210.145. Telephone hotline for reports on child abuse--division duties, protocols, law enforcement contacted immediately, investigation conducted, when, exception--chief investigator named--family sup - Missouri Statutes

Telephone hotline for reports on child abuse--division duties,protocols, law enforcement contacted immediately, investigationconducted, when, exception--chief investigator named--familysupport team meetings, who may attend--reporter's right toreceive information--admissibility of reports in custody cases.

210.145. 1. The division shall develop protocols which give priorityto:

(1) Ensuring the well-being and safety of the child in instanceswhere child abuse or neglect has been alleged;

(2) Promoting the preservation and reunification of children andfamilies consistent with state and federal law;

(3) Providing due process for those accused of child abuse orneglect; and

(4) Maintaining an information system operating at all times, capableof receiving and maintaining reports. This information system shall havethe ability to receive reports over a single, statewide toll-free number.Such information system shall maintain the results of all investigations,family assessments and services, and other relevant information.

2. The division shall utilize structured decision-making protocolsfor classification purposes of all child abuse and neglect reports. Theprotocols developed by the division shall give priority to ensuring thewell-being and safety of the child. All child abuse and neglect reportsshall be initiated within twenty-four hours and shall be classified basedupon the reported risk and injury to the child. The division shallpromulgate rules regarding the structured decision-making protocols to beutilized for all child abuse and neglect reports.

3. Upon receipt of a report, the division shall determine if thereport merits investigation, including reports which if true wouldconstitute a suspected violation of any of the following: section 565.020,565.021, 565.023, 565.024, or 565.050, RSMo, if the victim is a child lessthan eighteen years of age, section 566.030 or 566.060, RSMo, if the victimis a child less than eighteen years of age, or other crimes under chapter566, RSMo, if the victim is a child less than eighteen years of age and theperpetrator is twenty-one years of age or older, section 567.050, RSMo, ifthe victim is a child less than eighteen years of age, section 568.020,568.030, 568.045, 568.050, 568.060, 568.080, or 568.090, RSMo, section573.025, 573.035, 573.037, or 573.040, RSMo, or an attempt to commit anysuch crimes. The division shall immediately communicate all reports thatmerit investigation to its appropriate local office and any relevantinformation as may be contained in the information system. The localdivision staff shall determine, through the use of protocols developed bythe division, whether an investigation or the family assessment andservices approach should be used to respond to the allegation. Theprotocols developed by the division shall give priority to ensuring thewell-being and safety of the child.

4. The local office shall contact the appropriate law enforcementagency immediately upon receipt of a report which division personneldetermine merits an investigation and provide such agency with a detaileddescription of the report received. In such cases the local divisionoffice shall request the assistance of the local law enforcement agency inall aspects of the investigation of the complaint. The appropriate lawenforcement agency shall either assist the division in the investigation orprovide the division, within twenty-four hours, an explanation in writingdetailing the reasons why it is unable to assist.

5. The local office of the division shall cause an investigation orfamily assessment and services approach to be initiated in accordance withthe protocols established in subsection 2 of this section, except in caseswhere the sole basis for the report is educational neglect. If the reportindicates that educational neglect is the only complaint and there is nosuspicion of other neglect or abuse, the investigation shall be initiatedwithin seventy-two hours of receipt of the report. If the report indicatesthe child is in danger of serious physical harm or threat to life, aninvestigation shall include direct observation of the subject child withintwenty-four hours of the receipt of the report. Local law enforcementshall take all necessary steps to facilitate such direct observation. Ifthe parents of the child are not the alleged abusers, a parent of the childmust be notified prior to the child being interviewed by the division. Ifthe abuse is alleged to have occurred in a school or child-care facilitythe division shall not meet with the child in any school building orchild-care facility building where abuse of such child is alleged to haveoccurred. When the child is reported absent from the residence, thelocation and the well-being of the child shall be verified. For purposesof this subsection, child-care facility shall have the same meaning as suchterm is defined in section 210.201.

6. The director of the division shall name at least one chiefinvestigator for each local division office, who shall direct the divisionresponse on any case involving a second or subsequent incident regardingthe same subject child or perpetrator. The duties of a chief investigatorshall include verification of direct observation of the subject child bythe division and shall ensure information regarding the status of aninvestigation is provided to the public school district liaison. Thepublic school district liaison shall develop protocol in conjunction withthe chief investigator to ensure information regarding an investigation isshared with appropriate school personnel. The superintendent of eachschool district shall designate a specific person or persons to act as thepublic school district liaison. Should the subject child attend anonpublic school the chief investigator shall notify the school principalof the investigation. Upon notification of an investigation, allinformation received by the public school district liaison or the schoolshall be subject to the provisions of the federal Family Educational Rightsand Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C., Section 1232g, and federal rule 34C.F.R., Part 99.

7. The investigation shall include but not be limited to the nature,extent, and cause of the abuse or neglect; the identity and age of theperson responsible for the abuse or neglect; the names and conditions ofother children in the home, if any; the home environment and therelationship of the subject child to the parents or other personsresponsible for the child's care; any indication of incidents of physicalviolence against any other household or family member; and other pertinentdata.

8. When a report has been made by a person required to report undersection 210.115, the division shall contact the person who made such reportwithin forty-eight hours of the receipt of the report in order to ensurethat full information has been received and to obtain any additionalinformation or medical records, or both, that may be pertinent.

9. Upon completion of the investigation, if the division suspectsthat the report was made maliciously or for the purpose of harassment, thedivision shall refer the report and any evidence of malice or harassment tothe local prosecuting or circuit attorney.

10. Multidisciplinary teams shall be used whenever conducting theinvestigation as determined by the division in conjunction with local lawenforcement. Multidisciplinary teams shall be used in providing protectiveor preventive social services, including the services of law enforcement, aliaison of the local public school, the juvenile officer, the juvenilecourt, and other agencies, both public and private.

11. For all family support team meetings involving an alleged victimof child abuse or neglect, the parents, legal counsel for the parents,foster parents, the legal guardian or custodian of the child, the guardianad litem for the child, and the volunteer advocate for the child shall beprovided notice and be permitted to attend all such meetings. Familymembers, other than alleged perpetrators, or other community informal orformal service providers that provide significant support to the child andother individuals may also be invited at the discretion of the parents ofthe child. In addition, the parents, the legal counsel for the parents,the legal guardian or custodian and the foster parents may request thatother individuals, other than alleged perpetrators, be permitted to attendsuch team meetings. Once a person is provided notice of or attends suchteam meetings, the division or the convenor of the meeting shall providesuch persons with notice of all such subsequent meetings involving thechild. Families may determine whether individuals invited at theirdiscretion shall continue to be invited.

12. If the appropriate local division personnel determine after aninvestigation has begun that completing an investigation is notappropriate, the division shall conduct a family assessment and servicesapproach. The division shall provide written notification to local lawenforcement prior to terminating any investigative process. The reason forthe termination of the investigative process shall be documented in therecord of the division and the written notification submitted to local lawenforcement. Such notification shall not preclude nor prevent anyinvestigation by law enforcement.

13. If the appropriate local division personnel determines to use afamily assessment and services approach, the division shall:

(1) Assess any service needs of the family. The assessment of riskand service needs shall be based on information gathered from the familyand other sources;

(2) Provide services which are voluntary and time-limited unless itis determined by the division based on the assessment of risk that therewill be a high risk of abuse or neglect if the family refuses to accept theservices. The division shall identify services for families where it isdetermined that the child is at high risk of future abuse or neglect. Thedivision shall thoroughly document in the record its attempt to providevoluntary services and the reasons these services are important to reducethe risk of future abuse or neglect to the child. If the family continuesto refuse voluntary services or the child needs to be protected, thedivision may commence an investigation;

(3) Commence an immediate investigation if at any time during thefamily assessment and services approach the division determines that aninvestigation, as delineated in sections 210.109 to 210.183, is required.The division staff who have conducted the assessment may remain involved inthe provision of services to the child and family;

(4) Document at the time the case is closed, the outcome of thefamily assessment and services approach, any service provided and theremoval of risk to the child, if it existed.

14. Within thirty days of an oral report of abuse or neglect, thelocal office shall update the information in the information system. Theinformation system shall contain, at a minimum, the determination made bythe division as a result of the investigation, identifying information onthe subjects of the report, those responsible for the care of the subjectchild and other relevant dispositional information. The division shallcomplete all investigations within thirty days, unless good cause for thefailure to complete the investigation is documented in the informationsystem. If a child involved in a pending investigation dies, theinvestigation shall remain open until the division's investigationsurrounding the death is completed. If the investigation is not completedwithin thirty days, the information system shall be updated at regularintervals and upon the completion of the investigation. The information inthe information system shall be updated to reflect any subsequent findings,including any changes to the findings based on an administrative orjudicial hearing on the matter.

15. A person required to report under section 210.115 to the divisionand any person making a report of child abuse or neglect made to thedivision which is not made anonymously shall be informed by the division ofhis or her right to obtain information concerning the disposition of his orher report. Such person shall receive, from the local office, ifrequested, information on the general disposition of his or her report.Such person may receive, if requested, findings and information concerningthe case. Such release of information shall be at the discretion of thedirector based upon a review of the reporter's ability to assist inprotecting the child or the potential harm to the child or other childrenwithin the family. The local office shall respond to the request withinforty-five days. The findings shall be made available to the reporterwithin five days of the outcome of the investigation. If the report isdetermined to be unsubstantiated, the reporter may request that the reportbe referred by the division to the office of child advocate for children'sprotection and services established in sections 37.700 to 37.730, RSMo.Upon request by a reporter under this subsection, the division shall referan unsubstantiated report of child abuse or neglect to the office of childadvocate for children's protection and services.

16. In any judicial proceeding involving the custody of a child thefact that a report may have been made pursuant to sections 210.109 to210.183 shall not be admissible. However:

(1) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the introduction ofevidence from independent sources to support the allegations that may havecaused a report to have been made; and

(2) The court may on its own motion, or shall if requested by a partyto the proceeding, make an inquiry not on the record with the children'sdivision to determine if such a report has been made. If a report has beenmade, the court may stay the custody proceeding until the children'sdivision completes its investigation.

17. In any judicial proceeding involving the custody of a child wherethe court determines that the child is in need of services pursuant tosubdivision (d) of subsection 1 of section 211.031, RSMo, and has takenjurisdiction, the child's parent, guardian or custodian shall not beentered into the registry.

18. The children's division is hereby granted the authority topromulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the provisions of section207.021, RSMo, and chapter 536, RSMo, to carry out the provisions ofsections 210.109 to 210.183.

19. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section536.010, RSMo, that is created under the authority delegated in thissection shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject toall of the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and, if applicable, section536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and ifany of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536,RSMo, to review, to delay the effective date or to disapprove and annul arule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemakingauthority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2000, shall beinvalid and void.

(L. 1975 H.B. 578 § 8, A.L. 1980 S.B. 574, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1171, et al., A.L. 1986 S.B. 470, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1370, et al., A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1994 S.B. 595, A.L. 2000 S.B. 757 & 602, A.L. 2002 S.B. 923, et al., A.L. 2003 H.B. 613, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453 merged with S.B. 945 and S.B. 803 & 1257 merged with S.B. 968 and S.B. 969, A.L. 2007 S.B. 25)

(2005) Failure by state social workers to comply with mandatory state-created procedures in section does not constitute a procedural or substantive due process violation protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. Forrester v. Bass, 397 F.3d 1047 (8th Cir.).