View the Complete Protocol

Table of Contents

• MISSION STATEMENT
• AGENCY ROLES AND DESCRIPTIONS
  

  California Youth Authority [CYA]
  Child Protection Hotline
  Community Care Licensing Division
  County Counsel
  Court-Appointed Counsel for Children in Dependency Court
  Criminal Court
  Delinquency Court
  Department of Children and Family Services
  Department of Corrections -- Parole
  Dependency Court
  Educators
  Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect
  ICAN Child Abduction and Reunification Task Force
  ICAN Adolescent/Teen Suicide Death Review Team
  ICAN Child Death Review Team
  Juvenile Dependency Mediation Court
  Law Enforcement.
  Los Angeles Child Advocates Office -- Court Appointed Special Advocates
  Medical Professionals
  Mental Health Professionals
  Multi-Disciplinary Interview Centers
  Probation Department
  Prosecutors
  Public Defender
  Regional Centers
  Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement [SAFE] Team

• MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH
• MANDATORY REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

  Mandated Reporter Occupations
  What to Report -- Mandatory
  Mandatory Reporting Requirement
  Additional Reporting Requirements for Health Practitioners Only
  Coroner's Report
  What to Report -- Discretionary
  How To Make a Report
  The Child's Disclosure
  Communication
  Confidentiality
  Immunity
  Criminal Liability
  Internal Agency Procedures for Suspected Child Abuse Reporting
  Removal of Children from School
  Cross-Reporting Requirement
  Supplemental Cross Report
  How to Make a Cross Report
  Suggestions to Ensure Appropriate Response to the Initial Report
  Mandated Reporter Training

• INITIAL RESPONSE

  Mandatory Response by DCFS
  Emergency Response Children's Social Workers
  Immediate Response by Law Enforcement
  Recommendations for Cooperative Field Response
  Initial Contact
  Crime Scene Preservation
  Medical Needs
  Interviews of Victims and Witnesses
  First Responders' Interview with the Suspect
  Documentation
  Temporary Custody and Placement of Children
  Medical Examination of Child in Protective Custody
  Procedures for Transporting a Child

• CHILD DEATH AND POTENTIALLY FATAL CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS

  Considerations When There Are Surviving Siblings
  Medical Personnel
  Coroner
  Law Enforcement
  District Attorney
  County Counsel
  Protective Orders
  DCFS

• FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION AND CASE MANAGEMENT

  Law Enforcement
  DCFS

• SPECIAL AREAS OF CONCERN

  Child Abduction Cases
  Drug-Endangered Children [DEC] Cases
  Incidents in Out-of Home Care
  Native American Children
  Special-Needs Children
  - Developmental Disability
  - Physical Disability
  -- Motor Impairment
  -- Visual Impairment
  -- Hearing Impairment
  - Psychiatric Disability

• MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

  Sexual Abuse
  Physical Abuse
  - History and Assessment
  - Physical Examination
  -- Bruises
  -- Burns
  -- Skeletal Injuries
  -- Abusive Head Trauma
  -- Intra-abdominal Injuries
  -- Intrathoracic Injuries
  - Some Suggested Diagnostic Tests for Physical Abuse Cases
  Non-Organic Failure to Thrive
  - History
  - Physical Examination
  - Intervention  

• VICTIM SERVICES

  Mental Health Services
  Victim Witness Assistance Program
  Court Appointed Special Advocates [CASA]

• LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

  Criminal Court
  Juvenile Court
  - Delinquency Court
  - Dependency Court
  Family Court
  Criminal Case Presentation
  Criminal Filing Guidelines
  Criminal Proceedings In Court
  Dependency Case Presentation
  Dependency Proceedings In Court
  - Initial Hearing
  - Jurisdictional Hearing
  - Disposition Hearing
  - Periodic Review Hearings
  - Selection and Implementation Hearing
  Juvenile Dependency Mediation
  Family Law Proceedings in Court
  - Family Court Duty to Evaluate Child Abuse Allegations
  - Child Custody Evaluator

• COMMUNICATION
  
  Family and Children's Index [FCI]
  
  
• PROTOCOL DISSEMINATION, TRAINING AND REVIEW

  Protocol Dissemination
  Protocol and General Training
  Protocol Review

• APPENDICES
  • Abbreviations
  • Recognized Resources for Forensic Evaluation
  • Restraining and Protective Orders
  • Determining Reasonable Suspicion
  • Pediatric Condition Falsification (Munchausen by Proxy)
  • Suspected Child Abuse Report [form SS8572]
  • Child Abuse Investigation Report [form SS8583]
  • Safely Surrendered Newborns
  • Special Needs Children -- Assistance and Advocacy Agencies
  • Community Care Licensing District Offices
  • Regional Centers Serving Los Angeles California
  • Los Angeles County American Indian Child Abuse Protocol
  • Dual Supervision Cases MOU
  • Directive for the Department of the Coroner
  • Hospital Protocol for Evaluating and Reporting Cases Involving Prenatal Drug/Alcohol Exposure
  • Multi-Agency Response Team (MART)
  • Criminal Child Abuse Investigative Checklist from the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse
    
    
  
  
  
  Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN)
  National Center on Child Fatality Review (NCFR)
  Supported by ICAN Associates, Inc.
  
  If you need someone to train supervisory staff at your agency on the Protocol, please contact Mary Nichols, ICAN Program Administrator at alvinm@dcfs.lacounty.gov, or by phone at: (626)455-4585.
  
  
  STAFF
  
  Executive Editor: Deanne Tilton Durfee
  Senior Consultant: Michael Durfee, M.D
  Training Coordinator: Paul Click
  Staff Contributors: Meghan Cleveland, Paul Click, Valerie Dalena, Mary Nichols, Vivian Ng, Edie Shulman, Cathy Walsh, Boratha Yeang
  Design: Laurence Kerr, Paul Click, Valerie Doran
  
  ICAN/NCFR
  4024 N.Durfee Ave., El Monte,CA 91732 (626) 455-4585
  P. Click (626) 455-4549 pjclick@yahoo.com
  FX (626) 444-4851
  www.ican-ncfr.org
  
  

Please check out the Child Abuse Protocol Video as well.