a) Differential
Response recognizes that there are variations in the severity of reported
maltreatment and allows for an investigation or family assessment response to
reports of child neglect. Both responses focus on the safety and well-being of
the child; promote permanency within the family whenever possible; and
recognize the authority of child protection to make decisions about protective
custody and court involvement when necessary. An investigation response
involves gathering forensic evidence and requires a formal determination
regarding whether there is credible evidence that child maltreatment has
occurred. A family assessment response involves assessing the family's
strengths and needs and offering services to meet the family's needs and
support positive parenting.
b)
Differential Response Criteria
During the demonstration period, reports of neglect that meet
all the following criteria may be assigned to an assessment pathway:
1) Identifying information for the family
members and their current address, if known at the time of the
report;
2) The alleged perpetrators
are birth or adoptive parents, legal guardians or responsible
relatives;
3) The family has no
pending or prior indicated reports of abuse and/or neglect or prior indicated
reports have been expunged within the timeframe or timeframes established by
the Department for the indicated allegation or allegations;
4) The alleged victims, or other siblings or
household members, are not currently in the care and custody of the Department
or wards of the court;
5)
Protective custody of the children has not been taken or required in the
current or any previous case; and
6) Allegations
A) The reported allegation or allegations
shall only include Mental and Emotional Impairment (neglect only), Inadequate
Supervision, Inadequate Food, Inadequate Shelter, Inadequate Clothing, Medical
Neglect, and Environmental Neglect. The following circumstances involving the
allegations of Mental and Emotional Impairment, Inadequate Supervision, and
Medical Neglect prohibit the report from being assigned to a family assessment
pathway.
i) Mental and Emotional Impairment
reports taken as abuse (Allegation #17) will be assigned an investigation
pathway.
ii) Inadequate Supervision
reports involving a child or children under the age of eight, or a child older
than eight years of age with a physical or mental disability that limits his or
her skills in the areas of communication, self-care, self-direction and safety
will be assigned an investigation pathway.
iii) Medical Neglect reports that involve a
child with a severe medical condition that could become serious enough to cause
long-term harm to the child if untreated will be assigned an investigation
pathway.
B) All other
allegations are considered to involve substantial child abuse and neglect, and
are ineligible for assignment to the assessment pathway.
c) Differential Response Team
(DRT) Supervisors
Prior to assigning reports to Differential Response (DR)
Specialists, DRT Supervisors will review all reports assigned to their teams
within two hours after receipt in the team's electronic mailbox, excluding
evenings, weekends and holidays, to determine their appropriateness for
Differential Response. DRT Supervisors will also contact reporters of medical
neglect reports, and may contact reporters of other allegations, to confirm the
information reported to the State Central Register and obtain any additional
information that will enable the supervisor to determine the appropriateness of
the report for Differential Response. Reports determined to be inappropriate
for Differential Response will be redirected by the supervisor to the State
Central Register for investigation in accordance with subsection (e).
d) Initial and Ongoing Contacts
with the Family
The initial Differential Response contact will occur in the
family's home within three business days from the time the report is received
at the State Central Register, excluding weekends and holidays, and the contact
shall involve the DR Specialist, Strengthening and Supporting Families (SSF)
worker, adult family members and all children.
1) If a family accepts assessment pathway
services, the DR Specialist must do the following at the initial meeting with
the family:
A) Verify identifying information
and legal relationships of all household members.
B) Complete a Child Endangerment Risk
Assessment Protocol Safety Assessment.
C) Obtain the names and addresses of any
non-custodial parents.
D) Complete
a home safety checklist.
E) Obtain
consent for release of information signed by a family member with the authority
to give consent.
2) The
SSF worker will provide intensive strength-based family-focused services during
the Strengthening and Supporting Families service period, which will include
the following:
A) A comprehensive and
collaborative evaluation of the family's strengths and needs that will include
the family's financial status, basic educational screening for the children,
and physical health, mental health and behavioral health screening for all
family members. Information obtained will be used to construct a Genogram and
Ecomap for use with the family;
B)
Services to meet any immediate needs of the family, including food, shelter and
clothing;
C) A minimum of twice
weekly contacts with the family, which will include the children in the
household;
D) Service
planning;
E) Services to mitigate
or control the causes of neglect;
F) Child Endangerment Risk Assessment
Protocol Safety Assessments completed in accordance with the requirements for
intact families established by the Child Endangerment Risk Assessment
Protocol;
G) Assessment of the
family's reasonable progress in resolving the issues that brought them to the
attention of the Department;
H)
Advocacy services; and
I) Discharge
planning.
3)
Strengthening and Supporting Families supervisors will provide management
services that will include review and approval of assessments, service plans,
Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol Safety Assessments, cash assistance
requests, appropriateness of service referrals, case file documentation,
requests for assessment service extensions, and requests to close family
assessment cases.
A) Supervisory review and
approval of Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol Safety Assessments will
be in accordance with the Child Endangerment Risk Assessment
Protocol.
B) Families receiving
Family Assessment services are eligible for cash assistance through the
Differential Response Cash Assistance Program. The Differential Response Cash
Assistance Program provides cash assistance to families facing environmental
issues (i.e., inadequate food, shelter, clothing or environmental neglect) to
address an immediate need due to environmental issues that may be addressed by
the delivery of some immediate cash assistance. The program provides cash
assistance to families in the assessment pathway. Cash assistance requests are
granted based upon the identified need of the applicant. An SSF worker submits
a completed DR cash assistance form to his or her SSF Supervisor who forwards
the form to the Regional DR Supervisor. Regional DR Supervisors are authorized
to approve requests for $400 or less. Requests over $400 must be approved by
the DCFS DR Project Director. Requests will be approved within 24 hours after
application, excluding holidays and weekends.
C) Supervisory monitoring of service provider
reports will be conducted to assess service delivery and appropriateness of
services.
D) Approval of service
extensions shall be based on the child's safety and well-being, family's needs
and progress made in mitigating those conditions that contributed to its
involvement with the Department.
E)
The following documents must be submitted to the SSF Supervisor before
formalizing case closing with the family:
i)
Case Closing Summary
ii) Child and
Family Service Aftercare Plan
iii)
Case note documentation of required child interviews and
documentation
iv) Provider
treatment reports
v) CFS 1441,
Safety Determination Form
vi)
Completed LEADS and SACWIS/CANTS checks for all adult members of the household
and all adults who are frequently in the home
e) Pathway Reassignment
1) Differential Response Specialist
If a Differential Response Specialist determines that a child
is unsafe, that there is an immediate need for intervention, or that
maltreatment allegations are not within the scope of differential response, the
Differential Response Specialist shall contact his or her supervisor within one
hour after completion of the initial contact with the family to discuss case
information and possible referral to the investigation pathway. If the
supervisor determines that the report should be re-directed to an investigation
pathway, he or she will contact the State Central Register Supervisor without
delay to have the report transferred to investigations. The State Central
Register Supervisor will enter the date and time of the contact with the
supervisor as the report taken date and time and enter an appropriate response
code.
2) Strengthening and
Supporting Families Worker
If the family refuses services anytime during the service
period and/or the SSF Supervisor and worker have reasonable cause to believe
that a child has been or is being abused or neglected and at risk of harm at
any time during the service delivery period, the supervisor will contact the
State Central Register Supervisor without delay to make a report of abuse or
neglect. The State Central Register Supervisor will enter the date and time of
the contact with the SSF Supervisor as the report taken date and time and enter
an appropriate response code.
f) Families May Refuse Assessment Pathway
Services
A family may refuse to accept assessment pathway services.
However, if it is determined by the DR Supervisor after review of available
assessment and safety information that the child's safety is compromised by the
refusal, the DR Supervisor will re-direct the report to the investigation
pathway in accordance with subsection (e)(1). If no safety concerns are
identified, the case will be closed.
g) No Formal Determination of Maltreatment
Family members whose case follows an assessment pathway are not
labeled as perpetrators. Children in an assessment pathway case are not labeled
victims. Names of children or family members involved in the assessment pathway
are not entered in the State Central Register, and services are provided
without a formal substantiation of alleged maltreatment.
