8462 - CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT
Purpose:
The purpose of school referrals to Child Protection Service is to provide information which will assist the staff of that agency to make a judgment as to whether to intervene, counsel, or to institute legal action to protect the health and welfare of the children of Floyd County.
General Principles:
The all encompassing principle behind the law, and these referral procedures, is the requirement that any employee of the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation, who has reason to believe that a child under the age of eighteen (18) has been subjected to abuse or neglect, report such information to his/her building administrator and, through established procedures, to the Floyd County Child Protection Service. Each individual continues to have responsibility to see that the report is made to the County Office of Family and Children of Floyd County, even after having made a report to the building administrator [I.C. 31-6-11-3(a) and (b)]. The Child Protection Service is required to arrange for receipt of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect on a twenty-four (24) hour a day, seven (7) day a week basis; however, if it is not possible to immediately reach this Service and, if the case involves suspected serious effects upon a child, the City or County Police Department should be called (I.C. 31-6-11-11).
The privileged quality of the communication between a school counselor or other school official and a student is not a ground for failing to report a case of suspected child abuse or neglect (I.C. 31-6-11-8). Neither the Federal Privacy Act nor any other State or Federal statute provides grounds for failing to report a case of suspected child abuse or neglect.
While it is not possible to provide a comprehensive and totally effective guide to use in judging whether a child has been abused or neglected by persons responsible for his/her welfare, some symptoms or criteria may be helpful in individual instances. These are outlined in the step-by-step referral procedures which are a part of this document.
Any person who, in good faith, reports a case of suspected child abuse or neglect and participates in the investigation of such case, is immune from any civil or criminal liability for such actions (I.C. 31-6-11-7).
31-6-4-3 Child in Need of Services (CHINS) Definition:
Sec. 3.(a) A child is a Child in Need of Services if before the child’s eighteenth (18th) birthday:
the child’s physical or mental condition is seriously impaired or seriously endangered as a result of the inability, refusal, or neglect of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, or supervision;
the child’s physical or mental health is seriously endangered due to injury by the act or omission of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian;
the child is the victim of sex offense under Indiana law;
the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian allows the child to participate in an obscene performance as defined by Indiana law;
the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian allows the child to commit a sex offense prohibited by Indiana law;
the child substantially endangers the child’s own health or the health of another; or
the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian fails to participate in a disciplinary proceeding in connection with the student’s improper behavior, as provided for by I.C. 20-8.1-5-7, where the behavior of the student has been repeatedly disruptive in the school; and needs care, treatment, or rehabilitation that the child is not receiving and that is unlikely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the court;
An omission under subdivision (a)(2) is an occurrence in which the parent, guardian, or custodian had a reasonable opportunity to prevent or mitigate.
A custodian under subsection (a) includes any person responsible for the child’s welfare who is employed by a public or private residential school or foster care facility.
When a parent, guardian, or custodian fails to provide specific medical treatment for a child because of the legitimate and genuine practice of the parent’s guardian’s, or custodian’s religious beliefs, a rebuttable presumption arises that the child is not a Child in Need of Services because of such failure. However, this presumption does not prevent a juvenile court from ordering, when the health of child requires, medical services from a physician licensed to practice medicine in Indiana. This presumption does not apply to situations in which the life or health of a child is in serious danger.
Nothing in this chapter limits the right of a person to use reasonable corporal punishment when disciplining a child if the person is the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child. In addition, nothing in this chapter limits the lawful practice or teaching of religious beliefs.
A Child in Need of Services under subsection (a) includes a handicapped child who is deprived of nutrition that is necessary to remedy or ameliorate a life threatening medical condition, if the nutrition or medical or surgical intervention is generally provided to similarly situated handicapped or non-handicapped children.
A handicapped child under subsection (f) is an individual under eighteen (18) years of age who has a handicap as defined in I.C. 22-9-1-3(q). As added by Acts 1978, P.L. 136, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1979, P.L. 276, SEC.13; Acts 1980, P.L. 182, SEC.5; Acts 1981, P.L. 266, SEC.5; P.L. 288-1983, DEC.1; P.L. 118-1984, SEC.2; P.L. 154- 1984, SEC.2; P.L. 158-1987, SEC.3.
31-6-4-3.1 Child in Need of Services: alcohol, controlled substance or legend drugs.
Sec. 3.1 A child is a Child in Need of Services if:
the child is born with a fetal alcohol syndrome or an addiction to a controlled substance or a legend drug; or
the child has an injury; has abnormal physical or psychological development; or is at a substantial risk of a life threatening condition that arises or is substantially aggravated because the child’s mother was addicted to alcohol, a controlled substance, or a legend drug during pregnancy; and needs care, treatment, or rehabilitation that the child is not receiving, or that is likely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the court. As added by P.L. 294- 1987, SEC.3.
Child Abuse – Procedure for Referral:
Identification of Student
Child abuse should be considered as a possibility in the following cases:
when a child has physical injuries for which s/he gives no explanation, or no satisfactory explanation
a recurrence of physical injuries to a child without satisfactory explanations being provided by the child or person responsible for his/her welfare
when a child reports an incident which describes sexual abuse
whenever there is a reasonable belief that a child less than sixteen (16) years of age has engaged in sexual conduct. Pregnant students under the age of sixteen (16) must be reported to the County Office of Family and Children of Floyd County.
Report to Building Administrator and Child Protection Service
Person initially identifying child reports such information to his/her administrator and through him/her to the Child Protection Services, County Office of Family and Children of Floyd County. Such a report should be made orally, by telephone, immediately upon discovery. [I.C.31-6-11-3(a) and (b)]
Providing Information
When an administrator reports a case of suspected child abuse, s/he should be prepared to provide the County Office of Family and Children of Floyd County Child Protection Services the following information:
the name and address of the child and the persons responsible for his/her care
current location of child (school, home, etc.)
the child’s age and sex
specifics of the apparent injuries, abuse, including references to any such prior instances to the child or siblings
the name of the person suspected of causing the abuse; if known
the source of the report to the administrator
the administrator’s name, school, and telephone number
actions taken by the administrator to investigate the situation; e.g., photographs, medical care, keeping the child at school
any other information that may be helpful in investigating and resolving the situation (31-5.5-3-5).
Child Neglect – Procedure for Referral
Identification of Student
Child neglect should be considered as a possibility in the following cases:
when a child indicates that s/he is left unattended before or after school (consider child’s age and all other known circumstances)
when a child is unclean and/or poorly dressed, and the family can apparently provide such necessary support
when a family appears to make little or no effort to see that a child attends school regularly
when a child is in need of medical attention and the family is not making an effort to provide such attention
when a child appears to be sufficiently malnourished to endanger his/her health
Referral for Initial Assessment
Principal or his/her designee refers student to appropriate Student Services Center personnel for investigation, assessment, and possible referral to Child Protection Service.
Investigation by Student Services Center Staff
Student Services Center staff makes one (1) or more home visits, confers with building principal, and gathers information from appropriate community agencies or health professionals.
Staff Conference and Disposition
Student Services Center staff will confer with Director of Student Services and a decision is made as to whether sufficient information exists to constitute an appropriate referral.
Referral to Child Protection Service
If decision is made that a referral seems appropriate, a Student Services Referral Form #301 "Referral to County Office of Family and Children" is completed and copies are distributed as form indicates.