2016 Delaware Code
Title 16 - Health and Safety
CHAPTER 9. ABUSE OF CHILDREN
Subchapter I Reports and Investigations of Abuse and Neglect
§ 906. State response to reports of abuse or neglect.

(a) The State's child protection system shall seek to promote the safety of children and the integrity and preservation of their families by conducting investigations and/or family assessments in response to reports of child abuse or neglect. The system shall endeavor to coordinate community resources and provide assistance or services to children and families identified to be at risk, and to prevent and remedy child abuse and neglect.

(b) It is the policy of this State that the investigation and disposition of cases involving child abuse or neglect shall be conducted in a comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplinary manner that:

(1) Provides civil and criminal protections to the child and the community;

(2) Encourages the use of collaborative decision-making and case management to reduce the number of times a child is interviewed and examined to minimize further trauma to the child; and

(3) Provides safety and treatment for a child and his or her family by coordinating a therapeutic services system.

(c)(1) In implementing the Investigation Coordinator's role in the child protection system, the Investigation Coordinator, or the Investigation Coordinator's staff, shall:

a. Have electronic access and the authority to track within the Department's internal information system each reported case of alleged child abuse or neglect;

b. Monitor each case involving the death of, serious physical injury to, or allegations of sexual abuse of a child from inception to final criminal and civil disposition, and provide information as requested on the status of each case to the Division, the Department, the Delaware Department of Justice, the Children's Advocacy Center, and the Office of Child Advocate;

c. Within 5 business days of the receipt of a report concerning allegations of child abuse or neglect by a person known to be licensed or certified by a Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization, forward a report of such allegations to the appropriate Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization;

d. Report every case involving the death or near death of a child due to abuse or neglect to the Child Protection Accountability Commission under 932(a) of this title and every case involving the death of a child to the Child Death Review Commission; and

e. Provide information to the Child Protection Accountability Commission ("CPAC"), as requested by CPAC, regarding the status, trends, and outcomes of any case or cases of child abuse or neglect that are reported to the Division. Reports to CPAC shall not disclose the identities of the child, alleged perpetrators, or others involved in the case or cases.

(2) All information and records received, prepared, or maintained by the Investigation Coordinator, or the Investigation Coordinator's staff, are confidential and shall be exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 100 of Title 29. However, the disclosure of case specific data and information to the multidisciplinary team is authorized to ensure a comprehensive, integrated, multidisciplinary response to child abuse cases.

(3) The Investigation Coordinator, and the Investigation Coordinator's staff, as state employees, are entitled to immunity in accordance with § 4001 of Title 10.

(d) In implementing law enforcement's role in the child protection system, the law-enforcement agency investigating a report of child abuse shall:

(1) Report every case of child abuse to the Division as required by § 903 of this title; and

(2) Provide information as necessary to the Investigation Coordinator to permit case tracking, monitoring and reporting by the Investigation Coordinator.

(e) In implementing the Division's role in the child protection system, the Division shall:

(1) Receive and maintain reports pursuant to the provisions of §§ 903 and 905 of this title;

(2) Forward reports to the appropriate Division staff, who shall determine, through the use of protocols developed by the Division, whether an investigation or the family assessment and services approach should be used to respond to the allegation. The protocols for making this determination shall be developed by the Division and shall give priority to ensuring the well-being and safety of the child;

(3) The Division may investigate any report, but shall conduct an investigation involving all reports, which if true, would constitute violations against a child by a person responsible for the care, custody and control of the child of any of the following provisions of § 603, § 604, § 611, § 612, § 613, § 621, § 625, § 626, § 631, § 632, § 633, § 634, § 635, § 636, § 645, § 763, § 765, § 766, § 767, § 768, § 769, § 770, § 771, § 772, § 773, § 774, § 775, § 776, § 777, § 780, § 782, § 783, § 783A, § 791, § 1100A, § 1101, § 1102, § 1107, § 1108, § 1109, § 1110, § 1111, or § 1259 of Title 11, or an attempt to commit any such crimes. The Division staff shall also contact the Delaware Department of Justice and the appropriate law-enforcement agency upon receipt of any report under this section and shall provide such agency with a detailed description of the report received. The appropriate law-enforcement agency shall assist the Division in the investigation or provide the Division, within a reasonable time, an explanation detailing the reasons why it is unable to assist. Notwithstanding any provision of the Delaware Code to the contrary, to the extent the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the case is unable to assist, the Division may request that the Delaware State Police exercise jurisdiction over the case and upon such request the Delaware State police may exercise such jurisdiction;

(4) The assisting law-enforcement agency shall promptly conduct its own criminal investigation, and keep the Division regularly apprised of the status and findings of its investigation. Law-enforcement agencies and the Division shall develop protocols to ensure compliance with this subsection;

(5) Ensure that every case involving the death or near death of a child due to abuse or neglect is reported to the Child Protection Accountability Commission under § 932(a) of this title and every case involving the death of a child to the Child Death Review Commission;

(6) Ensure that all cases involving allegations of child abuse or neglect by a person known to be licensed or certified by a Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization, have been reported to the appropriate Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization and the Investigation Coordinator in accordance with the provisions of this section;

(7) The Division shall have authority to secure a medical examination of a child, without the consent of those responsible for the care, custody and control of the child, if the child has been reported to be a victim of abuse or neglect; provided, that such case is classified as an investigation pursuant to paragraph (e)(3) of this section and the Director or the Director's designee gives prior authorization for such examination upon finding that such examination is necessary to protect the health and safety of the child;

(8) The investigation shall include, but need not be limited to, the nature, extent and cause of the abuse or neglect, collection of evidence, the identity of the alleged perpetrator, the names and condition of other children and adults in the home, the home environment, the relationship of the subject child to the parents or other persons responsible for the child's care, any indication of incidents of physical violence against any other household or family member, background checks on all adults in the home, and the gathering of other pertinent information;

(9) In the family assessment and services approach, assess service needs of the family from information gathered from the family and other sources. The Division shall identify and provide for services for families where it is determined that the child is at risk of abuse or neglect. The Division shall document its attempt to provide voluntary services and the reasons these services are important to reduce the risk of future abuse or neglect. If the family refuses to accept or avoids the proffered services, the Division may refer the case for investigation or terminate services;

(10) Commence an immediate investigation if at any time during the family assessment and services approach the Division determines that an investigation as delineated in paragraph (e)(3) of this section is required or is otherwise appropriate. The Division staff who have conducted the assessment may remain involved in the provision of services to the child and family;

(11) Conduct a family assessment and services approach on reports initially referred for an investigation, if it is determined that a complete investigation is not required. The reason for the termination of the investigative process shall be documented;

(12) Assist the child and family in obtaining services, if at any time during the investigation it is determined that the child or any member of the family needs services;

(13) Identify local services and assist with access to those services for children and families where there is risk of abuse or neglect;

(14) Update the internal information system at regular intervals during the course of the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation or family assessment, the internal information system shall be updated to include a case finding;

(15) When a written report is made by a person required to report under § 903 of this title, the Division shall contact the person who made such report within 48 hours of the receipt of the report in order to ensure that full information has been received and to obtain any additional information or medical records, or both, which may be pertinent;

(16) Upon completion of an investigation or family assessment and services approach, if the Division suspects that the report was made maliciously or for the purpose of harassment, the Division shall refer the report and any evidence of malice or harassment to the appropriate law enforcement agency;

(17) Multidisciplinary services shall be used whenever possible in conducting the investigation or family assessment and services approach, including the services of law-enforcement agencies, the medical community, and other agencies, both public and private;

(18) A person required to report under § 903 of this title to the Division shall be informed by the Division of the person's right to obtain information concerning the disposition of the report. Such person shall receive, from the local office, if requested, information on the general disposition of the report at the conclusion of the investigation;

(19) In any judicial proceeding involving the custody of child, the fact that a report has been made pursuant to § 903 or § 905 of this title shall not be admissible unless offered by the Division as a party or as a friend of the Court or if the Division is a party. However, nothing herein shall prohibit the introduction of evidence from independent sources to support the allegations that may have caused a report to have been made;

(20) To protect the privacy of the family and the child named in a report, the Division shall establish guidelines concerning the disclosure of information concerning the abuse and neglect involving a child. The Division may require persons to make written requests for access to records maintained by the Division. The Division shall only release information to persons who have a legitimate public safety need for such information or a need based on the health and safety of a child subject to abuse, neglect or the risk of maltreatment, and such information shall be used only for the purpose for which the information is released; and

(21) Upon the receipt of a report concerning allegations of abuse or neglect against a person known by the Division to be licensed by 1 of the boards listed in § 8735 of Title 29, forward reports to the Division of Professional Regulation.

(f) In implementing the Delaware Department of Justice's role in the child protection system, it shall:

(1) Report every case of child abuse to the Division pursuant to § 903 of this title;

(2) Ensure that every case involving the death or near death of a child due to abuse or neglect is reported to the Child Protection Accountability Commission under 932(a) of this title and every case involving the death of a child to the Child Death Review Commission;

(3) Provide information as necessary to the Investigation Coordinator to permit case tracking, monitoring and reporting by the Investigation Coordinator; and

(4) Ensure that all cases involving allegations of child abuse or neglect by a person known to be licensed or certified by a Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization, have been reported to the appropriate Delaware agency or professional regulatory organization and the Investigation Coordinator in accordance with provisions of this section.

(g) In the event that a criminal prosecution for child sexual abuse or exploitation is initiated by the Delaware Department of Justice against a person employed by or associated with a facility or organization required to be licensed or whose staff personnel are required to be licensed under Delaware law whose primary concern is that of child welfare and care, the Delaware Department of Justice shall notify such employer within 48 hours.

Any violations of this subsection shall be dealt with administratively by the Attorney General and the penalty provisions of § 914 of this title shall not apply hereto.

(h) In the event that a criminal prosecution for abuse or neglect is initiated by the Delaware Department of Justice pursuant to a report under this chapter and incarceration of the person who is the subject of the report is ordered by the court, the Delaware Department of Justice shall keep the Division informed of actions taken by the courts which result in the release of any such individual.

71 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 5; 71 Del. Laws, c. 424, § 8; 72 Del. Laws, c. 173, § 5; 73 Del. Laws, c. 412, § 28; 77 Del. Laws, c. 318, § 6; 77 Del. Laws, c. 320, §§ 4, 5; 78 Del. Laws, c. 403, § 4; 78 Del. Laws, c. 406, § 1; 79 Del. Laws, c. 336, § 2; 80 Del. Laws, c. 187, § 6; 80 Del. Laws, c. 219, § 1.;