| (a) When the Statewide Intake (SWI) division of the
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) receives
a report of alleged abuse or neglect of a child, we may respond with
any of the following protective interventions, as further described
in this section:
(1) Closure without assignment for investigation following
screening;
(2) Administrative closure;
(3) An abbreviated investigation;
(4) A thorough investigation; or
(5) An alternative response.
(b) Intake closed without assignment for investigation
(1) SWI screeners may screen out less serious reports
of abuse and neglect if they determine after contacting a professional
or other credible source that the child's safety can be assured without
conducting an investigation or alternative response and the report
meets the following criteria:
(A) the report is assigned a priority other than Priority
I;
(B) there are no alleged victims younger than six;
and
(C) the family does not have an open investigation
or alternative response case, and is not receiving services through
DFPS.
(2) Both, SWI screeners and Investigations supervisory
staff, may close a report without assigning for investigation if they
determine, after contacting collateral sources, that the report is
not appropriate for an investigation by us for reasons including:
(A) the reported information has already been investigated
in a case closed before the date of the new intake;
(B) the investigation is the responsibility of an entity
other than the Investigations program;
(C) the report does not give enough information to
locate the child or the child's family, after the staff makes reasonable
efforts to find additional locating information based on details in
the report; or
(D) the incident does not meet the statutory definitions
of abuse or neglect or the situation does not appear to involve a
reasonable likelihood that a child will be abused or neglected in
the foreseeable future.
(3) If the report of abuse and neglect concerns a child
in the conservatorship of DFPS, SWI screeners and Investigations supervisory
staff may not screen out the report. However, in the following limited
circumstances, SWI screeners may screen out such a report if:
(A) DFPS has previously investigated all current allegations;
or
(B) DFPS lacks jurisdiction to investigate.
(4) Before making a decision to close a report without
assignment for investigation or alternative response, SWI screeners
and Investigations supervisory staff must consider the following:
(A) the behavior of the family, including a review
of all relevant prior history the family has with DFPS and any concerning
involvement the family has with other agencies, such as law enforcement
or service providers;
(B) the nature of the allegations and other relevant
information such as the ages of each child in the home, alleged conditions
in the home, and the types and seriousness of any alleged injuries;
(C) whether an alleged victim made an outcry of abuse
or neglect; and
(D) any additional information obtained from the reporter
or collateral sources.
(c) Administrative closure.
(1) Under certain circumstances, we may administratively
close a report which was initially assigned for investigation if we
obtain additional information indicating that an investigation is
no longer warranted. Criteria we consider when deciding to administratively
close an investigation include, but are not limited to, situations
in which:
(A) The allegations have already been investigated
by us;
(B) The allegations have been refuted based on a credible
source and all of the following criteria are met:
(i) There are no previous findings of abuse or neglect
against the parent or caregiver in the current investigation or alternative
response case;
(ii) We have not received any subsequent reports of
abuse or neglect of any alleged victim, with the exception of reports
that involve the same incidents and allegations as in the original
report;
(iii) After contacting a professional or other credible
sources with direct knowledge about the child's condition, we have
determined that the child's safety can be assured without further
assessment, response, services, or assistance; and
(iv) we determine that no abuse or neglect occurred.
(C) We do not have jurisdiction to conduct the investigation
because:
(i) Another authorized entity, such as law enforcement
or another state agency, has jurisdiction to conduct the investigation;
(ii) The alleged victim is not a child or was not born
alive; or
(iii) The abuse or neglect, a danger, or risk of abuse
or neglect is not occurring in Texas.
(D) The investigation was initiated on the basis of
an anonymous report and after completing any necessary initial tasks,
including any required interviews or collateral contacts, we determine
that:
(i) There is no corroborating evidence; and
(ii) A parent has taken actions to protect the alleged
victims from any identified dangers.
(2) If an investigation has been open for more than
sixty days after the date of the intake, the supervisor must administratively
close the investigation if all the following criteria are met:
(A) There are no previous findings of abuse or neglect
against the parent or caregiver in the current investigation or alternative
response case;
(B) We have not received any additional reports of
abuse or neglect of any alleged victim, with the exception of reports
that involve the same incidents and allegations as in the original
report;
(C) After contacting a professional or other credible
sources with direct knowledge about the child's condition, the supervisor
determined that the child's safety can be assured without further
investigation, response, services, or assistance;
(D) No abuse or neglect occurred;
(E) Closing the case would not expose the child to
undue risk of harm; and
(F) The program director reviews and determines that
administratively closing the case is appropriate.
(3) Exception. Notwithstanding the criteria in subparagraph
(B) of paragraph 1 of this subsection, if we have made contact with
the alleged victim or alleged perpetrator, the investigation is not
eligible for administrative closure under subparagraph (B). However,
the case may still be eligible for other types of administrative closure
or abbreviated rule out, if applicable.
(d) Abbreviated investigation with a disposition of
"ruled out".
(1) Cases assigned for investigation may be handled
with an abbreviated investigation with findings of "ruled out", if
we determine that no abuse or neglect has occurred and the child's
safety can be assured without further investigation, response, services
or assistance. We may submit an investigation as an abbreviated rule
out, which does not require completing the formal risk assessment
tool, when all of the following criteria in addition to any other
criteria defined policy are met:
(A) There are no previous findings of abuse or neglect
against the parent or caregiver in the current investigation or alternative
response case;
(B) We have not received any subsequent reports of
abuse or neglect of any alleged victim unless the new report involves
the same incident(s) and allegation(s) under investigation; and
(C) The reporter is not anonymous.
(2) We must at a minimum perform the following tasks
before submitting the investigation as an abbreviated rule out:
(A) Interview and visually inspect each alleged victim;
(B) Interview at least one parent or other person with
primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim;
(C) Complete a safety assessment and document whether
any noted dangers are controlled by protective actions that have been
or will be taken by the child's parent or other person with primary
or legal responsibility for the child; and
(D) Conduct any required home visit.
(e) Thorough investigation.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section
and division 2 of this subchapter (relating to Alternative Response),
we must complete a thorough investigation if we obtain information
indicating that:
(A) There are dangers to the child because of abuse
or neglect;
(B) Risk of abuse or neglect is indicated; or
(C) Based on information in the report and any initial
contacts, it is impossible to determine whether or not there are dangers
to the child because of abuse or neglect or whether risk of abuse
or neglect is indicated.
(2) Before closing a thorough investigation, we must
at a minimum perform the following tasks:
(A) Interview each alleged victim child;
(B) Interview at least one of the parents or other
person with primary or legal responsibility for the victim child;
(C) Interview each alleged perpetrator;
(D) Interview other individuals who have information
that is relevant or potentially relevant to the report of abuse or
neglect;
(E) Complete a safety assessment and document whether
any noted dangers are controlled by protective actions that have been
or will be taken by the child's parent or other person with primary
or legal responsibility for the child, unless the investigation relates
to a deceased child and there is no other child in the home; and
(F) Assess the risk of future abuse or neglect, unless
the investigation relates to a deceased child and there is no other
child in the home.
(f) Alternative response. An alternative response is
a protective intervention governed by division 2 of this subchapter
and Texas Family Code, §261.3015, that involves an assessment
of the family, including a safety assessment, and provision of necessary
services and supports. Alternative response does not result in a formal
finding of abuse or neglect or the designation of a perpetrator.
(g) Exceptions to required interviews. We are not required
to conduct an interview to close an abbreviated or thorough investigation
as described in subsections (c) and (d) of this section if we exhaust
all reasonable efforts to conduct the interview but are unable to
do so because:
(1) The person to be interviewed is unable to be interviewed
because of age or other exceptional circumstance;
(2) The person to be interviewed, the person's parent
or other legal guardian, or the attorney representing the person refuses
to permit the interview;
(3) The alleged perpetrator has been arrested or is
under investigation by a law enforcement agency and the interview
would interfere with the investigation or violate the alleged perpetrator's
rights; or, the alleged perpetrator is detained and the jail, prison,
or other detention facility in which the alleged perpetrator is detained
will not permit the interview; or
(4) The person to be interviewed has been interviewed
by another entity and we accept the substitute interview. If the person,
the person's parent or other legal guardian, or the attorney representing
the person requests that the person also be interviewed by us, the
investigator must conduct one supplemental interview.
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