Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-5-34-.02

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024

Section 660-5-34-.02 - Protective Services As Specialized Social Services

(1) When complaints or reports are received, the County Department has the duty and responsibility to assess the complaint or report, and:

(a) evaluate the extent to which children are being harmed or are at risk of serious harm;

(b) evaluate the parents' capacity to improve the situation;

(c) provide the supportive services needed to better the family's situation for children; and

(d) when parents are unable to use this help, invoke legal authority of the court by petition and secure adequate protection, care, and treatment for children whenever necessary to meet their needs and rights.

(2) For the purpose of reporting cases of suspected child abuse and/or neglect, Alabama statutes give the following specific definitions:

(a) A "child" is defined as a person under the age of eighteen.

(b) "Abuse" means harm or threatened harm to a child's health or welfare, which occurs through non-accidental physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, or attempted sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation or attempted sexual exploitation.

(c) "Sexual abuse" includes the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or having a child assist any other person to engage in any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of the conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of the conduct, or the rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children as those acts are defined by Alabama law.

(d) "Sexual exploitation" includes allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution and allowing, permitting, encouraging or engaging in the obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child for sexual purposes.

(e) "Neglect" means negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child. Such negligent treatment or maltreatment includes the failure to provide adequate food, medical treatment, supervision, clothing, or shelter. The failure to provide medical treatment is neglect, provided that the parents or guardians legitimately practicing their religious beliefs who thereby do not provide specified medical treatment for a child is not, for that reason alone, considered a negligent parent or guardian. Such an exception, however, does not preclude a court from ordering that medical services be provided to the child where his health requires it.

(3) For the purpose of screening and accepting reports of child abuse/neglect that are received by the Department, the following Departmental definitions of abuse and neglect are used:

(a) The definitions of physical abuse indicate non-accidental injury or threatened injury to a child and that serious harm is present or threatened. Physical abuse, which is directly attributable to a physical act by the person allegedly responsible, includes:

1. Death;

2. Internal injuries;

3. Burns and/or scalding;

4. Bone fractures;

5. Cuts and/or bruises, including those received in corporal punishment, with consideration given to the following factors:

(i) The child's age;

(ii) The child's physical, mental, and emotional condition; and any developmental, physical, or mental disability;

(iii) Severity of the cuts/bruises (size, number, depth, extent of discoloration);

(iv) Location of the cuts/bruises;

(v) Whether an instrument was used on the child; and

(vi) Previous history of indicated abuse or neglect.

6. Human bites;

7. Sprains and/or dislocations;

8. Tying, close confinement is unreasonable restriction of a child's mobility, actions; or physical functioning by tying the child to a fixed (or heavy) object, tying limbs together; or forcing the child to remain in a closely confined area which restricts physical movement.

9. Bizarre Discipline is extreme or aberrant disciplinary actions, events, and/or devices, used in an attempt to set behavioral standards or to modify behavior, which are manifestly over-reactive to the child's behavior and the disciplinary situation; and which place the child at risk of serious harm.

10. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or drug withdrawal at birth due to the mother's substance use or misuse; and

11. Factitious Disorder by Proxy which is defined as a form of child abuse where the parents or primary caregivers, in order to gain attention for themselves, exaggerate, fabricate, and/or induce illness or symptoms in a child, placing the child at risk of serious harm; and including Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, which is a narrower type of Factitious Disorder, where the main gain for the parents or primary caregivers is attention from the medical or mental health community and the child is used to obtain and maintain the attention.

12. Chemical endangerment occurs when children are in a situation/environment where, through direct or indirect exposure, they ingest or inhale a controlled substance (e.g., methamphetamine) or chemical substance (e.g., pseudoephedrine, freon, sulfuric acid, etc.) used in the production of methamphetamine and parents'/primary caregivers' purpose for being in possession of the chemicals is to produce or manufacture crystal meth for personal use or distribution.

(b) The definitions of neglect indicate a failure by the parent or primary caregiver to protect children from a risk of serious harm. Serious harm is defined as significant physical injury; sexual abuse; severe impairment in a child's functioning; permanent disability or disfigurement; or death. "Severe impairment in a child's functioning" is a serious deficit in a child's behavior or cognition. These definitions include:

1. Neglect due to blatant disregard of parent or primary caregiver responsibilities; i.e., incidents where the risk of serious harm to the child is so imminent and apparent that it is unlikely a parent or primary caregiver would have exposed the child to such danger without exercising precautionary measures to protect the child from harm. The following results of blatant disregard are considered neglect:

(i) Death;

(ii) Internal injuries;

(iii) Burns and/or scalding;

(iv) Bone fractures;

(v) Cuts and/or bruises, including those received in corporal punishment, with consideration given to the following factors:

(I) The child's age;

(II) The child's physical, mental, and emotional condition; and any developmental, physical, or mental disability;

(III) Severity of the cuts/bruises (size, number, depth, extent of discoloration);

(IV) Location of the cuts/bruises;

(V) Whether an instrument was used on the child; and

(VI) Previous history of indicated abuse or neglect.

(vi) Human bites; and

(vii) Sprains and/or dislocations.

2. Failure to provide supervision, care, and/or guidance, that protects children from serious physical harm or sexual abuse;

3. Abandonment; i.e., the legal caregiver's relinquishment of caregiving responsibility and there is no current caregiver or the current caregiver can no longer provide care which results in a current risk of harm to the child;

4. Failure to provide food sufficient to sustain normal functioning and prevent serious harm;

5. Failure to provide shelter that protects the child against risk of serious harm including protection from weather elements and other hazards in the dwelling and on the property;

6. Failure to provide adequate clothing or personal hygiene to the extent that it poses a risk of serious harm to the child; this allegation applies to children under age 12 and to those children, regardless of age, who have a disability that prevents self-care;

7. Failure to provide medical or dental treatment for a health problem which, if untreated, could cause serious harm. However, any child who in good faith is under treatment by spiritual means alone, through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof, shall not, for that reason alone, be considered as neglected under any provision of these definitions, unless the judge in a court of law finds that it is in the child's best interest for the court to take jurisdiction. Failure of parent(s) to obtain immunizations for their child or failure of parent(s) to sign permission slips for school physicals is not considered neglect in and of itself; there must be some other allegation or home situation which might cause serious harm to the child (refer to Rule 660-5-34-.05(3) for medical neglect of handicapped infants under one year of age);

8. Failure to thrive; i.e., a serious medical condition most often seen in a child under one year of age whose weight, height, and motor development fall significantly below the average growth rates of normal children and it is determined to be non-organic in nature. The person allegedly responsible for the neglect must be directly involved/responsible.

9. Positive test for alcohol and/or drugs at birth -Infants who test positive for alcohol and/or drugs at birth due to the mother's substance misuse, as determined by a medical professional, is considered abuse/neglect.

(c) Mental Abuse/Neglect is extreme or aberrant behavior that directly results in severe impairment to a child's functioning. This allegation is based on a mental health professionals' written evaluation after the mental health professional is informed in writing of the Department's definition of mental abuse/neglect. The written evaluation must specify that the cited behavior fits within the department's definition in order for the allegation definition to be "indicated."

(d) Sexual abuse includes:

1. Sexual exploitation - the sexual use of a child for sexual arousal, gratification, advantage, or profit;

2. Sexual molestation - sexual conduct with a child when such contact, touching, or interaction over or under the child's clothes is used for arousal or gratification of sexual needs or desires;

3. Sexual penetration - any intrusion or entrance, however slight, through the use of digits (i.e., fingers or toes), through the use of an inanimate object, or between the sex organ, mouth or anus of one person and the sex organ, mouth or anus of another person. Sexual emission or release is not required; and

4. Sexually transmitted diseases - diagnosis of any sexually transmitted infection that was originally acquired as a result of sexual penetration or sexual contact with an afflicted individual.

(e) Other risk of serious harm, an allegation that applies when the total circumstances lead a reasonable person to believe that a child is at other risk of serious harm, includes situations where serious harm has not yet occurred, but a child has been placed in a situation that can result in significant physical injury; sexual abuse; severe impairment in the child's behavioral and/or cognitive functioning; permanent disability or disfigurement; or death.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 660-5-34-.02

Effective October 11, 1983. Repealed: Effective August 11, 1988. Amended: Rule readopted effective August 11, 1988. Emergency amendment effective February 27, 1994. Amended: Filed May 5, 1994; effective June 9, 1994. Amended: Filed December 16, 1998; effective January 20, 1999. Amended: Filed February 4, 2003; effective March 11, 2003. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 4, 2003; effective October 9, 2003. Repealed and New Rule: Filed June 2, 2006; effective July 7, 2006. Repealed and New Rule: Filed May 4, 2007; effective June 8, 2007. Amended: Filed April 4, 2008; effective May 9, 2008.

Author: Margaret Livingston

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, Title 13, Chapter 6 and Chapter 12, Title 26, Chapter 14.