Chapter 7 : Section 04

Courtesy Assessment Between Regions During After-Hours

Policy

The Department shall ensure the initial response to a Report of child abuse or neglect or other situations needing immediate attention is accomplished in a timely manner, every day of the week, 24 hours a day.

To ensure timely response during after-hours (hours outside regular business hours of Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), the Child Abuse Hotline (Intake Unit) shall contact the After-Hours units or stand-by staff of any situation needing an immediate response. This includes, but is not limited to, DCS Reports where the initial response time would not be met before the next business day or children in the care, custody and control of the Department who need immediate assistance.

When DCS Reports or other situations needing immediate assistance are received during after-hours and the child(ren) is/are located in a different region, after-hours/stand-by staff may need assistance from staff located in the region where the child(ren) currently is/are located to ensure child safety. After-hours/stand-by staff from each region shall work collaboratively to ensure the initial response time is met and children are currently safe.

Procedures

Intake Unit

The Intake Unit will contact the after-hours unit or stand-by staff in home region responsible for the DCS Report and/or person record. If the child(ren) is/are located in another region, Intake Unit staff will provide the home region staff with the appropriate contact information for the assisting region.

Home Region

The home region staff will assess whether the situation needs an immediate response to ensure child safety or if the DCS Report can be mitigated. Staff will also assess whether courtesy assistance is needed from another region. If it is determined that:

An immediate response is needed to ensure child safety and courtesy assistance is needed, the home region staff will contact the after-hours/stand-by staff in the region where the child(ren) is/are located to request assistance and develop a plan of action with the assisting region.
A child needs an emergency living arrangement, the home region shall contact the Placement Administration to arrange for a living arrangement in the home region the next business day.

Assisting Region:

The assisting region staff will take action to assist the home region staff to resolve the situation needing an immediate response. This may require that both the home region and assisting region take action:

If an emergency living arrangement is needed but a caregiver is not available in the region where the child(ren) is/are located, staff from both regions will agree to meet half way to transport the child back to the home region.
Enter documentation in the Family Functioning Assessment (FFA) or Notes by the next business morning. The assisting region staff will also email the assigned Program Supervisor and/or Specialist to advise them of the outcome of the initial response and caregiver information, if applicable.

Placement Administration

When the DCS Specialist places a child, the DCS Specialist will complete a placement packet to give to the caregiver and send an email notification to the Placement Administration.

When assistance is needed to place a child, the DCS Specialist will submit an Assessment for Placement and/or Special Evaluation referral for processing. The Placement Administration will process all placement referrals upon receipt.