Texas Register, Volume 23, Number 15, Pages 3631-3764, April 10, 1998 Page: 3,670
3631-3764 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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will not be investigated and that the reporter may discuss concerns
about the decision with the supervisor.
701.405. Notification to Law Enforcement Agencies of Reports of
Abuse or Neglect in School Investigations.
Child Protective Services (CPS) must provide notification of all
school-related reports of child abuse or neglect to the law enforcement
entity with jurisdiction for criminal investigations in the geographical
area where the alleged incident occurred, within the time frames
set out in 700.506(1) of this title (relating to Notification of Law
Enforcement Agencies).
700.406. Priorities and Time Frames for Initiating School Investi-
gations.
Child Protective Services (CPS) shall assign a priority to all reports
accepted for investigation, and shall initiate an investigation within
the corresponding time frame, as specified in 700.505 of this title
(relating to Priorities for Investigation and Assessment). Prior to
initiating an investigation, a CPS supervisor must review the intake
report and either approve or change the initial priority and the action
recommended for the report.
700.407. Notification to School Principal of Impending School
Investigation.
Prior to conducting an investigation under this subchapter, Child
Protective Services (CPS) must notify the school principal (or the
principal's supervisor if the school principal is an alleged perpetrator)
of the fact that a report has been assigned for investigation, the
nature of the allegations contained in the report, and the date and
time when the investigator plans to visit the school campus to
begin the investigation. The CPS investigator must request that the
school principal (or the principal's supervisor) not alert the alleged
perpetrator or others regarding the report until the investigator has
first had an opportunity to interview the alleged perpetrator.
700.408. Conducting the School Investigation.
(a) An investigation conducted under this subchapter may
include the following investigative steps, unless the allegations of
child abuse and neglect can be clearly confirmed or ruled-out without
recourse to one or more of these steps:porter.
(1) obtain a full statement of the allegation from the re-
(2) interview or examine each alleged victim, as appro-priate in the case.
(3) interview any other witnesses or persons who may
have collateral information, including the child's parents.
(4) interview the alleged perpetrator.
(5) obtain photographs, school records, or other pertinent
physical evidence, if relevant to the investigation.
(6) request that a parent of an alleged victim obtain
a medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child
and that the records of such examination be provided to the Child
Protective Services (CPS) investigator, if necessary, to properly
investigate the allegations in the case.
(7) request that the alleged perpetrator submit to a
medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination and that the
records of such examination be provided to the CPS investigator,
if necessary, to properly investigate the allegations in the case.
(8) cooperate with law enforcement in the event that
law enforcement is conducting a joint investigation regarding the
allegations.(b) CPS will conduct a criminal history background check on
the alleged perpetrator in accordance with Texas Government Code,
4114.114, and 700.520 of this title (relating to Criminal Records
Checks).
(c) The CPS investigator must complete the investigation,
reach a disposition as to each allegation made in the report, and submit
the investigation report and findings to a supervisor for approval
within 30 days after initiating the investigation, unless an extension
of time is approved by the worker's supervisor due to extenuating
circumstances. The CPS supervisor must approve the investigation
or return it to the investigator for further action, within ten days of
receiving the investigative report. If the tenth day falls on a weekend
or state holiday, the supervisor has until the next working day to
complete the required review.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, an
investigation may be closed administratively at any point during the
investigation, if it becomes apparent after initiating the investigation
that the allegations made in the report do not, in fact, meet one or
more of the criteria for investigation specified in 700.404 of this title
(relating to Criteria for Accepting Reports and Conducting School
Investigations). If a case is closed administratively, all allegations in
the case are given the disposition of "administrative closure."
700.409. Conducting Interviews or Examinations.
(a) Interviews and examinations in a school investigation
may take place on or off the school premises, as deemed appropriate
by the Child Protective Services (CPS) investigator, provided the in-
vestigator notifies the school principal (or that individual's supervisor
in the event that the principal is the alleged perpetrator) prior to con-
ducting an interview or examination on school premises. CPS may
request that school personnel or volunteers not be present during the
interview or examination of an alleged victim, an alleged perpetrator,
an adult or child witness, or any other person who may have informa-
tion relevant to the investigation if the investigator determines that:
(1) the presence of school personnel or volunteers would
compromise the integrity of the investigation; or
(2) a better interview or examination of the child would
result without school personnel or volunteers being present.
(b) The initial investigation interview of a child alleged
to have been physically or sexually abused must be videotaped or
audiotaped by CPS unless good cause exists not to do so, as specified
in 700.522 of this title (relating to Audiotaping or Videotaping
Interviews with Alleged Victims).
(c) The CPS investigator must comply with the requirements
in 700.508(b) of this title (relating to Interviews with Parents or
Other Alleged Perpetrators).
700.410. Dispositions in School Investigations.
(a) Dispositions. At the conclusion of the investigation,
Child Protective Services (CPS) must assign an individual disposition
to each allegation of abuse or neglect, as well as an overall disposition
to the investigation.
(b) Assignment of allegation dispositions. CPS uses the
following allegation dispositions for investigations in school settings:
(1) reason-to-believe;
(2) ruled-out;
(3) moved;
(4) unable to determine; and
(5) administrative closure.23 TexReg 3670 April 10, 1998 Texas Register
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 23, Number 15, Pages 3631-3764, April 10, 1998, periodical, April 10, 1998; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113834/m1/40/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.