The Florida Senate

39.301  Initiation of protective investigations.--

(1)  Upon receiving an oral or written report of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or that a child is in need of supervision and care and has no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative immediately known and available to provide supervision and care, the central abuse hotline shall determine if the report requires an immediate onsite protective investigation. For reports requiring an immediate onsite protective investigation, the central abuse hotline shall immediately notify the department's designated children and families district staff responsible for protective investigations to ensure that an onsite investigation is promptly initiated. For reports not requiring an immediate onsite protective investigation, the central abuse hotline shall notify the department's designated children and families district staff responsible for protective investigations in sufficient time to allow for an investigation. At the time of notification of district staff with respect to the report, the central abuse hotline shall also provide information on any previous report concerning a subject of the present report or any pertinent information relative to the present report or any noted earlier reports.

(2)(a)  The department shall immediately forward allegations of criminal conduct to the municipal or county law enforcement agency of the municipality or county in which the alleged conduct has occurred.

(b)  As used in this subsection, the term "criminal conduct" means:

1.  A child is known or suspected to be the victim of child abuse, as defined in s. 827.03, or of neglect of a child, as defined in s. 827.03

2.  A child is known or suspected to have died as a result of abuse or neglect.

3.  A child is known or suspected to be the victim of aggravated child abuse, as defined in s. 827.03

4.  A child is known or suspected to be the victim of sexual battery, as defined in s. 827.071, or of sexual abuse, as defined in s. 39.01

5.  A child is known or suspected to be the victim of institutional child abuse or neglect, as defined in s. 39.01, and as provided for in s. 39.302(1).

6.  A child is known or suspected to be a victim of human trafficking, as provided in s. 787.06

(c)  Upon receiving a written report of an allegation of criminal conduct from the department, the law enforcement agency shall review the information in the written report to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted. If the law enforcement agency accepts the case for criminal investigation, it shall coordinate its investigative activities with the department, whenever feasible. If the law enforcement agency does not accept the case for criminal investigation, the agency shall notify the department in writing.

(d)  The local law enforcement agreement required in s. 39.306 shall describe the specific local protocols for implementing this section.

(3)  The department shall maintain a master file for each child whose report is accepted by the central abuse hotline for investigation. Such file must contain information concerning all reports received concerning that child. The file must be made available to any department staff, agent of the department, or contract provider given responsibility for conducting a protective investigation.

(4)  To the extent practical, all protective investigations involving a child shall be conducted or the work supervised by a single individual in order for there to be broad knowledge and understanding of the child's history. When a new investigator is assigned to investigate a second and subsequent report involving a child, a multidisciplinary staffing shall be conducted which includes new and prior investigators, their supervisors, and appropriate private providers in order to ensure that, to the extent possible, there is coordination among all parties. The department shall establish an internal operating procedure that ensures that all required investigatory activities, including a review of the child's complete investigative and protective services history, are completed by the investigator, reviewed by the supervisor in a timely manner, and signed and dated by both the investigator and the supervisor.

(5)(a)  Upon commencing an investigation under this part, the child protective investigator shall inform any subject of the investigation of the following:

1.  The names of the investigators and identifying credentials from the department.

2.  The purpose of the investigation.

3.  The right to obtain his or her own attorney and ways that the information provided by the subject may be used.

4.  The possible outcomes and services of the department's response shall be explained to the parent or legal custodian.

5.  The right of the parent or legal custodian to be involved to the fullest extent possible in determining the nature of the allegation and the nature of any identified problem.

6.  The duty of the parent or legal custodian to report any change in the residence or location of the child to the investigator and that the duty to report continues until the investigation is closed.

(b)  The department's training program shall ensure that protective investigators know how to fully inform parents or legal custodians of their rights and options, including opportunities for audio or video recording of investigators' interviews with parents or legal custodians or children.

(6)  An assessment of risk and the perceived needs for the child and family shall be conducted in a manner that is sensitive to the social, economic, and cultural environment of the family. This assessment must include a face-to-face interview with the child, other siblings, parents, and other adults in the household and an onsite assessment of the child's residence.

(7)  Protective investigations shall be performed by the department or its agent.

(8)  The person responsible for the investigation shall make a preliminary determination as to whether the report is complete, consulting with the attorney for the department when necessary. In any case in which the person responsible for the investigation finds that the report is incomplete, he or she shall return it without delay to the person or agency originating the report or having knowledge of the facts, or to the appropriate law enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction, and request additional information in order to complete the report; however, the confidentiality of any report filed in accordance with this chapter shall not be violated.

(a)  If it is determined that the report is complete, but the interests of the child and the public will be best served by providing the child care or other treatment voluntarily accepted by the child and the parents or legal custodians, the protective investigator may refer the parent or legal custodian and child for such care or other treatment.

(b)  If it is determined that the child is in need of the protection and supervision of the court, the department shall file a petition for dependency. A petition for dependency shall be filed in all cases classified by the department as high-risk. Factors that the department may consider in determining whether a case is high-risk include, but are not limited to, the young age of the parents or legal custodians; the use of illegal drugs; the arrest of the parents or legal custodians on charges of manufacturing, processing, disposing of, or storing, either temporarily or permanently, any substances in violation of chapter 893; or domestic violence.

(c)  If a petition for dependency is not being filed by the department, the person or agency originating the report shall be advised of the right to file a petition pursuant to this part.

(9)(a)  For each report received that meets one or more of the following criteria, the department or the sheriff providing child protective investigative services under s. 39.3065, shall perform an onsite child protective investigation:

1.  A report for which there is obvious compelling evidence that no maltreatment occurred and there are no prior reports containing some indicators or verified findings of abuse or neglect with respect to any subject of the report or other individuals in the home. A prior report in which an adult in the home was a victim of abuse or neglect before becoming an adult does not exclude a report otherwise meeting the criteria of this subparagraph from the onsite child protective investigation provided for in this subparagraph. The process for an onsite child protective investigation stipulated in this subsection may not be conducted if an allegation meeting the criteria of this subparagraph involves physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse or substance exposure, medical neglect, a child younger than 3 years of age, or a child who is disabled or lacks communication skills.

2.  A report concerning an incident of abuse which is alleged to have occurred 2 or more years prior to the date of the report and there are no other indicators of risk to any child in the home.

(b)  The onsite child protective investigation to be performed shall include a face-to-face interview with the child; other siblings; parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and other adults in the household and an onsite assessment of the child's residence in order to:

1.  Determine the composition of the family or household, including the name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each child named in the report; any siblings or other children in the same household or in the care of the same adults; the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers; and any other adults in the same household.

2.  Determine whether there is indication that any child in the family or household has been abused, abandoned, or neglected; the nature and extent of present or prior injuries, abuse, or neglect, and any evidence thereof; and a determination as to the person or persons apparently responsible for the abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including the name, address, date of birth, social security number, sex, and race of each such person.

3.  Determine the immediate and long-term risk to each child by conducting state and federal records checks, including, when feasible, the records of the Department of Corrections, on the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers, and any other persons in the same household. This information shall be used solely for purposes supporting the detection, apprehension, prosecution, pretrial release, posttrial release, or rehabilitation of criminal offenders or persons accused of the crimes of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and shall not be further disseminated or used for any other purpose. The department's child protection investigators are hereby designated a criminal justice agency for the purpose of accessing criminal justice information to be used for enforcing this state's laws concerning the crimes of child abuse, abandonment, and neglect.

4.  Determine the immediate and long-term risk to each child through utilization of standardized risk assessment instruments.

5.  Based on the information obtained from available sources, complete the risk assessment instrument within 48 hours after the initial contact and, if needed, develop a case plan.

6.  Determine the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's safety and well-being and development, and cause the delivery of those services through the early intervention of the department or its agent. The training provided to staff members who conduct child protective investigations must include instruction on how and when to use the injunction process under s. 39.504 or s. 741.30 to remove a perpetrator of domestic violence from the home as an intervention to protect the child.

(c)  The determination that a report requires an investigation as provided in this subsection and does not require an enhanced onsite child protective investigation pursuant to subsection (10) must be approved in writing by the supervisor with documentation specifying why additional investigative activities are not necessary.

(d)  A report that meets the criteria specified in this subsection is not precluded from further investigative activities. At any time it is determined that additional investigative activities are necessary for the safety of the child, such activities shall be conducted.

(10)(a)  For each report that meets one or more of the following criteria, the department shall perform an enhanced onsite child protective investigation:

1.  Any allegation that involves physical abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse or substance exposure, medical neglect, a child younger than 3 years of age, or a child who is disabled or lacks communication skills.

2.  Any report that involves an individual who has been the subject of a prior report containing some indicators or verified findings of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

3.  Any report that does not contain compelling evidence that the maltreatment did not occur.

4.  Any report that does not meet the criteria for an onsite child protective investigation as set forth in subsection (9).

(b)  The enhanced onsite child protective investigation shall include, but is not limited to:

1.  A face-to-face interview with the child, other siblings, parents or legal custodians or caregivers, and other adults in the household;

2.  Collateral contacts;

3.  Contact with the reporter as required by rule;

4.  An onsite assessment of the child's residence in accordance with paragraph (9)(b); and

5.  An updated assessment.

Detailed documentation is required for the investigative activities.

(11)  The department shall incorporate into its quality assurance program the monitoring of the determination of reports that receive an onsite child protective investigation and those that receive an enhanced onsite child protective investigation.

(12)  If the department or its agent is denied reasonable access to a child by the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers and the department deems that the best interests of the child so require, it shall seek an appropriate court order or other legal authority prior to examining and interviewing the child.

(13)  Onsite visits and face-to-face interviews with the child or family shall be unannounced unless it is determined by the department or its agent or contract provider that such unannounced visit would threaten the safety of the child.

(14)(a)  If the department or its agent determines that a child requires immediate or long-term protection through:

1.  Medical or other health care; or

2.  Homemaker care, day care, protective supervision, or other services to stabilize the home environment, including intensive family preservation services through the Family Builders Program or the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, or both,

such services shall first be offered for voluntary acceptance unless there are high-risk factors that may impact the ability of the parents or legal custodians to exercise judgment. Such factors may include the parents' or legal custodians' young age or history of substance abuse or domestic violence.

(b)  The parents or legal custodians shall be informed of the right to refuse services, as well as the responsibility of the department to protect the child regardless of the acceptance or refusal of services. If the services are refused and the department deems that the child's need for protection so requires, the department shall take the child into protective custody or petition the court as provided in this chapter.

(c)  The department, in consultation with the judiciary, shall adopt by rule criteria that are factors requiring that the department take the child into custody, petition the court as provided in this chapter, or, if the child is not taken into custody or a petition is not filed with the court, conduct an administrative review. If after an administrative review the department determines not to take the child into custody or petition the court, the department shall document the reason for its decision in writing and include it in the investigative file. For all cases that were accepted by the local law enforcement agency for criminal investigation pursuant to subsection (2), the department must include in the file written documentation that the administrative review included input from law enforcement. In addition, for all cases that must be referred to child protection teams pursuant to s. 39.303(2) and (3), the file must include written documentation that the administrative review included the results of the team's evaluation. Factors that must be included in the development of the rule include noncompliance with the case plan developed by the department, or its agent, and the family under this chapter and prior abuse reports with findings that involve the child or caregiver.

(15)  When a child is taken into custody pursuant to this section, the authorized agent of the department shall request that the child's parent, caregiver, or legal custodian disclose the names, relationships, and addresses of all parents and prospective parents and all next of kin, so far as are known.

(16)  No later than 60 days after receiving the initial report, the local office of the department shall complete its investigation.

(17)  Immediately upon learning during the course of an investigation that:

(a)  The immediate safety or well-being of a child is endangered;

(b)  The family is likely to flee;

(c)  A child died as a result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect;

(d)  A child is a victim of aggravated child abuse as defined in s. 827.03; or

(e)  A child is a victim of sexual battery or of sexual abuse,

the department shall orally notify the jurisdictionally responsible state attorney, and county sheriff's office or local police department, and, ¹within 3 working days, transmit a ²full written report to those agencies. The law enforcement agency shall review the report and determine whether a criminal investigation needs to be conducted and shall assume lead responsibility for all criminal fact-finding activities. A criminal investigation shall be coordinated, whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of the department. Any interested person who has information regarding an offense described in this subsection may forward a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is warranted and appropriate.

(18)  In a child protective investigation or a criminal investigation, when the initial interview with the child is conducted at school, the department or the law enforcement agency may allow, notwithstanding the provisions of s. 39.0132(4), a school staff member who is known by the child to be present during the initial interview if:

(a)  The department or law enforcement agency believes that the school staff member could enhance the success of the interview by his or her presence; and

(b)  The child requests or consents to the presence of the school staff member at the interview.

School staff may be present only when authorized by this subsection. Information received during the interview or from any other source regarding the alleged abuse or neglect of the child shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), except as otherwise provided by court order. A separate record of the investigation of the abuse, abandonment, or neglect shall not be maintained by the school or school staff member. Violation of this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083

(19)  When a law enforcement agency conducts a criminal investigation into allegations of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, photographs documenting the abuse or neglect will be taken when appropriate.

(20)  Within 15 days after the case is reported to him or her pursuant to this chapter, the state attorney shall report his or her findings to the department and shall include in such report a determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case.

(21)  In order to enhance the skills of individual staff and to improve the district's overall child protection system, the department's training program at the district level must include periodic reviews of cases handled within the district in order to identify weaknesses as well as examples of effective interventions that occurred at each point in the case.

(22)  When an investigation is closed and a person is not identified as a caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect, or abandonment alleged in the report, the fact that the person is named in some capacity in the report may not be used in any way to adversely affect the interests of that person. This prohibition applies to any use of the information in employment screening, licensing, child placement, adoption, or any other decisions by a private adoption agency or a state agency or its contracted providers, except that a previous report may be used to determine whether a child is safe and what the known risk is to the child at any stage of a child protection proceeding.

(23)  If, after having been notified of the requirement to report a change in residence or location of the child to the protective investigator, a parent or legal custodian causes the child to move, or allows the child to be moved, to a different residence or location, or if the child leaves the residence on his or her own accord and the parent or legal custodian does not notify the protective investigator of the move within 2 business days, the child may be considered to be a missing child for the purposes of filing a report with a law enforcement agency under s. 937.021

History.--s. 38, ch. 98-403; s. 7, ch. 99-168; s. 14, ch. 99-193; s. 4, ch. 2000-217; s. 2, ch. 2001-50; s. 2, ch. 2003-127; s. 2, ch. 2005-173; s. 8, ch. 2006-86; s. 1, ch. 2006-306.

¹Note.--As amended by s. 14, ch. 99-193. The amendment by s. 7, ch. 99-168, used "within 3 days."

²Note.--As amended by s. 14, ch. 99-193. The amendment by s. 7, ch. 99-168, did not include the word "full."