13229459, 65C-29.001 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

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Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services

Notice: 13229459

Notice of Proposed Rule

Department:

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Division:

Family Safety and Preservation Program

Chapter:

PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

Overview

RULE:

65C-29.001	Definitions
65C-29.002	Reports of Child Abuse, Neglect or Abandonment
65C-29.003	Child Protective Investigations
65C-29.004	Institutional Child Protective Investigations
65C-29.005	Children Denied Shelter (Lockouts) (Repealed)
65C-29.006	Foster Care Referrals
65C-29.007	Child-on-Child Sexual Abuse
65C-29.008	Initial Health Care Assessment for Children Alleged to be Abused, Neglect or Abandoned
65C-29.009	Criminal, Juvenile and Abuse/Neglect History Checks
65C-29.010	False Reports
65C-29.011	Out-of-Town Inquiries
65C-29.012	Transfer of Child Protective Investigations Within and Between Circuits
65C-29.013	Diligent Efforts to Locate
65C-29.014	High Risk Tracking and Review (Repealed)
65C-29.015	Internal Reviews

PURPOSE:

The Department is adding, amending, and repealing several rules within Chapter 65C-29, F.A.C., Protective Investigations, to accomplish the following tasks: 1) Move definitions related to child protective investigations from Chapter 65C-30, F.A.C., General Child Welfare Provisions to Chapter 65C-29, F.A.C.; 2) Add language for assessing for and safety planning for immediate and long-term safety of a child that  will be consistent with the Department’s new safety decision making methodology, and; 3) Simplify wording and resolve issues of ambiguity.

SUMMARY:

These rule changes add clarifying language for the roles and responsibilities for the Florida Abuse Hotline Command Center staff when assessing reports of alleged child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and for child protective investigators when conducting child protective investigations.  Additional language, revisions, and deletions will include action necessary to implement provisions of the law and the safety decision making methodology as follows:
Information to be gathered by the Hotline from a reporter which aligns with the new safety decision making methodology.
Assessing and how to handle situations when children are in present danger and immediate safety actions are required, assessing for if long-term safety actions are required, and when to bring an unsafe child into protective custody.
Deletes duplicate language already in Part III of Chapter 39, Florida Statutes, as well as Sections 39.201, 39.401, 39.402, and 39.407, Florida Statutes.
Aligns terminology with the reorganization of the Department from Districts to Circuits and Zones to Regions.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY:

39.012, 39.0121, 39.301(14)(c), 39.407(1), F.S

LAW:

2006

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

7/12/2013 Vol. 39/135

COMMENTS:

From 7/12/2013 To 8/2/2013 (21 Days)
The public comment period for this notice has already expired.

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

No reference(s).

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