Contacts the SRA or designee, who assigns staff to conduct the investigation;1
Reports of human trafficking are entered into TWIST under the name of the child’s parent/custodian, these reports are designated under the appropriate subprogram area regarding the caretaker status;
Conducts an investigation for all other types of specialized reports and enters reports in TWIST under the alleged perpetrator’s name;
Follows procedures outlined in SOP 1.11 Onsite Provision of Services when assistance is requested from one county or region to another county or region to provide needed services for specialized investigations.

Contingencies and Clarifications

Based on regional protocol, another county may be assigned a foster home referral as deemed appropriate by the SRA.
Requests for Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) home evaluations, home studies, and placement supervision requests are automated and received as an unassigned intake similar to a report received from a JC-3, web, or Centerstone report; however, with an ICPC request, the intake information has already been added. CI staff will complete the intake. When the intake is approved and a case is created, the case manager then has access to the ICPC request information including all of the attachments that were previously emailed to CI and DCBS staff.
If a report meets acceptance criteria and the parent has already made an appropriate adoptive plan for the child, the intake will continue to be assigned and the investigation will be worked simultaneously with the adoptive plan continuing. The SSW may not need to seek emergency custody of the child with the appropriate adoptive plan in place. Contact the Adoption Services Branch at (502) 564-2147 with questions regarding the validity of the adoptive plan.

Related Information

The caregiver’s act (HB 176) was enacted to enable relative caregivers to have authority to make health care or school arrangements for a child in their care, who is not currently under the supervision of the Cabinet.