Current Status Bill Number:3770 Type of Legislation:Joint Resolution JR Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19970401 Primary Sponsor:Kelley All Sponsors:Kelley, Harrison and Keegan Drafted Document Number:psd\7196ac.97 Companion Bill Number:577 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:General Committee 08 SG Date of Last Amendment:19970424 Subject:Child abuse and neglect cases, pilot child protective services system, assessment track, Minors, Social Services
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19970429 Introduced, read first time, 08 SG
referred to Committee
House 19970425 Read third time, sent to Senate
House 19970424 Amended, read second time,
unanimous consent for third reading
on Friday, 19970425
House 19970416 Committee report: Favorable with 25 HJ
amendment
House 19970401 Introduced, read first time, 25 HJ
referred to Committee
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AMENDED
April 24, 1997
H. 3770
S. Printed 4/24/97--H.
Read the first time April 1, 1997.
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.
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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.