Biological and adopted children include any children for whom providers may hold legal guardianship, temporary managing conservatorship, or permanent managing conservatorship at the time of the investigation.

The investigator may need to obtain written consent before interviewing the biological or adopted children of a provider.

Obtaining a Child Care Provider’s Consent before Interviewing a Child

If the child care provider is present during an investigation, the investigator must obtain written consent to interview any biological or adopted children of the provider who are in care at the operation. The investigator obtains consent using Form 2898 Consent to Interview Children of Child Care Providers [sic, intranet link].

The investigator may interview the children of a provider in a school, neutral location, or a childcare setting other than where the provider works without obtaining consent, unless the provider has previously refused to allow CCI staff to interview his or her children.

Following the interview, the investigator must notify the parent that the child was interviewed. See 2122 Notifying a Parent of a Child Interviewed as a Collateral Contact during an Investigation of Abuse or Neglect.

If a provider is made aware that his or her child is being interviewed and instructs the investigator to stop the interview, the investigator must comply.

Consent for interviews may be withdrawn at any time and the investigator must comply with any withdrawn consent.

Determining Whether to Seek a Court Order to Interview a Child of a Child Care Provider

The investigator must determine whether to seek a court order to conduct an interview, if:

• A provider refuses to allow his or her biological or adopted child to be interviewed.
• The child’s information could be necessary to determine the outcome of an investigation.

The supervisor includes staff from the DFPS Legal Division in the decision-making process when determining whether to obtain a court order to interview a child.

Documenting a Child Care Provider’s Consent or Refusal

If the investigator sought consent to interview the child of a child care provider, the investigator must document the following in the contact in IMPACT:

• Whether consent was granted or refused.
• The completed Form 2898 Consent to Interview Children of Child Care Providers [sic, intranet link] is filed in the investigation case file.

Conducting Investigations with Other Entities

When conducting an investigation with another entity, such as law enforcement or CPI, CCI must obtain consent separate from CPI or law enforcement to gain entry to interview a child.

The investigator identifies himself or herself separately by:

• Presenting a DFPS-issued ID badge.
• Stating what his or her specific role is in the investigation.

If the parent or provider grants consent to CPI or law enforcement, but does not grant consent to CCI, the investigator must comply with the refusal and conduct other investigation activities.