Ariz. Admin. Code § R21-3-101 - Definitions
The definitions in A.R.S. §§ 8-101, 8-201, 8-501, 8-455, 8-531 and 8-801, and the following definitions apply in this Chapter and Title 21, Chapter 4:
1. "Abuse" means the same as in A.R.S. §
8-201.
2. "Centralized Intake Hotline" or "the
Hotline" means the same as in A.R.S. §
8-455.
3. "Child" means the same as in A.R.S. §
8-101.
4. "Child Safety Specialist" means the same
as "child safety worker" as in A.R.S. §
8-801.
5. "Child safety services" means the same as
in A.R.S. §
8-801.
6. "Child welfare agency" means the same as
in A.R.S. §
8-501.
7. "Criminal conduct allegation" means the
same as in A.R.S. §
8-201.
8. "Criminal investigation" means an
investigation of criminal allegations conducted by a law enforcement
agency.
9. "Criminal offense" means
an allegation of abuse and neglect perpetrated by someone other than a parent,
guardian, custodian, or other adult member of the child's household that, if
true, would constitute a felony offense.
10. "Custodian" means a person defined in
A.R.S. §
8-201.
11. "DCS Investigator" means a DCS employee
who investigates allegations of child abuse or neglect pursuant to A.R.S.
§§
8-456
and
8-471.
12. "DCS Report" means a communication
received by the Centralized Intake Hotline that alleges child abuse or neglect
that meets the criteria for a report as set forth in A.R.S. §
8-455.
13. "Department" or "DCS" means the Arizona
Department of Child Safety.
14.
"Finding" means one of the following:
a. The
Department has determined during its investigation that probable cause exists
to substantiate the allegation of abuse or neglect of a child, and
i. The specific person responsible has been
identified, or
ii. The specific
person responsible has not been identified,
b. The Department has determined during its
investigation that the allegation of abuse or neglect is unsubstantiated;
or
c. After a thorough search, the
Department is unable to locate the alleged abused or neglected child.
15. "Guardian" means the same as a
person who has the duty and authority of a "Guardianship of the person" in
A.R.S. §
8-531.
16. "Household member" means a parent,
guardian, custodian, or an adult who at the time of the alleged abuse or
neglect resided in the child victim's home.
17. "Incoming communication" or
"communication" means contact with DCS concerning alleged abuse or neglect of a
child by any method that is received by or ultimately directed to the
Centralized Intake Hotline.
18.
"Intake Specialist" means the same as "hotline worker" in A.R.S. §
8-455
and means an employee of the Department trained in Centralized Intake Hotline
procedures.
19. "Investigation"
means using investigative techniques to search out and examine the facts to
determine whether a child has been abused or neglected as provided for in
A.R.S. §§
8-456
and
8-471.
20. "Investigative protocols," also called
"Joint investigative protocols" and "Multi-disciplinary Protocols," means a
guide for the conduct of criminal conduct investigations mandated by A.R.S.
§
8-817.
21. "Neglect" or "neglected" means the same
as in A.R.S. §
8-201.
22. "OCWI Investigator" means a DCS
Investigator who is assigned to the Office of Child Welfare Investigations, and
whose primary duties and responsibilities are prescribed in A.R.S. §
8-471.
23. "Other child in the home" means a child
residing in the same home as either the alleged child victim or the alleged
perpetrator at the time of the alleged abuse or neglect.
24. "Out-of-Home placement" means the same as
in A.R.S. §
8-501.
25. "Parent" means the same as in A.R.S.
§
8-501.
26. "Probable cause" means some credible
evidence that abuse or neglect occurred.
27. "PSRT" means the Department's Protective
Services Review Team that administers the process described in A.R.S. §
8-811
for review and appeal of proposed substantiated findings of child abuse or
neglect.
28. "Reporting Source"
means a person who reports child abuse or neglect to the Department or to a
peace officer as prescribed in A.R.S. §
13-3620,
even if the communication does not meet the criteria for a DCS report as set
forth in A.R.S. §
8-455.
29. "Response time" means the period of time
designated by the Hotline and begins when a DCS report is assigned to a DCS
field unit for investigation and ends when the DCS Investigator initiates the
investigation by an attempt to make in-person contact with the alleged child
victim. Any proposed changes to the response time shall be submitted to the DCS
Community Advisory Committee as established in A.R.S. §
8-459
for review and discussion prior to implementation.
30. "Safe haven provider" means the same as
in A.R.S. §
13-3623.01.
31. "Substantiated" means that there is
probable cause to believe the child was abused or neglected.
32. "Temporary custody" means the same as in
A.R.S. §
8-821.
33. "Unsubstantiated" means that there was
insufficient evidence to substantiate that the child was abused or neglected
when the finding was entered into the Department's case management information
system.
Notes
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