65C-29.003. Child Protective Investigations

(1) Responding to Reports.

(a) The child protective investigator supervisor may downgrade an immediate response to a 24-hour response only if the local investigative unit has obtained additional information from the reporter or law enforcement subsequent to the information collected by the Florida Abuse Hotline that indicates the child is no longer in imminent danger of being harmed. The rationale for this determination shall be approved by the supervisor and documented in the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN).

(b) When a report is received on a child who is a resident of Florida and the alleged maltreatment occurred in Florida, but the child is temporarily out of state, the investigation shall be commenced by contacting the child welfare agency responsible for child abuse or neglect investigations in the state where the child is temporarily located. The purpose of the contact is to request a timely face-to-face interview with the child in order to ascertain his or her safety, and to determine when the child is expected to return to Florida.

(c) In instances where the Florida Abuse Hotline accepts an abuse report but the child protective investigator subsequently determines through obtaining additional information that the allegations or facts do not meet the criteria for an investigation, the report shall be closed as “No Jurisdiction,” after review and approval by the child protective investigator supervisor.

(2) Investigative Requirements. For every report received, the following actions shall be completed:

(a) A determination shall be made as to whether the reporter should be contacted prior to commencement of the investigation to obtain additional information on the child or family or to clarify information obtained by the Florida Abuse Hotline. If the reporter is a professional mandatory reporter under Section 39.201(1)(b)2., F.S., within 24 hours of being assigned the investigation, the child protective investigator must provide his or her contact information and advise the reporter that he or she may provide a written summary of their concerns which shall become part of the child’s electronic case file. When circumstances preclude contacting a reporter prior to commencement (such as when a concern for child safety and the need for expediency warrants a post-commencement contact) or when an attempted contact is unsuccessful, the investigator shall contact the reporter after the initial on-site response is completed.

(b) All household members residing in the maltreating caregiver’s home and not identified in the original intake must be added to the investigation within 24 hours of the individual’s identity and presence in the home becoming known. All household members shall be assessed as to their relationship and role within the family, interactions, and caregiving role over the children in the home.

(c) Information shall be collected describing the physical, developmental and behavioral characteristics and overall functioning of the children in the home and documented in the case record. While interviewing and visually observing the child, the child protective investigator shall be sensitive to issues arising from a child’s age and developmental stage, ethnicity, and gender.

(d) Information shall be collected on the parent’s or caregiver’s overall functioning, parenting style and disciplinary and behavior management practices and documented in the case record. Any person alleged to have maltreated a child shall be interviewed.

(e) If during the course of the investigation it is determined that there is a need to remove physical evidence from the home, other than taking a child into protective custody, the investigator shall request local law enforcement to initiate a criminal investigation.

(f) Determine whether any person alleged to have maltreated a child is employed in an institutional setting or holds a professional license. In instances which the caregiver is found to be responsible for abuse, neglect, or abandonment, the child protective investigator (CPI) shall determine whether information obtained provides credible evidence to support that children or vulnerable adults within the caregiver’s employment may have been or are at risk of being similarly maltreated, in which case the CPI must contact the Florida Abuse Hotline to initiate an institutional investigation.

(g) Abuse history and criminal records checks shall be obtained by the child protective investigator on all household members age 12 or older not screened by the Florida Abuse Hotline at the time the report was accepted. The criminal records and abuse checks shall be initiated within 24 hours of the individual’s identity and presence in the home becoming known to the investigator. Records checks shall also be completed on any adult visitor to the home who provides care or supervision to the child outside the parent’s immediate presence while visiting the home. If the family has lived in another state within the past five (5) years, the child protective investigator shall contact the appropriate child protection agencies in the state where the family resided and request abuse history check on all subjects and household members of the report. The investigator shall contact law enforcement agencies in the other state to request local criminal history information when necessary for assessment purposes.

(h) Safety Assessments.

1. The child protective investigator shall complete a present danger assessment for all investigations, excluding institutional and special conditions investigations. Upon completion of the present danger assessment, the child protective investigator shall complete all additional investigation activities necessary to assess for impending danger threats in the home unless it is determined, with supervisory approval, that the report is:

a. Patently unfounded, or

b. A false report.

Cessation of investigative activities may not occur prior to the investigator obtaining the approval of the child protective investigator’s supervisor.

2. When a child protective investigator identifies the presence of present or impending danger, the investigator shall take the least intrusive actions to ensure the child’s immediate and on-going safety. If the child protective investigator determines the need to engage ongoing services, whether these services are non-judicial or court ordered, a case transfer conference shall be convened between the investigator, contracted service provider and the parent(s) to arrange for the provision of case management services.

(3) Safety Planning Requirements. For every report received in which a danger threat has been identified, the following actions shall be completed:

(a) Upon the identification of a danger threat, the child protective investigator shall determine if, with the provision of safety management services and the implementation of an in-home safety plan, the child can safely remain at home.

1. If the child cannot remain in the home with safety management services, the child protective investigator must develop an out-of-home safety plan and identify the conditions for return. If the family has not made a family-made arrangement prior to the Department’s intervention or the family-made arrangement is inappropriate due to the circumstances surrounding the danger threat(s) in the home, the child protective investigator shall take the child into protective custody and place the child in accordance with the placement priority in Section 39.4021(2), F.S., and the best interest criteria as established in Section 39.01375, F.S.

(b) If a child is removed from the home, the child protective investigator shall maintain the child in the current school setting unless it is determined that continuing attendance is not in the child’s best interest, or ongoing safety issues require transfer to a new school.

(c) Supervisors shall review all safety plans within 24 hours of identification of present or impending danger to ensure that the plan appropriately addresses the identified danger threats.

(4) Supervisors shall conduct an initial supervisory consultation with the investigator within five (5) days of the assignment of the investigation to discuss the status of the investigation and the assessment activities conducted to date.

(5) A second tier consultation shall review and document in FSFN all reports in which:

(a) An in-home present danger safety plan is initiated with the family.

(b) There are no identified danger threats in the home, i.e. the child is assessed as “safe,” but the child’s risk assessment score is very high.

(d) There is a child death with surviving siblings in the home.

(6) The child protective investigator shall determine in all investigations whether a child is an Indian child or Alaskan Native child, as defined by the Indian Child Welfare Act, codified at 25 U.S.C. s. 1901 et seq. When it is determined that the child is an Indian child or Alaskan Native child, the child protective investigator shall comply with the provisions of the Act.

(7) If the child protective investigator, while acting in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of employment, knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that animal cruelty, as defined in Section 828.27, F.S., has occurred at the same address, he or she shall report such knowledge or suspicion in accordance with the requirements in Section 39.208(2), F.S. The child protective investigator must document the notification to a local animal control agency in the FSFN.

(8) This rule will be reviewed and repealed, modified, or renewed through the rulemaking process five years from the effective date.

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121, 39.208(6), 39.301(14)(c) FS. Law Implemented 39.01375, 39.208, 39.301, 39.4021 FS. History–New 5-4-06, Amended 12-31-14, 12-13-15, 3-29-16, 6-5-16, 12-24-17, 7-16-20, 1-9-22.