La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § III-6933

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 12, December 20, 2024

Section III-6933 - Hotline

A. Guiding Principles. These standards require that family violence programs establish common quality intervention services. Participation in intervention services shall be voluntary.

B. Critical Minimum Standards

1. Standard 10.1. The program must operate a 24 hour, 7 days a week hotline. The hotline must be answered by a program staff member or volunteer who has had training on crisis intervention and trauma informed approaches to hotline calls.

C. Minimum Standards

1. Standard 10.2. The program must have a minimum of two telephone lines. One of the lines must be the designated hotline. Programs that employ the use of caller identification equipment or telephone services in conflict with the spirit of anonymity must, as a condition of informed consent, inform callers of the use of such equipment.

2. Standard 10.3. Hotlines must be equipped with call blocking to safeguard against caller identification and call back services.

3. Standard 10.4. Hotline services must provide emergency telephone crisis intervention and advocacy. These services include:

a. crisis intervention;

b. assessment of callers needs;

c. emergency protocols;

d. lethality and danger assessment;

e. information and referrals to available community resources;

f. safety planning; and

g. listening to and validating the callers experience.

4. Standard 10.5. Hotline services must include the provision of education and information about:

a. the nature and dynamics of domestic violence;

b. how batterers maintain control and dominance over their victims;

c. the need to hold batterers accountable for their actions;

d. the recognition that individuals victimized by domestic violence are responsible for their own decisions and that batterers are responsible for their violent behavior; and

e. trauma.

5. Standard 10.6. Hotline calls must be documented on an appropriate form that denotes each hotline call, the services offered to the survivor, any referrals made on behalf of the survivor, any information received in calls from professionals or third parties, and a plan of action to be taken.

6. Standard 10.7. Staff members answering hotline calls must ensure that all calls are answered immediately and must ensure accessibility for all callers.

7. Standard 10.8. Hotlines must be answered using the name of the family violence program.

8. Standard 10.9. Staff members and volunteers must answer the hotline in a place that is quiet, free of distractions, and confidential. If possible, the hotline should be in a private office.

9. Standard 10.10. The hotline number must be listed in the local telephone directory, be widely distributed, and be available from local telephone information services.

10. Standard 10.11. When holding or transferring hotline calls the staff member must:

a. complete an initial assessment as to the immediate danger to the survivor before putting the caller on hold;

b. check back with callers on hold within two minutes; and

c. prioritize calls using safety and lethality assessments.

11. Standard 10.12. Survivors of domestic violence who are deaf or hard of hearing must have equal access to the hotline.

12. Standard 10.13. The program must have written procedures on how advocates will respond to a limited English proficiency (LEP) individual.

13. Standard 10.14. A hotline shall not be answered by an automated call-routing machine, an answering machine, or an answering service.

14. Standard 10.15. The program must maintain a staffing schedule that provides staff members or volunteers access to a supervisor or their designee as a back-up during hotline coverage.

15. Standard 10.16. If either party is using a cellular telephone, the caller must be made aware that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. All hotline telephones must have a call waiting feature.

16. Standard 10.17. If call forwarding is used to ensure proper staffing of the hotline, it is the responsibility of the program staff members to ensure safety and confidentiality.

17. Standard 10.18. After hours, on weekends, and on holidays, administrative and outreach telephones must be answered by devices that clearly direct callers to the hotline number.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § III-6933

Promulgated by the Department of Children and Family Services, Economic Stability Section, LR 4432 (1/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:2121-2128.