Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline

8/17/2019 Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline

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Children thrive in safe, caring, supportive families and communities

Indiana Child Abuse &

Neglect Hotline

2016

Joanie Crum, Montgomery County

Director


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How do you report suspected child abuse orneglect?

Call the Indiana Child Abuse & NeglectHotline, 24/7.

800.800.5556

Child Abuse & Neglect


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Who should report?

• Indiana is a mandatory reporting state. Any

person who has reason to believe a child is

being abused or neglected shall make a report

• Medical professionals, teachers & law

enforcement officials have a higher duty to

report abuse or neglect



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What is the purpose of the hotline?

• Supports one singular purpose: to help

protect children from abuse & neglect

• Provides a single point of contact for allchild abuse & neglect reports throughout

Indiana



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• Central point of contact for all child abuse and neglect reports

throughout Indiana

• Five locations across the state:

− Marion County− Saint Joseph County

− Blackford County

− Lawrence County

− Vanderburgh County• Staffed 24/7/365 by 105 specially trained Intake Specialists:

– 12 weeks of training before taking reports


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Reporting: Call 800.800.5556

An intake specialist:

– Directs caller immediately to 911 or law enforcement

if child is in imminent danger

– Listens and asks questions using intake guidance tool

– Captures report information – Sends report to local county office to determ

ine next

steps



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Intake specialist will ask questions about:

Child’s current safety, circumstances & identifying information

• Name of Child Involved

• Age of Child

• Parent/Guardian/Custodian’s Name

• Addresses & Phone Numbers


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• Substance Abuse Issues

• Domestic Violence

• Mental Health Concerns

• Weapons in the Home

Always report suspected abuse even if you don’t know answers to

all the questions.


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After the call:

• The intake specialist will use the structured decision making

tool to evaluate risks & help determine whether an assessmentis needed

• A thorough review of any known child protective services

history with the family is also completed & included in the

official intake report• Intake report is sent with a recommendation to the local county

office



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ACTION:

Per Indiana law, certain criteria must be met before a family

case manager can be dispatched to a home:

• If the allegations meet any or all criteria, a family case

manager will be assigned to complete a thorough assessment.

Response times vary:

• IMMEDIATELY/1 hour (imminent danger)



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• 24 hours

• Up to 5 days

• Any calls with similar allegations to a current

assessment/open case with a family are referred to thefamily case manager or supervisor for follow-up.



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Non-Assessments: Calls that lack “legal sufficiency”

If allegations do not meet those standards, action may still take

place:• Intake specialist can refer caller to prevention services &

resources

• All reports including those not assigned an assessment arereviewed 24/7/365 by a Hotline supervisor



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• Local office director or the local office review team

can also check reports not assigned an assessment orreverse a decision

• Local child protection teams can review all reports for

their local community & request a decision be reversed



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Impact in Helping Children:

• More than 202,000 reports of child abuse or neglect

received in 2015

• Calls answered promptly:

– Law enforcement – answered in 15 seconds (on average)

– General calls – answered in 21 seconds (on average) – 65 percent of all calls answered in less than 8 seconds


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Hotline Process:


• Report source calls Hotline

• Intake specialist answers phone

• Intake specialist uses intake guidancetool to gather information


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• Information is documented in casemanagement system.

• Intake specialist completesstructured decision making tool.

• Intake specialist makes arecommendation.


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• Supervisor reviews report

• Report sent to local office

• Local office makes a decision to assessor not to assess


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• Report child abuse to the Hotline: 800.800.5556

• Offer to help your relatives/friends/neighbors who areunder stress & may need some assistance. Perhaps you can

babysit, cook, provide transportation, mentor, etc.

• Become a foster parent: Call 888.631.9510

• Become an adoptive parent: Call 888.25ADOPT

How you can help


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• Become an adoptive parent: Call 888.25ADOPT

• Purchase “Kids First” specialty license plate: Yourinvestment will help fund prevention services

• Community Partners: Local number needed here

How you can help


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Public Online Training and Information Course

• Learn the meaning of child abuse and neglect in Indiana.

• Recognize and report child abuse and neglect in Indiana.

• Learn who is required to report child abuse and neglect in

Indiana.

• Learn what happens once DCS receives a report of child abuse

or neglect.

Children are never protected by adult silence!

How you can help


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Online Reporting Training Tool


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Any Questions?

Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline

Documents

Transcript of Indiana Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline