Tracking# 2008-00595
(Former emergency# 2008-00709)
Adopted emergency 07/11/2008, eff. 08/01/2008
adopted final (permanent) 08/01/2008, eff. 10/1/2008

I:/08052301.rtf
[I:/08052301.doc]

(12 CCR 2509-1)

[Instructions:  insert before line 1430244.]  

Revisions to Sections 7.202.3 – 7.202.4, 7.202.51, - 7.202.52, 7.202.54 – 7.202.57, 7.301.1, 7.402.1 – 7.402.2, and were adopted on an emergency basis at the 7/11/2008 State Board meeting (Rule-making#’s 08-5-23-1 and 08-5-23-2), with effective dates of 8/1/2008 and 7/11/2008, respectively.  Statement of Basis and Purpose and specific statutory authority for these revisions were incorporated by reference into the rule.  These materials are available for review by the public during normal working hours at the Colorado Department of Human Services, Boards and Commissions Division, State Board Administration.

Revisions to Sections 7.202.3 – 7.202.4, 7.202.51, - 7.202.52, 7.202.54 – 7.202.57, 7.301.1, 7.402.1 – 7.402.2, and were final (permanent) adoption of emergency rules at the 8/1/2008 State Board meeting (Rule-making#’s 08-5-23-1 and 08-5-23-2), with an effective date of 10/1/2008.  Statement of Basis and Purpose and specific statutory authority for these revisions were incorporated by reference into the rule.  These materials are available for review by the public during normal working hours at the Colorado Department of Human Services, Boards and Commissions Division, State Board Administration.

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(12 CCR 2509-3)

[Instructions: replace lines 1498913 through 1498968.]
7.202.3  DEFINITIONS [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
A.  Child abuse or neglect is defined in Section 19-1-103(1), C.R.S.
B.  The following terms shall be defined as:
1.  “De novo”  means that the issue is reviewed once again as if the appeal were the first review.
2.  “Expungement”  means the designation of a report or record whereby it is deemed not to have existed for the purpose of employment and background screening.  Expungement of a confirmed report of abuse or neglect shall not preclude the county department from maintaining records of the report in the case file or in the State automated system for purposes of future safety and risk assessments.
3.  “Founded report” means that the child abuse or neglect investigation established that an incident(s) of child abuse or neglect has occurred, by a preponderance of evidence.
4.  “Good cause”  means a legitimate reason why the process set forth herein should be modified.  Such reasons may be that it was not possible for a party to meet a specified deadline and there was incapacity of the party or representative, lack of proper notice of the availability of the appeal process, additional time is required to obtain documents which were timely requested but not delivered, or other circumstances beyond the control of the party.
5.  “Inconclusive report” means that there was some likelihood that abuse or neglect occurred but the child abuse or neglect investigation could not obtain the evidence necessary to make a founded report of child abuse or neglect. 
6.  “Intrafamilial abuse” means any case of abuse or neglect as defined in Sections 19-1-103(1) and 19-3-102(1) and (2), C.R.S., that occurs within a family context by a child’s parent, stepparent, guardian, legal custodian, or relative, by a spousal equivalent, domestic partner, or by any other person who resides in the child’s home or who has access to the child’s home for the purpose of exercising care for the child; except that “intrafamilial abuse” shall not include abuse by a person who is regularly in the child’s home for the purpose of rendering care for the child if such person is paid for rendering care and is not related to the child. 
7.  “Institutional abuse” means any case of abuse or neglect that occurs in any public or private facility in the state that provides child care out of the home, supervision, or maintenance. “Facility” includes, but is not limited to, family child care homes, foster care homes, and any other facility subject to the Colorado “Child Care Licensing Act” and described in Section 26-6-102, C.R.S. “Institutional abuse” shall not include abuse that occurs in any public, private, or parochial school system, including any preschool operated in connection with said system; except that, to the extent the school system provides extended day services, abuse that occurs while such services are provided shall be institutional abuse. 
8.  “Preponderance of evidence” means credible evidence, put forth by either party that the claim is more probably true than false. 
9.  “Spousal equivalent” or “domestic partner” means a person who is in a family-type living arrangement with a parent and who would be a stepparent if married to that parent. 
10.  “Third-party abuse” means a case in which a child is subjected to abuse by any person who is not a parent, stepparent, guardian, legal custodian, spousal equivalent, or any other person not included in the definition of intrafamilial abuse, as defined in this section.  
11.  “Unfounded report” means that the child abuse or neglect investigation showed there is clear evidence that no incident of child abuse or neglect occurred. 
7.202.4  REFERRAL PROCEDURES  [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
A.  The county department shall have staff available twenty-four (24) hours a day to receive reports of abuse and neglect, conduct initial assessments of such reports and investigate those reports that are appropriate for child protective services.  Continuously available means the assignment of a person to be near an operable telephone, pager system, or to have such arrangements made through agreements with the local law enforcement agencies. 
B.  The county department shall establish response protocols outlining the county plan for weekends, holidays, and after-hour coverage, to include: 
1.  How the county will ensure that those individuals reporting abuse or neglect after hours are directed to the designated number or agency for response, 
2.  Requirements for thorough documentation to support the disposition/actions of the emergency response worker; and, 
3.  That referrals must be entered into the automated case management system as outlined in Sections 7.200.6 and 7.200.61 by the next business day. 
C.  The county department shall provide appropriate referral information to the reporting party in those situations in which there are inadequate grounds to constitute assignment for assessment and investigation.  Either casework or supervisory staff shall inform, whenever possible and appropriate, the reporting party of the decision not to investigate and the reasons for that decision.   Eff  02/01/2007
D.  The county department shall enter all referrals into the State Department’s automated system as outlined in Sections 7.200.6 and 7.200.61, and conduct an initial assessment. The initial assessment shall decide the appropriateness of further investigation. It shall include, but not be limited to, the following activities: 
1.  Checking the State Department's automated case management system. 
2.  Reviewing county department files.   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  Obtaining information from collateral sources, such as schools, medical personnel, law enforcement agencies, or other care providers.   Eff  02/01/2007
E.  The county department shall gather and document the following information as available:   Eff  02/01/2007
1.  Family members and birth dates.   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  Relationships of individuals in the household.   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  Identified alleged victims, birth dates, and their current location.   Eff  02/01/2007
4.  Reasonable effort to secure the identity of the person alleged to be responsible for the abuse or neglect, as well as the responsible person's date of birth, Social Security Number, and last known address.   Eff  02/01/2007
5.  Presenting problems - specific allegations.   Eff  02/01/2007
6.  Reporter's credibility and name, address, and phone number.   Eff  02/01/2007
7.    Relationship of reporter to family.   Eff  02/01/2007
8.  Other potential witnesses.   Eff  02/01/2007
9.  Collateral agencies and individuals involved with the family.   Eff  02/01/2007
10.  Records check - results of internal and State automated case management system inquiries.
11.  Date and time intake report received.   Eff  02/01/2007
12.  Response assessment based upon reporter's information.   Eff  02/01/2007
13.  Referrals made.   Eff  02/01/2007
14.  Decision as to investigation response and caseworker's signature (name).   Eff  02/01/2007
15.  Supervisory approval of the decision and signature.   Eff  02/01/2007
F.  The county department shall assign a referral for assessment and investigation if it:   Eff  02/01/2007
1.  Contains specific allegations of known or suspected abuse or neglect as defined in statutes and regulations. A "known" incident of abuse or neglect would involve those reports in which a child has been observed being subjected to circumstances or conditions that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect.  "Suspected" abuse or neglect would involve those reports that are made based on patterns of behavior, conditions, statements or injuries that would lead to a reasonable belief that abuse or neglect has occurred or that there is a serious threat of harm to the child.   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  Provides sufficient information to locate the alleged victim.   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  Identifies a victim under the age of 18.   Eff  02/01/2007
4.  Meets the conditions of #2 and #3 above, results in a third report of suspected child abuse or neglect within a two year period and the two previous reports were not accepted for investigation.  
All reports with a child welfare concern occurring in any jurisdiction concerning any child in the family are to be counted towards the three or more reports. At the time of a third report, the county department shall review the prior reports, assessments, and applicable cases. 
Prior involvement is to be reviewed in terms of actions taken and services provided and used to inform further action. The review shall be documented in the automated case management system. The supervisor is to ensure that the review and the documentation have occurred.
Upon completion of the investigation, the count starts over with the next report of suspected abuse or neglect that is not accepted for investigation.
G.  If a county department receiving a referral determines that another county has responsibility, the receiving county department shall forward the referral to the responsible county department by telephone or fax and enter into the automatic case management system. The sending county department shall contact the receiving county to verify receipt of the referral within the required response time. 
H.  The county department shall ensure that referrals that do not need to be assigned for assessment and investigation are documented in the automated case management system with the reasons why further investigation was not needed.  In those reports in which a full investigation is not going to be conducted the supervisor shall approve that decision. 
I.  The county department’s decision of how quickly to initiate an investigation is based on specific reported information that is credible and that indicates that a child is in present or impending danger, as defined in Section 7.202.531. 
J.  The county department shall assign priority in response time using the following time frames: 
1.  Immediate and/or same day response when the report indicates that there may be present danger.  If the report is received after regular business hours, the time frame is immediate and/r up to eight hours.   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  End of the third calendar day following receipt of the report when the report indicates there may be impending danger.   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  Within five (5) working days from the date of the report when the report indicates maltreatment or risk of maltreatment and indicates an absence of present or impending danger.   Eff  02/01/2007

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[Instructions: replace line 1498969.]
7.202.51  Written Procedures  [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
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[Instructions: replace line 1498970 (ed. note: includes deletion of subsection 7.202.51, C, 1-6).]
7.202.52  Investigation/Assessment Requirements [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
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[Instructions: replace lines 1498971 through 1499014.]
D.  Any person(s) alleged as responsible for the abuse or neglect at any time during the referral or investigation, an attempt shall be made to interview as part of the investigation, advised of the report, and given an opportunity to respond. Reasonable efforts shall be made to advise the person(s) alleged as responsible for the abuse or neglect when whereabouts or contact information is unknown. 
E.  The investigation shall include use of the Safety Intervention Model as described in Section 7.202.53.  To assess for safety, interviews shall be conducted with all children, caregivers, and family members in the home to gather information that is relevant for determining whether a child is safe. These interviews shall determine: 
1.  Extent of child maltreatment;   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  Circumstances surrounding the child maltreatment;   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  Child functioning on a daily basis;   Eff  02/01/2007
4.  Adults and caregiver functioning on a daily basis;   Eff  02/01/2007
5.  Parenting practices; and,   Eff  02/01/2007
6.  Disciplinary practices.   Eff  02/01/2007
F.  Other persons identified through the investigation who may have information regarding the alleged maltreatment shall be interviewed, if possible, as part of the investigation. 
G.  A visit to the child's place of residence or place of custody shall be completed as part of the investigation if: 
1.  Home conditions are the subject of the referral; or,   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  Information obtained in the interview process indicates assessment of the home environment is necessary due to safety issues.   Eff  02/01/2007
3. The visit will assist the investigator to determine the truth of the allegations.   Eff  02/01/2007
H.  The investigation shall include consideration of ethnic, religious, accepted work-related practices of agricultural communities, and accepted child-rearing practices of the culture in which the child participates. 
I.  Allegations of Sexual Abuse 
1.  When there are allegations of sexual abuse in assessment, counties shall, at a minimum, conduct in-state and out of state sex offender checks of the Person(s) Responsible for the alleged Abuse/Neglect (PRAN), using one of these two options: 
a.  Option 1:  Counties shall use www.lexisnexis.com/gov (Accurint for government service) to check if a PRAN is a sex offender, or, 
b.  Option 2:  Counties shall use both the in-state and out-of-state government websites to check to see if a PRAN is a sex offender.
2.  When conducting any website checks, counties shall: 
a.  Use due diligence in following the specific check criteria for each website, and, 
b.  Also check for adult misdemeanor and/or juvenile adjudication records with a sexual offense.
3.  When conducting a website check, counties shall access or attempt to access: 
a.  Government issued (tamper-resistive), photographic identification of the PRAN and record full name(s), to include nicknames and/or aliases, address(es) and date(s) of birth in the automated case management system, and, 
b.  In order to conduct a website check, counties shall access or attempt to access information from the alleged PRAN on any possible involvement with law enforcement, probation, parole, corrections, community corrections, and/or child protection services in Colorado, or in any other state, and/or jurisdiction (federal, military, tribe, and/or country).
4.  In the interest of client and public safety, counties shall: 
a.  Immediately report any possible violations of sex offender registration to local law enforcement; and, 
b.  Report all law enforcement verified matches of sex offenders to the individual, supervising officer/agent or team responsible for community supervision and public safety.
5.  When completing any website check, identity verification, and/or notification, counties shall document all results in the automated case management system.
J.  The investigation shall include use of the risk assessment model as described in Section 7.202.54. 
K.  All of the information resulting from the investigation shall be documented in the automated case management system including details relevant to the allegations gathered during interviews. Any specific evidence gathered, such as photographs or videotapes, shall be filed in the case record and referenced in the automated case management system. 
L.  At the time of a new assessment, the county department shall specifically review the history of any county department’s involvement occurring in any jurisdiction concerning any child in a household.
Each prior involvement is to be reviewed in terms of actions taken and services provided. The supervisor is to ensure that the review and the documentation have occurred. The county shall: 
1.  Determine whether there is a pattern of behavior in the family that is a threat to the safety of the child(ren) and take action to secure safety, if indicated, or seek more information to make a determination, and 
2.  Document in the assessment closure section of the automated case management system that a review related to prior involvement occurred.
M.  Reasonable efforts shall be made to prevent out-of-home placement, unless an emergency exists, and to maintain the family unit. Safety plans other than placement shall be considered, including but not limited to the provision of in-home and Core Services, if appropriate and available; the possibility of removing the maltreating adult from the home rather than the child; the possibility of the non-maltreating parent placing child and self in a safe environment; or the availability of kinship placement. 
N.  Taking children into custody - See Section 19-3-401, C.R.S. 
P.  Upon completion of an investigation, the county department shall consider a report founded if there is a preponderance of evidence to support that abuse occurred. 
Q.  For purposes of investigation, the interview of the child may be audio or video taped. If audio or video taping is conducted, the following standards shall be followed:   Eff  02/01/2007
1.  Any interview of a child concerning a report of child abuse may be audio taped or video taped as set forth in Section 19-3-308.5, C.R.S.   Eff  02/01/2007
2.  The audiotaped or videotaped interview shall be conducted by a competent interviewer and may be conducted at the child advocacy center, as defined in Section 19-1-103(19.5), C.R.S., that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the county department responsible for the investigation or by a competent interviewer for the county department, except that an interview shall not be videotaped when doing so is impracticable under the circumstances or will result in trauma to the child, as determined by the county department.   Eff  02/01/2007
3.  The child shall be advised that audio or video taping of the interview is to be conducted and the advisement shall be documented. If the child objects to video taping of the investigation, such taping shall not be conducted by the county department.   Eff  02/01/2007
4.  If it is the county department's policy to routinely video or audio tape interviews, and an exception is made, the reason for the exception shall be noted in the record.   Eff  02/01/2007
5.  When there is a request by any party to the action to view or listen to an audio or video tape, the child or the guardian ad litem shall be notified in advance of the request, when possible.   Eff  02/01/2007
6.  Access to these tapes shall be subject to the rules of discovery and governed by the confidentiality provisions under Section 7.000.72.   Eff  02/01/2007
____________________

[Instructions: replace lines 1499015 through 1499041.]
7.202.54  Colorado Family Risk Assessment [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
A.  The assessment/investigation shall include use of the risk assessment to:  
1.  Determine risk for future abuse or neglect, and
2.  Aid in determining if case services should be provided, and
3.  Aid in determining the appropriate level of case services. 
B.  The risk assessment is required for all Program Area 5 assessments except:  
1.  Institutional abuse investigations,
2.  Third party investigations,
3.  Fatality investigations when there are no surviving siblings,
4.  When caregivers have abandoned the child,
5.  When the investigation determined no basis for the allegations.
C.  The risk assessment shall address the following factors:  
1.  Current type of allegation,
2.  Previous child welfare investigations, services, and placement,
3.  Number of children in household,
4.  Age of youngest child in household,
5.  Primary caregiver’s description of incident,
6.  Primary caregiver’s provision of physical care or supervision,
7.  Caregiver(s)’ use of alcohol and controlled substances,
8.  Characteristics of children in the household,
9.  Recent or historical domestic violence in the household,
10.  Caregiver(s)’ history of homelessness and mental health treatment, 
11.  Primary caregiver’s history of abuse or neglect as a child,
12.  Caregiver(s)’ use of excessive/inappropriate discipline,
13.  Caregiver(s)’ involvement in disruptive/volatile adult relationships. 
D.  The risk assessment documentation is to be completed in the automated case management system within thirty (30) calendar days from the date the referral was received.
7.202.55  Institutional Abuse or Neglect Investigations  [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]

____________________

[Instructions:  replace line 1499042.]
7.202.56  Third Party Abuse or Neglect Report Requirements  [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]

_________________

[Instructions:  replace lines 1499043 through 1499047.]
7.202.57  Conclusion of Investigation  [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
A.  An investigation shall be completed within 30 calendar days of date the referral was received, unless there are circumstances which have prevented this from occurring. Such circumstances shall be documented in the Department’s automated reporting system.
1.  The caseworker shall request and document in the assessment extension window of the automated case management system the primary reason(s) for the extension prior to the expiration of the thirty (30) day closure requirement, and 
2.  The approving supervisor shall document within seven (7) calendar days in the assessment extension window of the Department's automated case management system the time limited extension(s) to the thirty (30) calendar days closure requirement including the rationale and the time frame for the extension(s).
B.  Upon completion of an investigation, the county department shall report the outcome of the investigation on the automated case management system. 
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(12 CCR 2509-4)

[Instructions: replace lines 1499049 through 1499055.]
7.301.1  ASSESSMENT [Em. rev. eff. 8/1/08; permanent eff. 10/1/08]
A.  The Colorado Assessment Continuum (CAC) will be utilized throughout the case. The CAC includes the: 
1.  Safety assessment and plan (see Section 7.202.533, C).
2.  Risk assessment (see Section 7.202.54, D and 7.202.62, E).
3.  Needs assessment in the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS)/North Carolina Family Assessment Scale-Reunification (NCFAS-R); see Section 7.301.1, C). The CAC will be utilized throughout "Assessment" and "Case", as specified in each section listed above.
B.  Safety assessment, risk assessment, and needs assessment are ongoing processes throughout the life of the case. Safety, risk and needs assessments, as defined in this manual, shall be completed for each Program Area 5 case accepted by the county department and shall be the basis for case planning. Each of these assessments shall be entered into the automated case management system in accordance with the timeframes referenced in Section 7.301.1, A, 1-3. The reunification domains in the NCFAS-R shall be completed in hardcopy until these domains are available in the automated case management system.
1.  The family, including relatives with caretaking responsibilities for children in the household, shall be involved in all phases of assessment and case planning.
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