(Revision. 10/1/16)
AS 47.17.020(e) Persons Required to Report
AS 47.17.025 Duties of Public Authorities
AS 47.17.030 Action on Reports; Termination of Parental Rights
7 AAC 54, Art. 1 Privacy of Client records: Child Protection Services
45 CFR 1340.14(i) Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment
P.L 113-183 Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014
To receive and document all reports of suspected child maltreatment into ORCA and use criteria to determine if the report should be screened in or out for initial assessment.
State agencies are prohibited from disclosing the identity of a person reporting known or suspected child abuse or neglect if disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the life or safety of the person.
For any child or youth over whom the State agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision and who the State has reasonable cause to believe is, or is at risk of being, a sex trafficking victim (including children for whom a State child welfare agency has an open case file but who have not been removed from the home, children who have run away from foster care and who have not attained 18 years of age and youth who are not in foster care but are receiving services. The State agency shall report immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after receiving, information on missing or abducted children or youth to the law enforcement authorities for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant to section 534 of title 28, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Office of Children’s Services (OCS) is required to:
Assess reports of child abuse or neglect and take action, in accordance with law, that may be necessary to prevent further harm to the child or to ensure the proper care and protection of the child.
Immediately notify the nearest law enforcement agency if OCS:
concludes the harm was caused by a person who is not responsible for the child's welfare;
is unable to determine:
who caused the harm to the child; or
whether the person who is believed to have caused the harm has responsibility for the child's welfare;
concludes the report involves:
possible criminal conduct under AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.458 (see Definitions); or
abuse or neglect that results in the need for medical treatment of the child.
Upon receipt from any source of a protective services report alleging child maltreatment, notify the Department of Law and assess the report and, within 72 hours of the receipt of the report, provide a written report of the initial assessment to the Department of Law for review. The report must include, if known:
the names and addresses of the child and the child's parent or other persons responsible for the child's care;
the age and gender of the child;
the nature and extent of the harm to the child from maltreatment;
the name and age and address of the person known or believed to be responsible for the harm to the child from maltreatment, if known;
information that OCS believes may be helpful in establishing the identity of the person believed to have caused the harm to the child from abuse.
Within 20 days after receiving a protective services report, whether or not the matter is referred to a local government agency, notify the person who made the report and who made a request to be notified about the status of the assessment, without disclosing any confidential information.
Children alleged to be at high risk of maltreatment or unsafe by their caregiver shall be assessed by OCS.
OCS shall document all reports of children reported to be victims of physical injury, sexual abuse, Sexual Exploitation, neglect, or mental injury including those that can later be determined to be screened out for assessment. The reporter may identify him or herself or be anonymous. OCS will accept reports made by phone, letter, fax, e-mail, or in person.
Any OCS staff person who receives information that alleges child maltreatment will forward it to the intake unit for documentation, decision-making, and determination, making no prior judgments about whether the concerns should be assigned for initial assessment or screened out.
Information regarding minors identified in Background Information section (Federal Law (2)) who have open cases with OCS and are missing, abducted or identified as sex trafficking victims, the intake unit will verify and complete if necessary reporting to Law Enforcement for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and entry into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for missing or abducted minors immediately, or within 24hrs of receiving the report.
Intake is a key decision making process that determines whether there will be a child protective services intervention with a family. There are two fundamental decisions at intake:
screening a new protective services report in or out for initial assessment, and
determining the type of alleged maltreatment and priority response needed.
Identifying Protective Services Report Type: The intake worker will determine whether the report is a request for information and referral, a services intake, or a Protective Services Report (PSR). This decision determines how the report is documented in ORCA and proper follow up needed. The intake worker will explain to the reporter that:
OCS will assess the allegations.
if the case goes to court, the reporter may be called to testify;
that the reporter is immune from any civil or criminal liability for any report made in good faith; and
that OCS is mandated by law to conceal the identity of any reporter and will make every attempt to prevent disclosure.they may remain anonymous but OCS will not be able to notify them of the status of the assessment. If the report is screened, the initial assessment worker will be better able to assess the allegations if the Protective Services (PS) Specialist can re-contact the reporter if necessary to gain additional information during an initial assessment.
A PSR may be screened in when the information received indicates a child may be unsafe or is at high risk of harm by a primary caregiver, parent, custodian or guardian.
Priority 1 must be responded to as soon as possible but no later than 24 hours of the time the report is received by OCS.
Priority 2 must be responded to no later than 72 hours of the time the report is received by the OCS.
Priority 3 must be responded to within seven days of the time the report is received by the OCS.
OCS will immediately forward a copy of the screened in PSR to (or notify) the nearest law enforcement agency if the report involves:
out-of-home abuse;
sexual abuse, including sex trafficking; or
severe physical abuse or neglect that results in the need for medical treatment of the child.
If the reporter has requested to be notified of the status of the assessment, when the screening decision has been made the intake supervisor will notify the reporter of whether or not the report will be assigned for initial assessment.
“Maltreatment”
means an act or omission that results in circumstances in which there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child may be a child in need of aid, as described in AS 47.10.011, except that, for purposes of this chapter, the act or omission need not have been committed by the child's parent, custodian, or guardian.