Chapter VIII:Protective Services SECTION 1408 – INVESTIGATIVE AND FAMILY ASSESSMENTS

A. CPS ASSESSMENTS INVOLVING MORE THAN ONE COUNTY

B. MALICIOUS CPS REPORTS

V. SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CPS ASSESSMENTS

The requirements discussed within this section apply to all CPS Assessments, but there are additional requirements, which apply to some special situations. Please refer to the specific sections for more detailed information.

A. CPS ASSESSMENTS INVOLVING MORE THAN ONE COUNTY

Refer to Chapter V - Jurisdiction in Child Welfare of this manual for information on CPS Assessments involving more than one county, Conflicts of Interest Assessments and Investigative Assessments involving reports of abuse or neglect in Out-of-Home Living Arrangements.

Refer to Chapter VIII; Section 1438 - Investigative Assessments of Medical Neglect of Infants with Life Threatening Conditions.

Refer to Chapter VIII; Section 1418 - Investigative Assessments of Reports of Abuse/Neglect in a Child Care Facility.

B. MALICIOUS CPS REPORTS

In response to a recommendation from the House Interim Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, Foster Care and Adoptions, the Division in collaboration with the North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services has developed procedures for documenting and tracking malicious reports throughout the year. Therefore, we have developed a form entitled, “Documentation of Malicious Reports.” The form can be found at: http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/csm-05/man/fscw_al0205.htm#P3_115.

A malicious report is one in which the reporter knowingly and willfully makes untrue statements that the juvenile is abused, neglected or dependent. At the completion of the CPS Assessment, if the social worker states to his/her supervisor that the report was a malicious report, the supervisor brings this to the attention of the Director. The form is to be completed at the time that the Director and supervisor meet to discuss this. The form should contain no identifying information about the reporter or the family beyond the information that led the agency to suspect that the report was made maliciously.

The form includes a place to document the decision making process leading to the conclusion. The decision making process should include discussion between the Director or the Director’s designee, and the assigned supervisor. The social worker assigned to the report does not participate.

Note: Please ensure that only non-identifying information is documented. The forms should be easily accessible by the appropriate staff, but should never be placed in the child’s or family’s case record.

Some reports that at first may seem to be deliberately false can later turn out to be valid. Therefore, there is also a place on the form to document how the decision was made that the report was valid. Again, no identifying information should be documented.

Because there is interest in knowing the extent of malicious reporting in North Carolina, each county DSS is asked to provide the number of malicious reports received during the year on the “County Staffing Survey” that is sent to county DSS’s each year.