H 3770 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 3770 Joint Resolution, By Kelley, Harrison and Keegan
Similar(S 577)
A JOINT RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO ESTABLISH
A PILOT CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES SYSTEM IN ONE REGION OF THE STATE WHICH
ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO DIVERT CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES TO AN ASSESSMENT
TRACK RATHER THAN FOLLOWING NORMAL PROTOCOL WHEN CERTAIN MORE SERIOUS FORMS OF
ALLEGED ABUSE OR NEGLECT ARE NOT PRESENT; TO ESTABLISH THE PROCEDURES UNDER
WHICH THE DEPARTMENT SHALL OPERATE THIS PILOT; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO
REPORT TO THE HOUSE AND SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
THE PILOT; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE PILOT.
04/01/97 House Introduced and read first time HJ-17
04/01/97 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-18
04/16/97 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary HJ-13
04/24/97 House Amended HJ-53
04/24/97 House Read second time HJ-55
04/24/97 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day HJ-55
04/25/97 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-4
04/29/97 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-8
04/29/97 Senate Referred to Committee on General SJ-8
AMENDED
April 24, 1997
H. 3770
Introduced by Reps. Kelley, Harrison and Keegan
S. Printed 4/24/97--H.
Read the first time April 1, 1997.
A JOINT RESOLUTION
TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
TO ESTABLISH A PILOT CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
SYSTEM IN ONE REGION OF THE STATE WHICH ALLOWS
THE DEPARTMENT TO DIVERT CHILD ABUSE AND
NEGLECT CASES TO AN ASSESSMENT TRACK RATHER
THAN FOLLOWING NORMAL PROTOCOL WHEN CERTAIN
MORE SERIOUS FORMS OF ALLEGED ABUSE OR NEGLECT
ARE NOT PRESENT; TO ESTABLISH THE PROCEDURES
UNDER WHICH THE DEPARTMENT SHALL OPERATE THIS
PILOT; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO REPORT TO
THE HOUSE AND SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEES ON
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PILOT; AND TO PROVIDE FOR
THE TERMINATION OF THE PILOT.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) The Department of Social Services is
authorized to establish in one region or up to three counties of the
State a pilot child protective services system as set forth in this joint
resolution. The pilot shall commence no sooner than January 1,
1998, and no later than January 1, 1999. It shall continue for two
years after it is commenced and until the conclusion of the next
legislative session thereafter. The pilot will test a child protection
system that acknowledges the different intervention needs of families
by providing for a family assessment track instead of normal
protocol in certain cases. For purposes of this pilot, the definitions
of child abuse and neglect and related terms as contained in Section
20-7-490 of the 1976 Code apply and nothing in this joint resolution
may be construed to expand the jurisdiction of the department. It is
the intent of the General Assembly that an alternative manner of
intervention be developed that diminishes the need for family court
involvement but does not increase the number of families receiving
child protective service interventions. Provisions of Chapter 7, Title
20 of the 1976 Code that do not conflict with the provisions of this
joint resolution apply to the pilot.
(B) Before the pilot child protective services system is instituted,
the department shall assure that all participants in the pilot are
thoroughly trained in matters relating to their role in the pilot,
utilizing to the extent possible existing training resources for each
profession. At a minimum, training should be provided to
caseworkers, attorneys, solicitors, guardians ad litem, judges, and law
enforcement personnel. Informational materials concerning the pilot
should be prepared for families and their attorneys.
(C) Within fifteen months after commencement of the pilot, the
department shall submit to the Governor and the chairs of the House
and Senate Judiciary Committees a preliminary independent
evaluation of the first year of the pilot child protection system,
conducted according to accepted and objective research principles.
The department shall submit to the Governor and the chairs of the
House and Senate Judiciary Committees a final evaluation of the pilot
child protection system within twenty-seven months after
commencement of the pilot. Outcomes to be evaluated include, but
are not limited to, cost, effect on the demand for judicial and
departmental resources, attitudes of participants in the pilot, effect on
the well-being of children, and the effectiveness of the assessment
track as a tool to keep families together.
SECTION 2. (A) The department must screen all reports of
suspected child abuse and neglect to determine whether the report
alleges facts constituting child abuse and neglect as defined in
Section 20-7-490 of the 1976 Code. Only reports that allege facts
constituting child abuse and neglect may be accepted. Each report
immediately must be routed to an appropriate employee of the
department for investigation or assessment. If the department
determines that the child should be taken into custody, it must
proceed as provided in Section 20-7-610 of the 1976 Code.
(B) Within twenty-four hours after a report is accepted, the
department must initiate an investigation or an assessment to
determine whether agency intervention is necessary and the form that
intervention should take. An investigation or assessment must be
initiated in response to all reports that allege child abuse or neglect
in which the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the
child's welfare:
(1) inflicts physical injury upon the child, as defined in
Section 20-7-490 of the 1976 Code;
(2) commits against the child a sexual offense as defined by
the laws of this State;
(3) wilfully or recklessly allows another person to inflict
physical injury upon the child or to commit a sexual offense against
the child;
(4) wilfully or recklessly inflicts or allows another to inflict
upon the child mental injury;
(5) abandons the child;
(6) encourages or approves the commission of delinquent acts
by the child and the commission of the acts is shown to be the result
of the encouragement or approval; or
(7) wilfully or recklessly fails to supply the child with
adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, supervision, or health
care though financially able to do so or offered financial or other
reasonable means to do so where the failure has caused physical or
mental injury.
These enumerated conditions of child abuse and neglect must
be interpreted consistently with Section 20-7-490 of the 1976 Code.
SECTION 3. (A) In cases determined to be appropriate for an
assessment track, the department must within twenty-four hours after
acceptance of the report commence an assessment to determine
whether or not the child is an abused or neglected child as defined in
Section 20-7-490 of the 1976 Code and if so, to identify and
facilitate the provision of services to minimize the threat of future
abuse and neglect. This determination must be made within thirty
days after the assessment is commenced. If the department
determines that children in the home have not been abused or
neglected, the case must be closed. When closing a case, the
department may refer the family to appropriate service providers or
provide written information to the family concerning problems
identified in the assessment. An assessment does not require an
indication of abuse or neglect by the department or placement of the
alleged perpetrator on the Central Registry of Child Abuse and
Neglect.
(B) In carrying out an assessment, the department shall:
(1) immediately contact the subject of the report and the family
of the child identified in the report and give each a written and oral
explanation of the assessment procedure;
(2) conduct an assessment of the child identified in the report
and other children in the home and of the service needs of the family;
(3) if the department determines that a child in the home is
threatened, develop in consultation with the parents and other
relevant persons a written plan for services to alleviate the threat to
the child. The duration of a plan may be no longer than six months,
except that the duration may be up to one year if the plan includes a
type of treatment that cannot be completed within six months. The
plan must comply with the requirements of Section 20-7-762 of the
1976 Code or if the child has been removed from the home, Section
20-7-764 of the 1976 Code.
(C) As part of an assessment, the department may refer the case
to a qualified mediator or appoint a qualified person to convene a
family group conference to assist in development of a plan for
alleviating the threat of a recurrence of child abuse and neglect,
including out-of-home placement of the child if necessary. A plan
must be agreed upon by the participants in the mediation or family
group conference and other necessary parties within thirty days
following referral to mediation or appointment of a convener, except
that this period may be extended for up to thirty additional days if
reasonable progress is being made on development of a plan and
good cause for the delay in reaching agreement on the plan is
documented in the case record. A family group conference is a
meeting of persons such as the parents or guardian of the child,
members of the child's extended family, and teachers, coaches,
ministers, or other persons close to and concerned about the child and
family, to develop a plan for the protection and placement of the
child.
(D) A plan pursuant to this section must be agreed to by the
parents and any person who is identified in the plan as a provider of
services to the child or family, including any person other than a
licensed foster care provider with whom it is proposed that the child
will reside. If any of these persons does not agree to a plan, the
department may proceed as provided for in Section 20-7-738 of the
1976 Code.
(E) At the expiration of the initial plan, the department shall
review with the parents implementation of the plan and the
circumstances in the home, and:
(1) the case must be closed; or
(2) a follow-up plan of no longer than six months may be
agreed to by the department and the parents; or
(3) the case may be referred to the family court pursuant to
Section 20-7-738 of the 1976 Code.
A case may not be kept open for longer than one year without court
authorization.
(F) The department shall provide, direct, coordinate, or make a
referral to services provided for in the plan and shall assist the child
and family in obtaining services.
SECTION 4. (A) If at any time during an assessment or the
implementation of a plan the department learns new information
suggesting that abuse or neglect requiring investigation pursuant to
Section 2(B) has occurred, the department immediately shall initiate
an investigation and notify the local law enforcement agency.
(B) At any time during an investigation, if the facts so warrant,
the department may reassign the case to the assessment track, and the
department may proceed as provided for in Section 3.
(C) An investigation or assessment commenced pursuant to this
section must be concluded no later than thirty days after
commencement of the investigation or assessment or forty-five days
after acceptance of the report, whichever is sooner, except that a
single extension of no more than fifteen days may be granted by the
director of the department or the director's designee for good cause
shown.
SECTION 5. The department shall collaborate with the community
to identify or develop local formal and informal services for children
and families where a child in the home has been the subject of child
abuse and neglect and the potential for a recurrence of child abuse
and neglect as defined in Section 20-7-490(4) of the 1976 Code is
still present.
.
SECTION 6. The procedures for conducting the pilot child
protection services system as set forth in this joint resolution may be
revised as necessary by promulgation of emergency regulations in
accordance with the standards and procedures in Section 1-23-130 of
the 1976 Code.
SECTION 7. For a period of at least six months and no longer than
one year following initiation of the pilot project, the department shall
collect and analyze information concerning reports of "excessive
corporal punishment" as provided for in Section 20-7-490(3)(a) of
the 1976 Code. This information shall include, but not be limited to,
the age and sex of the child; the form of punishment administered;
the type, extent, location, and severity of the resulting injury to the
child; whether the report was indicated or unfounded; whether the
child was removed from the home; whether the case was heard by a
court; whether the perpetrator was entered on the Central Registry of
Child Abuse and Neglect; the nature of any intervention agreed to by
the family or ordered by the court; and, to the extent known whether
the case was investigated by law enforcement and the disposition of
the case in the criminal justice system. Within sixty days after
collection of information has been completed, the department shall
prepare and submit to the Governor and the chairmen of the House
and Senate Judiciary Committees a report on the results of this study
and recommendations concerning whether the definition of child
abuse as it pertains to "excessive corporal punishment" or the
handling of reports of "excessive corporal punishment" should be
modified, either in the pilot project or in the child protection system
as a whole, in light of the results of the study.
SECTION 8. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by
the Governor.
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