10000 SWI Residential Child Care Investigations (RCCI) Intake Screening
10100 Legal Basis for Screening
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
State law requires DFPS to screen all Residential Child Care Investigations (RCCI) abuse and neglect intakes prior to assignment for investigation and ensure correct prioritization.
Prioritizing reports allows DFPS to investigate cases of abuse and neglect according to severity. A case is considered less serious if the circumstances of the case do not indicate an immediate or imminent threat of severe harm or death of a child as a result of abuse or neglect.
After contacting a professional or other credible source, DFPS determines whether a child’s safety is assured.
10200 Screening Purpose and Program Organization
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The purpose of screening is to determine if the reported information requires investigation by clarifying and researching information related to the intake. Screeners do the following:
- Use critical thinking skills and professional judgement when prioritizing or closing intakes.
- Clearly document the rationale for decisions.
10210 SWI Residential Child Care Investigations (RCCI) Screeners
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
RCCI screeners review all RCCI reports completed as abuse, neglect, or exploitation intakes. Screeners do the following:
- Contact the reporter and the child’s conservatorship (CVS) or single source continuum contractor (SSCC) caseworker to clarify and research information related to the intake. Screeners also contact other collateral sources, when necessary.
- Review the allegations and priority assigned to the intake.
- Make changes to the allegations, victims, perpetrators, or priority, when necessary.
See 1630 Screening Staff.
10220 Screener Supervisor
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
Screener supervisors are responsible for:
- Assigning intakes to individual screeners on a rotating and fair basis.
- Consulting (staffing) with screeners about specific intakes to ensure correct assessment and approve the next actions taken with consideration for child safety factors.
- Consulting with RCCI supervisors, program administrators, and HHSC supervisors about intakes received through SWI.
- Delegating supervisory duties when the supervisor is absent.
10230 Screener Program Administrator
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener program administrator provides leadership and support to screening staff and supervisors. Program administrators may consult on certain RCCI intakes and intake closures.
10240 Workload Distribution
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
Screener supervisors assign intakes to screeners on a rotating basis. The screener’s workload is subject to change based on the supervisor’s assessment and the number of intakes received.
If an intake is incorrectly routed to RCCI, it is the responsibility of the screener to do the following:
- Notify the screener supervisor.
- Ensure that the intake is sent to the correct jurisdiction.
- Follow up with a courtesy email to SWI Policy and Performance Management (PPM).
See 2850 Reentering Reports (Reentry).
10250 Sensitive Intakes
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
Screeners complete law enforcement notifications for sensitive intakes.
Intakes listing CVS or SSCC caseworkers as alleged perpetrators are marked sensitive. The screener generates the CVS notification when the notification is not generated at the time of intake due to sensitivity.
See 3101 CVS Caseworker Notification.
10300 Screening Process
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener uses the following to assess intakes on a case-by-case basis:
- Statutory definitions of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
- RCCI jurisdiction, policy, and procedures.
- Quality investigative practice, including research of prior intakes or investigations for prioritization decisions.
- Professional judgment.
The screener reviews the intake to determine the accuracy of the initial priority. The screener assesses:
- Information about the severity of the allegation.
- Risk to all children involved.
- History of all alleged perpetrators and victims.
- History and trends of the operation or foster home.
- Credibility of the reporter through history. Previous history helps to determine if the reporter made false accusations or invalid reports in the past.
The screener reviews the intake narrative and uses resources to do the following:
- Determine if the reported allegations meet the definition of abuse or neglect.
- Evaluate if information involves possible violations of the law, administrative rules, or minimum standards.
The screener conducts an initial assessment of the intake to identify:
- Any risk factors or safety concerns, including information related to child-on-child sexual or physical aggression.
- Additional allegations needed.
- Worker safety concerns.
The screener documents any special notations in the intake about the location of or special concerns for the victim or alleged perpetrator.
10310 Criteria
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
All RCCI Priority 1 (P1) and Priority 2 (P2) abuse or neglect intakes received from SWI are screened. Screeners review all P1 and P2 intakes received during regular business hours, and all P2 intakes regardless of the time of receipt. On-call field investigators and supervisors complete the screening for P1 intakes received outside of regular business hours.
See:
10930 Screening Outside of Business Hours
Priority 1 Intakes
P1 intakes are screened immediately and a decision for prioritization is made.
- When the information clearly supports a P1 intake, the screener sends the screened intake to the router.
- If the intake does not have detailed information to support the recommended priority, the screener attempts to obtain more information. If the screener cannot obtain more information, the screener consults with a screener supervisor for guidance and sends the intake to the router.
- For P1 intakes involving a child death or near death, the screener immediately notifies the regional router, program administrators, and supervisors to begin the investigation process. The screener must complete the screening template before progressing this type of intake and placing it on the router’s workload. This type of intakes can never be downgraded to a Priority None (PN).
Priority 2 Intakes
P2 intakes are screened within one day and a decision for prioritization is made.
- The screener consults with the screener supervisor for guidance when the screener determines an intake should be upgraded to a P1.
- If information in the intake is unclear, the screener makes phone contact with the reporter and the child’s CVS or SSCC caseworker to clarify.
10320 Time Frames
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener does not hold an intake after completing screening tasks for any reason. The screener sends the progressed intake to the regional router immediately after completing all screening tasks.
- P1 intakes are screened immediately.
- P2 intakes received during regular business hours are screened and sent to the router by close of business the same day the intake is received. P2 intakes received outside of regular business hours are screened and sent to the router by close of business the day after the intake is received.
The screener emails a notification and a copy of the screener’s final assessment to the designated router and supervisor.
10330 Contacts and Interviewing
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
Child safety must remain the priority when the screener makes decisions about contacting collaterals. The screener considers if the collateral might jeopardize the investigation by alerting the alleged perpetrator.
10331 Contacting Reporters and Caseworker
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener can contact the reporter and the child’s CVS or SSCC caseworkerPeo for significant information related to the intake allegations. The screener may also obtain additional collateral information from the reporter or from further research of case history.
The screener contacts the reporter and child’s CVS or SSCC caseworker to:
- Review and clarify information in the intake including severity indicators, safety concerns, and risk factors.
- Ask for information about what has occurred since the time of the intake.
- Obtain any collateral information needed.
- Clarify the location of the child and alleged perpetrator.
10332 People Who Are Appropriate to Contact
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener may contact the following:
- Reporter.
- Child’s CVS or SSCC caseworker or supervisor (regarding knowledge of the incident).
- Professionals with involvement in the reported incident (medical personnel, law enforcement, school personnel, and so on).
- Previous or current RCCI caseworkers or HHSC staff with internal knowledge of the operation or foster home.
The screener may obtain supporting documents (photos or medical paperwork) from the reporter or a collateral by providing an email address where the reporter or collateral can send the documents. The screener attaches these documents in the email sent to the router and supervisor. These documents are not used as a primary source for making a prioritization decision.
10333 People Who Are Not Appropriate to Contact
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener does not contact the following people:
- Alleged perpetrator.
- Victim, unless he or she is the reporter.
- Operation staff, unless he or she is the reporter.
- Foster parent or another principal source, unless he or she is the reporter.
10400 Searching
10410 Analyzing History
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener thoroughly reviews relevant history from CLASS and IMPACT to help determine the final priority. The screener also clearly documents the relevant history to aid in investigative actions. The screener does not depend only on the information provided by intake specialists.
The screener does the following:
- Performs searches on all alleged perpetrators and victims listed in the intake.
- Reviews the overall history of the following:
- The operation or foster home, including history of heightened monitoring, plan of action, and corrective action.
- Trends and patterns of allegation types for the operation or home.
- All children and alleged perpetrators involved in the intake.
- The service plans of all children involved, if applicable.
- The supervision level of all children involved.
- The placement of all children involved.
- The outcomes of investigations for all children and alleged perpetrators involved and for the operation or home.
- Documents a summary of relevant history, including the six most recent cases, from both IMPACT and CLASS.
10420 Child Care Licensing Automation Support System (CLASS)
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener uses the Child Care Licensing Automation Support System (CLASS) to research general residential operations (GROs) and child placing agencies (CPAs) regulated under HHSC Residential Child Care Regulation. The screener gathers information about GROs and CPAs to do the following:
- Research their history.
- Access their compliance and sampling report.
10500 Consulting (Staffing)
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener must obtain history before consulting with the screener supervisor about an intake.
The screener consults with a screener supervisor about an intake to ensure correct assessment and receive approval for the next actions taken with consideration for child safety factors. The screener may consult with a supervisor anytime the screener feels it is beneficial.
Consultation with a screener supervisor is mandatory for the following:
- Intake involves a child death.
- Intake priority should be upgraded or downgraded, or the priority is unclear.
- Intake allegation type should be changed or added.
- Intake involves special circumstances, such as immediate risk to a child or worker safety issues.
- Intake allegations addressed in a previous case.
- Intake requires approval to merge with an open investigation.
- Intake clearly reflects that another DFPS division, another state agency, or law enforcement has investigative jurisdiction.
10600 Decisions (Assessments)
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener decides the following
- Whether the initial priority of the intake is correct or needs to be upgraded or downgraded.
- Whether the intake can be closed.
The screener uses the following resources when reviewing an intake:
- Child Care Investigations (CCI) policy
- Texas Family Code (TFC) definitions of abuse and neglect
- Texas Administrative Code (TAC)
- CCI prioritization guidelines
- Sexual Incident History Resource Guide
- History of the alleged perpetrator and operation
- Severity of allegations
- Risk to children, degree of harm, and safety concerns
- Situational factors
10610 Assigning for Investigation
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
If the screener determines that an intake supports an investigation to ensure the safety of the child, he or she does all of the following:
- Completes all required documentation.
- Completes the Priority/Closure page within the Case Management tab of IMPACT.
- Ensures the Person ID number is accurate for the victim in order to generate an automatic notification through IMPACT.
- Ensures the Resource Name and Resource Number are accurate.
- Updates Person Details and adds any new allegations, if appropriate.
- Completes all required notifications.
- Ensures that the Yes button is selected in the Formal Screening heading of IMPACT.
- Completes a case merge, if appropriate.
- Stage progresses the intake when recommended for investigation before assigning to the router.
- Sends a notification email to the router and supervisor with the screener’s documented assessment and any supporting documents or photos.
10620 Downgrading Intakes for Closure Without Investigation
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
Intakes cannot be downgraded to a Priority None (PN) report for closure without further investigation unless approval through consultation with a screener supervisor. The screener does the following before an intake can be downgraded without investigation:
- Makes phone contact with the reporter.
- Reviews history.
- Enters into IMPACT the information obtained.
The screener sends a manual notification to DFPS and HHSC routers, and to the CVS or SSCC caseworker and his or her supervisor for children in DFPS conservatorship, when the intake has been made a PN.
The screener is responsible for contacting SWI for a reentry to ensure that the intake is sent to the correct agency when an intake is closed due to lack of jurisdiction. The screener documents the report ID number of the reentered report.
See 2850 Reentering Reports (Reentry).
Downgrading an Abuse or Neglect Intake to Priority None (PN)
RCCI screeners use only two Priority None (PN) codes. A screener supervisor may approve downgrading an intake to a PN in either of the following situations:
- If the information in the intake contains the same allegations, perpetrators, and incidents addressed in a previous case, the PN Reason Code is Allegations addressed in previous case.
- If RCCI does not have jurisdiction over the facility, the PN Reason Code is Other Agency/Out of State.
See 10500 Consulting (Staffing).
Exceptions for Closing an Intake Without Investigation
An RCCI supervisor contacts a screener supervisor to discuss an intake in the following situation:
- An on-call RCCI investigator or supervisor is responsible for screening an intake outside of business hours.
- The on-call RCCI investigator or supervisor receives an intake and discovers that it meets either of the following criteria:
- The exact same allegations were previously investigated.
- The facility is not under RCCI jurisdiction.
In the situation described above, the screener supervisor assigns the intake to a screener for further review to determine if the intake can be downgraded to a PN.
See 10930 Screening Outside of Business Hours.
10700 Documenting the Screening
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener thoroughly documents the required information in IMPACT to match the screener’s decision. This includes the date, time, and the person's identifying information for each contact.
Tracking
The screener enters the intake on the Screener Tracking Log and completes all entries by the end of the day the intake is received.
10800 Notifications
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The Child Care Investigations (CCI) division notifies the child’s CVS or SSCC caseworker and the caseworker’s supervisor about the allegations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as well as the child’s role in the investigation.
Within 24 hours of screening a PN intake, CCI notifies the child’s CVS or SSCC caseworker and the caseworker’s supervisor of abuse, neglect, or exploitation involving a foster home where the child is placed.
See 10830 Home History Review (HHR).
10810 CVS or SSCC Caseworker and Supervisor Notification
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
If a child is in DFPS conservatorship, the screener confirms that during the intake stage the following people received notification within 24 hours of the intake:
- The CVS or SSCC caseworker and supervisor assigned to the alleged victim.
- The CVS or SSCC caseworkers and supervisors assigned to any other children in a foster home under investigation.
- The CPI caseworker, if the child was recently removed from their home and has not been assigned a CVS or SSCC caseworker and supervisor yet.
The screener notifies the CVS or SSCC caseworker and supervisor by completing the Notifications section in IMPACT, prior to stage progressing the intake to an investigation.
The screener confirms the notifications were sent by the intake specialist. If the notifications were not made by the intake specialist, the screener informs SWI Policy and Performance Management (PPM). PPM facilitates the entry of the notifications.
Exception: For all RCCI intakes received on weekends and holidays, the screener contacts the reentry queue to have the I&R CVS Notification entered and emails PPM to inform them of the error.
10820 Twenty-Four-Hour Awake Supervision
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
RCCR and RCCI monitor operations to ensure staff follow 24-hour awake supervision requirements. A facility must follow 24-hour awake supervision requirements if more than six children reside there and at least one of the children is in DFPS permanent managing conservatorship. This includes all foster, biological, and adoptive children at the facility.
RCCI investigates intakes alleging that operation staff are sleeping when they are required to provide 24-hour supervision. The screener notifies the 24-Hour Awake Supervision mailbox using the 24-Hour Awake template when the intake notes that a staff member was sleeping.
10830 Home History Review (HHR)
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
A Home History Review (HHR) provides a CVS or SSCC caseworker with information to determine the safety and appropriateness of the foster home for children in DFPS conservatorship placed in the home. If the screener downgrades an intake to a PN, the screener completes an HHR within 24 hours of receiving the intake.
DFPS ensures consistency with the review and reporting process, enabling caseworkers and supervisors to have clear, concise, and detailed information about any history on a foster home.
The HHR is an extensive review of the foster home history. There are exceptions when an HHR is not necessary based on the safety and appropriateness of the foster home. An HHR is not required in the following situations:
- The foster home is closed.
- There are not children in DFPS conservatorship residing in the foster home.
The screener does the following after he or she downgrades an investigation of abuse or neglect in a foster home to a PN:
- Reviews the foster home’s history of abuse or neglect investigations and compliance with minimum standards.
- Writes a detailed summary of the home’s history.
- Emails the report to the following people:
- The CVS or SSCC caseworker for each child placed in the home.
- Each caseworker’s supervisor, regional chain of command, and regional or SSCC compliance mailboxes.
If the PN is issued outside normal business hours, the screener also notifies the on-call caseworker and on-call supervisor for the child’s legal region. The on-call caseworker and on-call supervisor perform an immediate safety assessment.
10840 Office of Refugee Resettlement
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
If the screener determines an intake is for a facility under the jurisdiction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the screener downgrades the intake to a PN Other Agency/Out of State and notifies the ORR mailbox of the intake.
10900 Special Topics
10910 Call Recordings
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
SWI uses a call recording application for all hotline phone activity, including consultations between intake specialists and supervisors.
Screeners can listen to the recorded call audio when information in the intake seems:
- Incorrect
- Vague or incomplete
- Confusing
Comparing the intake documentation to the call recording helps the screener determine whether the intake specialist accurately documented all information in the intake.
See 1520 Call Recordings.
10920 Follow-up to SWI Documentation
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The screener notifies SWI Policy and Performance Management (PPM) when an intake involves any of the following:
- A routing error.
- An incorrect program assessment.
- Incorrect, missing, or unclear information.
- A priority assessment error.
- A concern about the intake specialist’s conduct.
- A quality issue that does not need immediate action or resolution.
Depending on the urgency of the matter, the screener may need to call the SWI reentry queue directly to complete a reentry request. For non-urgent matters, an email to PPM may be appropriate. It is never appropriate to contact a specific intake specialist or intake supervisor directly by phone or email.
See 2850 Reentering Reports (Reentry).
10930 Screening Outside of Business Hours
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
The designated screener or on-call RCCI staff checks the workload and screens the intakes received on weekends or holidays or when the agency is closed.
10931 P1 Intakes
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
On-call RCCI investigators and supervisors are responsible for screening P1 intakes received after-hours, on weekends or holidays, or when the agency is closed.
See Assignment Charts.
The on-call RCCI investigator or supervisor follows the same procedures for assessment and documentation, including the following:
- Determining priority according to the prioritization guidelines, rules, and policy.
- Ensuring CVS or SSCC notification occurs within 24 hours.
- Documenting all required information in IMPACT.
- Assigning completed intakes to the investigator or placing the reclassified intakes on the RCCI router’s workload.
- Notifying the router and the regional supervisor by email once the intake is screened.
If the on-call RCCI investigator or supervisor disagrees with the priority assessment of a P1, the supervisor must contact the on-call screener before downgrading the intake.
- If the screener agrees with the RCCI supervisor, the intake is assigned to the screener.
- If the screener disagrees with the RCCI supervisor, the screener consults with a screener supervisor about the situation. The screener supervisor makes the final decision regarding whether the intake is assigned to the screener or progressed to investigation.
10931.1 Requests to Close a P1 Intake by On-Call RCCI Staff
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
If the on-call RCCI investigator or supervisor discovers that an intake was previously investigated by RCCI or the facility is not under RCCI jurisdiction, the supervisor contacts the on-call screener to discuss.
- If the screener agrees with the RCCI investigator or supervisor, the intake is assigned to a screener for reclassification.
- If the screener disagrees with the RCCI investigator or supervisor, the screener consults with a screener supervisor about the situation. The screener supervisor makes the final decision regarding whether the intake is assigned to the screener or progressed to investigation.
10932 P2 Intakes
SWI Policy and Procedures June 2023
RCCI screeners are responsible for screening all P2 intakes received after-hours and on weekends or holidays.