Bay Area Regional Protocol on ACL 05-09 - Alameda County Social ...

<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Regional</strong> <strong>Protocol</strong> on abuse in out-of-home careCounties adopting <strong>Protocol</strong>Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, SantaCruz, Solano, SonomaDate adoptedJanuary 27 th 2006. Finalization on this date. Ongoing review as needed and amendments subject to regionaldiscussion.GlossaryPlacement county refers to the county that has placed the child, the county of jurisdiction.________________________________________________________________________________This <strong>Protocol</strong> is written in response to ACL 05-09 on abuse in out-of-home care. County child welfareagencies will respond to referrals alleging abuse/neglect as defined by Welfare and Institutions codesection 300.Referrals having to do with matters controlled by licensing regulations that do not rise to the level ofor meet the definitions in W&I 300 will be referred to the appropriate licensing authority, such as CCL,along with courtesy notification to the placing county’s hotline.Any suspected incidence of child abuse or neglect in out-of-home care must be reported to the hotlinein the county where the facility is located. If a call comes into a county other than where the facility islocated that county is responsible for taking the initial report and cross reporting to the county wherethe facility is located who will enter the information into CWS/CMS and follow the procedures in this<strong>Protocol</strong>.The term facility applies to all types of placements including:• Foster family homes• Relative/NREFM homes• Group Homes• FFA certified homesResponsibilities of the county where the facility is located:1. Receive the report2. Create a referral on referred/identified child – for CWS/CMS input guidelines refer to ACL 05-09 and ACL 03-61.3. Run a facility history of placements for the facility and do a CWS/CMS search using thefacility name to obtain any previous referral history and to obtain current placement listing.4. Determine a response – Immediate Response or 10 Day Response• If an Immediate Response is indicated a SW will be assigned to respond even ifthe county where the facility is located does not have any children placed in thefacility.• If a 10 Day response is indicated, referrals concerning children from jurisdictionsother than the county where the facility is located will be transferred in CWS/CMSto the placement county hotline, accompanied by a live phone call contactbetween the two counties. The placement county will conduct the assessment.

5. If the SW’s assessment during an Immediate Response should be broadened beyond thereferred child, the SW shall document the names of all children in the home, including anybiological children, and report to the hotline of the county where the facility is locatedconcerning each additional child to be assessed.6. A courtesy notification to other counties will be will be done for Immediate Responseassessments on children from other counties.Investigation responsibilities:If the referral is prioritized as a 10-Day Response, the placement county will do their owninvestigation and will complete the following:• The SW who responds will determine what children are placed in the home• If the SW is the first responder, the SW will report additional children who areidentified as victims to the county hotline where the facility is located and theScreener will notify other counties per this <strong>Protocol</strong> as needed.• The SW who responds and conducts the assessment is responsible for all follow-up,CWS/CMS narrative and conclusion, DOJ, law enforcement and CCL cross reportingetc.Social Worker responsibility to reportWhen a Social Worker has reason to suspect, observes or is informed of child abuse or neglect whileconducting a face-to-face child contact:Transporta. The reporting SW will handle the required assessment concerning their child and mayrequest logistical assistance from the county where the facility is located.b. A report is to be made to the hotline of the county where the facility is located.• Refer to the <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Area</strong> ICT <strong>Protocol</strong> for procedures.• The placing county will pick up their child(ren) within one business day.• In IMMEDIATE RESPONSE situations, the county where the facility is located:Cooperation among counties• Places all children into temporary custody if needed• The county where the facility is located will house children from othercounties for up to one-day cost of careWhen the scale of a referral requiring an immediate response exceeds a county’s capacity torespond, surrounding counties agree to assist, on request, with the safety assessments andplacements as needed; counties with children placed in the facility shall be the first to assist.Counties shall have the ability to override response determination timeframes upon receipt of a 10day response notification. If a county receiving a 10 day response notification concerning a child oftheir jurisdiction placed in another county determines that an immediate response is required, thecounty with jurisdiction and not the notifying county shall conduct the immediate response.A SW conducting the Immediate Response assessment shall gather sufficient information todetermine whether other children in the facility should be referred.

A county responsible for a 10 day response notification to other counties will complete the notificationimmediately.If during the investigation of a large group home or facility where a large number of children need tobe interviewed and/or removed, the <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Area</strong> counties who have children placed there will assist.Biological childrenBiological children in facilities that are the subject of an abuse assessment, or any other children inthe facility who were not placed by the CWS, will be handled in the same manner as any referralconcerning biological children in the home.MiscellaneousThe conclusion of the assessing county is final.Conflicts between counties should be taken to a senior manager.