INVESTIGATING CHILD ABUSE Model Policy Effective Date October 1, 1993 Number Subject Investigating Child Abuse Reference Special Instructions Distribution Reevaluation Date September 30, 1994 No. Pages 3 I. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide officers with guidelines for recognizing instances and accepting reports of child abuse and neglect and coordinating the investigation of such cases with appropriate child protective service agencies, and prosecuting attorney's offices. II. POLICY Child abuse and neglect has been traditionally regarded as the principle responsibility of child protective services and social welfare agencies. However, research has demonstrated that a large percentage of repeat offenses, many of which involve serious injury or death, involve known offenders. It is the position and policy of this law enforcement agency that effective response to child maltreatment requires cooperative and coordinated efforts between social welfare and law enforcement agencies, and further, that under certain circumstances, arrest and criminal prosecution is an appropriate and preferred approach to the problem from a preventive standpoint. Therefore, all reports of child abuse and neglect shall be thoroughly investigated in accordance with this policy and appropriate measures taken consistent with state law that will best protect the interests of the child. III. DEFINITION Officers should be aware of state statutes that define instances of child abuse, neglect and abandonment. However, for purposes of this policy, operational definitions are as follows: Child Abuse: Any situation in which parents, guardians or other responsible adults have inflicted physical assaults upon a child, to include sexual abuse; when the child has been exploited for sexual purposes such as through prostitution or pornography; has been subjected to reckless endangerment that has or would likely cause physical harm; or, has been subjected to emotional assault such as close, sustained confinement. Child Neglect: Any situation in which parents, guardians, or other responsible adults have failed to provide for the essential physical needs of the child to include food, clothing and shelter and that caused or would likely cause serious physical injury, sickness or disability; failure to provide essential medical care necessary to treat or prevent serious physical injury, illness or emotional disability; or failure to provide needed emotional nurturing and stimulation that has or could likely cause emotional injury over time. Abandonment: Leaving a child alone or in the care of another under circumstances that demonstrate an intentional abdication of parental responsibility. IV. PROCEDURES A. Reporting/Initial Complaint Response State law requires that instances or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect be reported by public and private officials such as physicians, dentists, school employees, clergymen and others. Officers shall record and respond to all reports of child abuse, neglect and abandonment irrespective of the source or method of reporting. 1. A preliminary interview will be conducted with the reporting individual, when known, to determine the basis for the report, to include determination of such factors as: a. the physical condition of the child; b. a description of the abusive or neglectful behavior; c. evidence of parental disabilities such as alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illness or other factors that demonstrate or suggest their inability to care for the child; d. description of suspicious injuries or conditions; e. the nature of any statements made by the child concerning parental maltreatment; and f. any evidence of parental indifference or inattention to the child's physical or emotional needs. 2. When the source of the report cannot be identified and/or time is not of the essence, a report of the complaint shall be made to the state child protective authority as prescribed by law. Where reasonable suspicion exists for further investigation, a coordinated investigative effort should be undertaken with the child protection authority. 3. Immediate action shall be taken by officers when a. the complaint warrants arrest or criminal prosecution; b. child protective personnel are not available and time is of the essence; c. the child is in danger and child protective personnel cannot enter the home; d. the suspected perpetrator may flee; e. police presence is required to maintain order or to protect the safety of child protection officers; or f. when the child must be taken into protective custody against parental wishes. 4. The preferred means of removing a child from the home is by court order. However, in cases of abandonment, severe abuse or neglect where the child is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm and time is of the essence, an officer shall, in compliance with state law, remove the child from the home for purposes of protective custody. The assistance of child welfare authority officers should be sought if available in a timely manner. Parental permission should also be sought but is not required in order to remove the child under emergency circumstances. 5. In cases where protective custody is warranted and time permits, the state child protection agency shall be notified and a court order for protective custody shall be sought prior to the child's removal. B. Background Investigation Investigating complaints of child abuse generally requires contact with several sources of information depending upon the nature of the complaint and the scope of abuse. In all but emergency situations, the following sources of information should normally be contacted prior to interviewing the family and/or the child. 1. An inquiry should be made to determine whether a court protective order is in force with regard to the child or other members of the family. A criminal records check should also be performed on the suspect. 2. Medical personnel, including family practitioners, emergency room staff and medical examiners, often acquire information that confirms or suggests abuse. Certain types of injuries are particularly characteristic of physical abuse and are most incriminating when they do not correlate with parental explanations of how they occurred. They include a. "pattern" injuries that may be linked to specific objects used in an attack such as hot irons, coat hangers, fingertip marks caused by tight gripping; straight, curved or curvilinear or jagged lesions indicating whipping; bite marks; and scald or peculiar burn marks; b. injuries to specific body parts such as the genitals, buttocks or rectum as well as trauma to the torso, upper arms and thighs in the absence of other common injuries commonly suffered by children in play accidents such as skinned knees, elbows, and forehead; c. signs of old injuries to various parts of the body in different stages of healing, particularly those that are not common to childhood; d. bone fractures of small children and related injuries that are inconsistent with the child's level of maturity and risk of injury, such as spiral fractures (suggesting vigorous shaking), fractures to the rear and upper skull (suggesting blows to the head), subdural hematomas without scalp contusions (suggesting violent shaking with resultant head whiplash), and fractures of long bones and joints that are suggestive of violent pulling, twisting or jerking of the extremities; e. a history, pattern or extent of injury that does not correlate with the alleged cause of death or means of injury; f. inordinate delay in seeking medical attention, evidence of administration of home remedies for relatively serious injuries, history of prior visits to different emergency rooms, frequent changes of physicians and prior diagnosis of "failure to thrive", and g. at autopsy, the presence of old injuries or other internal injuries that were not detectable through external examination. 2. Social welfare officers may also provide considerable insight into situations of suspected child abuse as many abusive families have had prior contact with local support agencies. These agencies may provide information on family background, employment, economic and domestic stability and previous contacts with child protective service agencies. 3. School teachers may also provide some insight into cases of suspected child abuse through records of the child's attendance, grades, demeanor, socialization, motivation and perceived emotional stability. Several behavioral indicators are suggestive of child abuse, including a. recurrent injuries or complaints of parental physical mistreatment; b. marked changes in the child's behavior or level of achievement; c. strong antagonism toward authority; d. exaggerated reactions to being touched; e. withdrawal from peers, or assaultive or confrontational behavior; f. delinquent acts, running away from home or truancy; and g. refusal to dress for physical education or dressing inappropriately. 4. The foregoing indicators may also be used when interviewing neighbors or any other individuals who may have personal knowledge of the family situation. C. Family Interview Based on information generated in the background investigation, reasonable suspicion may exist to conduct an interview with the family and the child. 1. If there is reason to believe that charges may be filed against the parents or others, interviews should be conducted at the law enforcement agency and prior contact, when appropriate, should have been made with the prosecutor's office. 2. A child protective service officer should participate with the investigator in the interview. 3. The interview should be conducted in a non- accusatory, informal, fact-finding manner, and questions should be presented in an open-ended format to allow parents or others complete latitude in responding. 4. In determining whether to accept a parent's explanation, officers should consider the following questions. Findings consistent with those in parentheses may indicate a greater likelihood of abuse. a. Is it reasonable to believe that the child's injuries were self-inflicted or accidental given the child's maturity, manual dexterity and ability to walk or stand? (No) b. Was the parent's story consistent with other evidence? (No) c. Do parents claim ignorance of critical details of the incident? (Yes) d. Does the home appear to be clean and well maintained? (No) e. Does the family live a socially isolated environment without the support of neighbors, friends or family? (Yes) f. Do the parents appear to support one another in a positive home environment? (No) g. Does there appear to be frequent or ongoing crises in the family? (Yes) h. Does the child in question appear to be regarded by the parent(s) in a negative fight? (Yes) 5. Some parents may explain or excuse the incident as a legitimate attempt to discipline the child. However, in order to be reasonable and acceptable, the discipline should a. be appropriate to the misbehavior involved but never involve serious bodily injury; b. be consistent with the child's ability to understand its relevance to acts in question; and c. be administered with prudence and caution rather than recklessly, brutally or without sufficient regard for the child's power of endurance. D. Interviewing Children Officers conducting interviews with children in suspected child abuse cases should be familiar with and follow this agency's policy on interviewing children. In addition, they should be familiar with the following special issues that arise when conducting these interviews in cases of suspected child abuse: 1. Children should be interviewed separately from their parents. 2. Repeated interviews with the child should be avoided whenever possible. Joint interviews with the child protective worker or prosecutor, for example, may help minimize the trauma of these sessions. 3. Avoid questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no" response. Use open-ended questions whenever possible. 4. Anatomically correct dolls should be used whenever available to trained investigators. 5. Sit with the child rather than across a table. Conduct the interview in a casual and non- threatening manner. 6. Do not lead the child or suggest answers, probe or pressure the child for answers, or express concern, shock or disbelief in response to answers. 7. Reassure the child that he/she is not to blame and is not in trouble for what happened or for being asked questions. E. Physical Evidence Collecting physical evidence to document abuse is very important for prosecuting these cases. In this regard, officers should be aware of the following: 1. Color photographs of injuries should be taken and preserved for evidentiary purposes. They may be taken by medical personnel or by a same-sex officer of this agency. All injuries should be described in writing and diagrammed. 2. X-rays should be taken if appropriate, and any that have been taken should be collected and preserved. 3. Photographs of home conditions bearing on the child's maltreatment should be taken. 4. Any instruments that were used in the physical attack should be identified and preserved as well as any clothing that bears evidence such as blood or semen stains. 5. Any other items that have bearing on the abuse or neglect, such as guns, knives, drugs, poisons or related items in possession of the suspected perpetrator, should be identified and collected. F. Training This agency's training function shall be responsible for ensuring that officers and investigators receive necessary training to effectively implement this policy. This project was supported by Grant No. 87-SN-CX-K077 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, coordinates the activities of the following program offices and bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office of Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice. Every effort has been made by the IACP National Law Enforcement Policy Center staff and advisory board to ensure that this model policy incorporates the most current information and contemporary professional judgment on this issue. However, law enforcement administrators should be cautioned that no "model" policy can meet all the needs of any given law enforcement agency. Each law enforcement agency operates in a unique environment of federal court rulings, state laws, local ordinances, regulations, judicial and administrative decisions and collective bargaining agreements that must be considered. In addition, the formulation of specific agency policies must take into account local political and community perspectives and customs, prerogatives and demands; often divergent law enforcement strategies and philosophies, and the impact of varied agency resource capabilities among other factors.