§ 6362.  Responsibilities of county agency for child protective services.

(a)  General rule.--The county agency shall be the sole civil agency responsible for receiving and investigating all reports of child abuse made pursuant to this chapter, specifically including, but not limited to, reports of child abuse in facilities operated by the department and other public agencies, for the purpose of providing protective services to prevent further abuses to children and to provide or arrange for and monitor the provision of those services necessary to safeguard and ensure the well-being and development of the child and to preserve and stabilize family life wherever appropriate.

(b)  Assumption of responsibility by department.--When the suspected abuse has been committed by the county agency or any of its agents or employees, the department shall assume the role of the agency with regard to the investigation and directly refer the child for services.

(c)  Action by agencies for abuse by agents or employees.--Where suspected child abuse has occurred and an employee or agent of the department or the county agency or a private or public institution is a subject of the report, the department, agency or institution shall be informed of the investigation so that it may take appropriate action.

(d)  Reliance on factual investigation.--An agency charged by this section or section 6361 (relating to organization for child protective services) with investigating a report of child abuse may rely on a factual investigation of substantially the same allegations by a law enforcement agency to support the agency's finding. This reliance shall not, however, limit the duties imposed by section 6368(a) (relating to investigation of reports).

(e)  Risk assessment.--Each county agency shall implement a State-approved risk assessment process in performance of its duties under this subchapter.

(f)  Weekly face-to-face contacts.--For those children assessed as being at high risk for abuse or neglect who are remaining in or returning to the home in which the abuse or neglect occurred, the county agency shall ensure that those children are seen at least once a week, either directly by a county agency worker or through purchase of service, until they are no longer assessed as being at high risk for abuse or neglect.

(Dec. 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151; Nov. 24, 1999, P.L.542, No.50, eff. 60 days)

 

1999 Amendment.  Act 50 added subsec. (f).

1994 Amendment.  Act 151 amended the entire section, effective July 1, 1995, as to subsecs. (a), (b), (c) and (d). See section 10(1) of Act 151 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to the effective date of subsec. (e).

Cross References.  Section 6362 is referred to in sections 6361, 6364 of this title; section 6328 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).