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A.R.S. § 8-817
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Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated Currentness
Title 8. Children
Chapter 10. Dependent Children
Article 1. Protective Services
§
8-817. Initial screening and safety assessment and investigation protocols
A.
The department shall develop, establish and implement initial screening
and safety assessment protocols in consultation with the attorney
general and statewide with county attorneys, chiefs of police, sheriffs,
medical experts, victims' rights advocates, domestic
violence victim advocates and mandatory reporters. Any initial
screening and safety assessment tools shall be based on sound
methodology and shall ensure valid and reliable responses. The
department shall establish written policies and procedures to implement
the use of the initial screening and safety assessment protocols.
B.
To ensure thorough investigations of those accused of crimes against
children, in each county, the county attorney, in cooperation with the
sheriff,
the
chief law enforcement officer
for each municipality in the county and the department shall develop,
adopt and implement protocols to guide the conduct of investigations of
allegations involving criminal conduct. The protocols shall include:
2. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations of specific types of abuse and neglect, including timely forensic medical evaluations.
3. The standards for interdisciplinary
investigations involving native American children in compliance with the
Indian child welfare act.
5.
Procedures for coordination of screening, response and investigation
with other involved professional disciplines and notification of case
status and standards for the timely disclosure of related information.
6.
The training required for the involved
child protective services workers, law enforcement officers and
prosecutors to execute the investigation protocols, including forensic
interviewing skills.
7. The process to ensure review of
and compliance with the investigation protocols and the reporting of activity under the protocols.
8.
Procedures for an annual report
to be transmitted within forty-five days after the end of each fiscal
year independently from child protective services and each county
attorney to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives
and the president of the senate. This report shall
be a public document and shall include:
(a)
The number of criminal conduct allegations investigated and how many of
these investigations were conducted jointly pursuant to the
investigation protocols established in this subsection.
(b)
Information from each county attorney
regarding the number of cases presented for review, the number of
persons charged in those cases, the reasons why charges were not pursued
and the disposition of these cases.
C. The department shall cooperate with the county attorney and the
appropriate law enforcement agency pursuant to the investigation
protocols adopted in this
section.
In instances of criminal
conduct against a child, the department shall protect the victim's
rights of the children in its custody against harassment, intimidation
and abuse, as applicable, pursuant to article II, § 2.1, Constitution of
Arizona.
D.
The county attorney and the law enforcement agency shall cooperate with
the department pursuant to the investigation protocols adopted in this
section.
CREDIT(S)
Added by Laws 2003, 2nd S.S., Ch. 6, § 22, eff.
Dec. 18, 2003. Amended by Laws 2007, Ch. 56, § 1; Laws 2008, Ch. 280,
§ 7.
Laws 2003, 2nd S.S., Ch. 6, §§ 43 and 44, provide:
"Sec. 43. Protocols for initial screening and safety assessments
"The
department of economic security shall
develop the protocols for initial screening and safety assessments of
child abuse and neglect allegations pursuant to § 8-817, Arizona Revised
Statutes, as added by this act, on or before July 1, 2004.
"Sec. 44. Protocols for joint investigations
"The
county attorney in each county, the county sheriff, the chief law
enforcement officers of each municipality in the county and the
department of economic security shall
develop the protocols for joint investigations of extremely serious
conduct allegations pursuant to § 8-817, Arizona Revised Statutes, as
added by this act, on or before July 1, 2004."
The 2007 amendment by Ch. 56 added the last two sentences of subsec. C.
The 2008 amendment by Ch. 280 rewrote the section, which had read:
"A. The department shall develop initial screening and safety assessment
protocols in consultation with the attorney general and statewide with
county attorneys, chiefs of police, sheriffs, medical experts, victims'
rights advocates, domestic violence victim advocates
and mandatory reporters. Any initial
screening and safety assessment tools shall be based on sound
methodology and shall ensure valid and reliable responses. The
department shall establish written policies and procedures to implement
the use of the initial screening and safety assessment protocols.
"B.
In each county, the county attorney, the sheriff, the chief law
enforcement officer for each municipality in the county and the
department shall develop and implement protocols for cooperation in
investigations of allegations involving extremely serious conduct.
The protocols shall include:
"1. The process for notification of receipt of extremely serious conduct allegations.
"2.
The standards for interdisciplinary investigations of specific types of
abuse and neglect, including timely forensic medical evaluations.
"3.
The standards for interdisciplinary investigations involving native
American children in compliance with the Indian child welfare act.
"4. Procedures for sharing information.
"5. Procedures for coordination of screening,
response and investigation with other involved professional disciplines and notification of case status.
"6.
The training required for the involved child protective service
workers, law enforcement officers and prosecutors to execute the
investigation protocols, including forensic
interviewing skills.
"7.
The process to ensure review of and compliance with the investigation
protocols and the reporting of activity under the protocols.
"8.
Procedures for an annual report to be transmitted within forty-five
days after the end of each fiscal year to the governor, the speaker of
the house of representatives
and the president of the senate.
"9. Procedures for dispute resolution.
"C.
The department, the appropriate county attorney and the appropriate law
enforcement agency shall cooperate in the investigation of every
extremely serious conduct allegation in accordance with the
investigation protocols established pursuant to this section.
Before it releases records it receives from the department pursuant to
an investigation, the law enforcement agency
shall
take whatever precautions it
determines are reasonably necessary to protect the identity and safety
of a person who reports child abuse or neglect and to protect any other
person the agency believes could be endangered by the disclosure of the
CPS information. The law enforcement agency
is not required to disclose CPS information if the disclosure would
compromise the integrity of a child protective services or criminal
investigation."
Reviser's Notes:
2008 Note. Pursuant to authority of § 41-1304.02, "; investigations; disclosure
of information" was removed from the section heading.
A. R. S. § 8-817, AZ ST § 8-817
the
Forty-Ninth Legislature
(2010).
.