The Florida Senate

415.505  Child protective investigations; institutional child abuse or neglect investigations.--

¹(1)

(a)  The department shall be capable of receiving and investigating reports of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If it appears that the immediate safety or well-being of a child is endangered, that the family may flee or the child will be unavailable for purposes of conducting a child protective investigation, or that the facts otherwise so warrant, the department shall commence an investigation immediately, regardless of the time of day or night. In all other child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases, a child protective investigation shall be commenced within 24 hours after receipt of the report. In an institutional investigation, the alleged perpetrator may be represented by an attorney, at his or her own expense, or accompanied by another person, if the person or the attorney executes an affidavit of understanding with the department and agrees to comply with the confidentiality provisions of s. 415.51. The absence of an attorney or other person does not prevent the department from proceeding with other aspects of the investigation, including interviews with other persons. In institutional child abuse cases where the institution is not operating and the child cannot otherwise be located, the investigation shall commence immediately upon the program resuming operation. If requested by a state attorney or local law enforcement agency, the department shall furnish all investigative reports to that agency.

(b)  For each report it receives, the department shall perform an onsite child protective investigation 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 or other persons responsible for the child's welfare; and any other adults in the same household.

2.  Determine whether there is indication that any child in the family or household is 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 through utilization of standardized risk assessment instruments.

4.  Determine the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's well-being and development and cause the delivery of those services through the early intervention of the departmental worker responsible for provision and management of identified services in order to preserve and stabilize family life, if possible.

(c)  If the department is denied reasonable access to a child by the parents or other persons responsible for the child's welfare and the department deems that the best interests of the child so require, it shall seek an appropriate court order or other legal authority to examine and interview the child.

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

1.  Medical or other health care;

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, the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, or both; or

3.  Foster care, shelter care, or other substitute care to remove the child from the parents' custody,

such services shall first be offered for the voluntary acceptance of the parents or other person responsible for the child's welfare, who 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 or 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 chapter 39.

(e)  No later than 30 days after receiving the initial report, the local office of the department shall complete its investigation.

(f)  Immediately upon receipt of a report alleging, or immediately upon learning during the course of an investigation, that a child received an observable injury or medically diagnosed internal injury as a result of child abuse or neglect, the department shall:

1.  If an allegation has been made, determine if such injury occurred as the result of abuse or neglect.

2.  If it was learned during the course of an investigation that such injury did occur as the result of abuse or neglect, orally notify the state attorney and the appropriate law enforcement agency.

In all cases, the department shall make a full written report to the state attorney within 3 days of making the oral report. Upon receiving the oral notification, the law enforcement agency may conduct a criminal investigation, which shall be coordinated, whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of the department. Whenever the law enforcement agency and the department have conducted independent investigations, as soon as practicable after concluding its investigation, the law enforcement agency shall report the findings from its investigation to the state attorney and to the department. Any interested person who has information regarding the observable injury or medically diagnosed internal injury may forward a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is warranted and appropriate.

(g)  Immediately upon receipt of a report alleging, or immediately upon learning during the course of an investigation, that:

1.  The immediate safety or well-being of a child is endangered;

2.  The family is likely to flee;

3.  A child died as a result of abuse or neglect;

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

5.  A child is a victim of sexual battery or of sexual abuse as defined in s. 415.503,

the department shall immediately transmit such report to the county sheriff's office or local police department that is jurisdictionally responsible. 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 paragraph may forward a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is warranted and appropriate.

(h)  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. 39.411(4), a school instructional staff member who is known by the child to be present during the initial interview if:

1.  The department or law enforcement agency believes that the school instructional staff member could enhance the success of the interview by his or her presence; and

2.  The child requests or consents to the presence of the school instructional staff member at the interview.

School instructional staff may only be present 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 instructional staff member. Violation of this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(i)  Within 15 days of the completion of the investigation of cases reported to him or her pursuant to this section, 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.

(2)

(a)  The department shall conduct a child protective investigation of each report of institutional child abuse or neglect. Upon receipt of a report which alleges that an employee or agent of the department, or any other entity or person covered by ²s. 415.503(11) or (13), acting in an official capacity, has committed an act of child abuse or neglect, the department shall immediately initiate a child protective investigation and orally notify the appropriate state attorney, law enforcement agency, and licensing agency. These agencies shall immediately conduct a joint investigation, unless independent investigations are more feasible. When a facility is exempt from licensing, the department shall inform the owner or operator of the facility of the report. Each agency conducting a joint investigation shall be entitled to full access to the information gathered by the department in the course of the investigation. In all cases, the department shall make a full written report to the state attorney within 3 days after making the oral report. A criminal investigation shall be coordinated, whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of the department. Any interested person who has information regarding the offenses described in this subsection may forward a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is warranted and appropriate. Within 15 days after the completion of the investigation, the state attorney shall report the 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.

(b)

1.  If in the course of the child protective investigation, the department finds that a subject of a report, by continued contact with children in care, constitutes a threatened harm to the physical health, mental health, or welfare of the children, the department may restrict a subject's access to the children pending the outcome of the investigation. The department shall employ the least restrictive means necessary to safeguard the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care. This authority shall apply only to child protective investigations in which there is some evidence that child abuse or neglect has occurred. A subject of a report whose access to children in care has been restricted is entitled to petition the circuit court for judicial review. The court shall enter written findings of fact based upon the preponderance of evidence that child abuse or neglect did occur and that the department's restrictive action against a subject of the report was justified in order to safeguard the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care. The restrictive action of the department shall be effective for no more than 90 days without a judicial finding supporting the actions of the department.

2.  Upon completion of the department's child protective investigation, the department may make application to the circuit court for continued restrictive action against any person necessary to safeguard the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care.

(c)  Pursuant to the restrictive actions described in paragraph (b), in cases of institutional abuse or neglect in which the removal of the subject of a report will result in the closure of the facility, and when requested by the owner of the facility, the department may provide appropriate personnel to assist in maintaining the operation of the facility. The department may provide assistance when it can be demonstrated by the owner that there are no reasonable alternatives to such action. The length of the assistance shall be agreed upon by the owner and the department; however, the assistance shall not be for longer than the course of the restrictive action imposed pursuant to paragraph (b). The owner shall reimburse the department for the assistance of personnel provided.

(d)  The department shall notify the human rights advocacy committee in the appropriate district of the department as to every report of institutional child abuse or neglect in the district in which a client of the department is alleged or shown to have been abused or neglected, which notification shall be made within 48 hours of the time the department commences its investigation.

(3)  The department shall notify the state attorney and the appropriate law enforcement agency of any other child abuse or neglect case in which a criminal investigation is deemed appropriate by the department.

(4)  In cases of institutional abuse in which the multiplicity of the numbers of reports of child abuse or neglect or the severity of the allegations of child abuse or neglect indicates the need for specialized investigation by the department in order to afford greater safeguards for the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care, the department shall provide a team of persons specially trained in the areas of child abuse and neglect investigations, diagnosis, and treatment to assist the local office of the department in expediting its investigation, recommendations for restrictive actions, and to assist in other ways deemed necessary by the department in order to carry out the provisions of this section. The specially trained team shall provide assistance to any investigation efforts of the allegation or allegations by local law enforcement and the Department of Law Enforcement.

History.--ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 488, ch. 81-259; s. 8, ch. 84-226; ss. 2, 3, ch. 85-338; s. 1, ch. 86-176; s. 35, ch. 87-238; s. 1, ch. 88-189; s. 22, ch. 88-337; s. 34, ch. 89-294; s. 7, ch. 90-50; s. 2, ch. 90-182; s. 52, ch. 90-306; s. 8, ch. 91-57; s. 18, ch. 91-71; s. 7, ch. 93-25; s. 61, ch. 94-164; ss. 3, 23, 45, ch. 95-228; s. 9, ch. 96-322; s. 272, ch. 96-406; s. 1042, ch. 97-103; s. 16, ch. 97-276.

¹Note.--Section 16, ch. 97-276, amended paragraph (1)(e), effective July 1, 1998, to read:

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

²Note.--Redesignated as s. 415.503(10) and (12), respectively, by s. 43, ch. 95-228.

Note.--Former ss. 828.041, 827.07(10), (14).