If a report involves an allegation of child sexual aggression or child-on-child physical abuse, the investigator evaluates the caregiver’s role and may determine that the abuse is the result of either of the following:

• Neglectful supervision on the part of the caregiver.
• Failure to prevent abuse by another person.

In these situations, the caregiver is given the role of Designated Perpetrator on the Allegation Detail page in IMPACT. A child in the care of an operation subject to regulation is never designated as a perpetrator of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

CCI staff may determine that child-on-child physical abuse occurred if a child caused, by act or omission, another child in the care of an operation to sustain a physical injury resulting in substantial harm.

If CCI staff suspect that child sexual aggression occurred, after determining that sexual conduct harmful to a child’s mental, emotional, or physical welfare occurred and may have been caused by another child, CCI consults with the staff identified below, depending on whether the children involved are in DFPS conservatorship.

Child Sexual Aggression Involving a Child in DFPS Conservatorship

If the allegations involve an incident of child sexual aggression by a child currently in DFPS conservatorship, both Child Care Investigations (CCI) and Child Protective Services (CPS) must jointly staff the investigation to determine whether the child’s behavior meets the definition of sexually aggressive behavior.

CCI staff are responsible for the following:

• The investigator or supervisor first notifies the CCI program administrator, who determines whether the incident meets the definition of sexually aggressive behavior.
• Then, the CCI program administrator confers with the conservatorship (CVS) program administrator to reach a consensus about whether the definition of sexually aggressive behavior was met.
• If the CCI program administrator and the CVS program administrator do not agree on whether the incident meets the definition of sexually aggressive behavior, the CCI program administrator must elevate the decision to the CCI division administrator.
• The CCI division administrator reviews the incident with the CPS regional director to determine whether the definition of sexually aggressive behavior was met.
• If the CCI division administrator and the CPS regional director do not agree, the decision is then elevated to the CCI director and CPS director of field.

At any time that CCI staff require a safety plan, the contents of the safety plan must be shared with the CVS caseworker.

Child Sexual Aggression Involving a Child Not in DFPS Conservatorship

If the allegations involve an incident of child sexual aggression by a child not currently in DFPS conservatorship, the investigator or supervisor staffs the determination with the program administrator. The program administrator determines whether the Child Sexual Aggression checkbox in CLASS must be selected.

See:

Definitions of Terms, child sexual aggression

2244.4 Investigation Findings

3332.1 Selecting Allegations of Violations in CLASS

2132 Special Notifications for Investigations Involving Children in DFPS Conservatorship

2244.41 Findings Involving Child Sexual Aggression