Ariz. Admin. Code § 21-3-101

Current through Register Vol. 31, No. 2, January 10, 2025

Section R21-3-101 - Definitions

The definitions in A.R.S. §§ 8-101, 8-201, 8-501, 8-455, 8-531 and 8-801, and the following definitions apply in this Chapter and Title 21, Chapter 4:

1. "Abuse" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-201.

2. "Centralized Intake Hotline" or "the Hotline" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-455.

3. "Child" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-101.

4. "Child Safety Specialist" means the same as "child safety worker" as in A.R.S. § 8-801.

5. "Child safety services" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-801.

6. "Child welfare agency" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-501.

7. "Criminal conduct allegation" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-201.

8. "Criminal investigation" means an investigation of criminal allegations conducted by a law enforcement agency.

9. "Criminal offense" means an allegation of abuse and neglect perpetrated by someone other than a parent, guardian, custodian, or other adult member of the child's household that, if true, would constitute a felony offense.

10. "Custodian" means a person defined in A.R.S. § 8-201.

11. "DCS Investigator" means a DCS employee who investigates allegations of child abuse or neglect pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 8-456 and 8-471.

12. "DCS Report" means a communication received by the Centralized Intake Hotline that alleges child abuse or neglect that meets the criteria for a report as set forth in A.R.S. § 8-455.

13. "Department" or "DCS" means the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

14. "Finding" means one of the following:

a. The Department has determined during its investigation that probable cause exists to substantiate the allegation of abuse or neglect of a child, and

i. The specific person responsible has been identified, or

ii. The specific person responsible has not been identified,

b. The Department has determined during its investigation that the allegation of abuse or neglect is unsubstantiated; or

c. After a thorough search, the Department is unable to locate the alleged abused or neglected child.

15. "Guardian" means the same as a person who has the duty and authority of a "Guardianship of the person" in A.R.S. § 8-531.

16. "Household member" means a parent, guardian, custodian, or an adult who at the time of the alleged abuse or neglect resided in the child victim's home.

17. "Incoming communication" or "communication" means contact with DCS concerning alleged abuse or neglect of a child by any method that is received by or ultimately directed to the Centralized Intake Hotline.

18. "Intake Specialist" means the same as "hotline worker" in A.R.S. § 8-455 and means an employee of the Department trained in Centralized Intake Hotline procedures.

19. "Investigation" means using investigative techniques to search out and examine the facts to determine whether a child has been abused or neglected as provided for in A.R.S. §§ 8-456 and 8-471.

20. "Investigative protocols," also called "Joint investigative protocols" and "Multi-disciplinary Protocols," means a guide for the conduct of criminal conduct investigations mandated by A.R.S. § 8-817.

21. "Neglect" or "neglected" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-201.

22. "OCWI Investigator" means a DCS Investigator who is assigned to the Office of Child Welfare Investigations, and whose primary duties and responsibilities are prescribed in A.R.S. § 8-471.

23. "Other child in the home" means a child residing in the same home as either the alleged child victim or the alleged perpetrator at the time of the alleged abuse or neglect.

24. "Out-of-Home placement" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-501.

25. "Parent" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-501.

26. "Probable cause" means some credible evidence that abuse or neglect occurred.

27. "PSRT" means the Department's Protective Services Review Team that administers the process described in A.R.S. § 8-811 for review and appeal of proposed substantiated findings of child abuse or neglect.

28. "Reporting Source" means a person who reports child abuse or neglect to the Department or to a peace officer as prescribed in A.R.S. § 13-3620, even if the communication does not meet the criteria for a DCS report as set forth in A.R.S. § 8-455.

29. "Response time" means the period of time designated by the Hotline and begins when a DCS report is assigned to a DCS field unit for investigation and ends when the DCS Investigator initiates the investigation by an attempt to make in-person contact with the alleged child victim. Any proposed changes to the response time shall be submitted to the DCS Community Advisory Committee as established in A.R.S. § 8-459 for review and discussion prior to implementation.

30. "Safe haven provider" means the same as in A.R.S. § 13-3623.01.

31. "Substantiated" means that there is probable cause to believe the child was abused or neglected.

32. "Temporary custody" means the same as in A.R.S. § 8-821.

33. "Unsubstantiated" means that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate that the child was abused or neglected when the finding was entered into the Department's case management information system.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R21-3-101

New section made by exempt rulemaking at 21 A.A.R. 3247, effective 1/26/2016.