May 05, 2015
CEA Meeting Minutes 5/5
• Introductions
• Speaker from Child Protective Services: Kerry Williams
o Mandated reporters are required to make a report based on reasonable cause or suspicion of maltreatment or abuse
Call the State Central Registry at 1-800-342-3720
• Talk to an operator in Albany and they decide if the call is appropriate. If it is, the operator will send the call to the local CPS district
• If it is not, the operator can refer the caller to the appropriate entity
o The State Central registry can be used as a consultant
Appropriate calls: the child is under 18 years old and the person who is legally responsible for the child is over 18 years old
After the mandated reporter makes a hotline call, they have to fill out a DSS2221 form within 48 hours and submit it to their local district
Once the state accepts the call, and passes it onto the local district, CPS has 24 hours to assess the safety of the child
• Face-to-face with the child, alleged perpetrator, and/or phone call with the reporter
• CPS is required to see all subjects of the report and all of the kids in the home face-to-face
• There has to be some credible evidence to substantiate the report- very minimal evidence, not like a criminal case
• The mandated reporter will receive a letter about the findings of the case
• Appeal process:
o The family will receive a letter in the mail if the case was indicated
o The family can write to Albany to appeal the case
o Albany will lead an administrative review to see if there was some credible evidence
May reach out to the local district for some external evidence
o If the family is still not satisfied with the ruling, they can request a fair hearing (mini trial)
The decision will be based off a preponderance of evidence for the case
o Family Violence Team
The unit was created because family violence is all intertwined with domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse
2 advocates employed by Haven House are part of this team to provide linkage to services for the victims
The volume of domestic violence cases has been more than anticipated
Most of the reports come from a mandated reporter
The unit gets a few cases from APS
The grandparents are seen as a resource for the child – 1017 temporary Guardian
o Uses of CPS for agencies who provide services to older adults
CPS is an angle to get services into the home if there is a child involved
• Do not need a victim willing to prosecute an abuser if there is a child involved
• If the child is witnessing domestic violence- there is enough to raise charges
• CPS has an internal policy to report elder abuse to APS if they suspect it or see it
Should an older adult present in the hospital with a condition that they need treatment for and a child they are responsible for is at home without supervision, CPS can try to link that child with services or other responsible parties while the guardian is receiving treatment
o Dealing with false hotline calls
Calling the State Central Registry can be used by parties who are unsatisfied with a custody arrangement as an annoyance technique
• CPS has to treat all of the cases the same way by still doing an investigation on the allegations
• If there are too many false claims by an individual, contact the police department in the jurisdiction of where the situation is happening
o Would have to be able to prove who is calling in order for something to actually happen
o Police could go interview the believed caller to see what is going on
o Criteria for working with teens
Four questions:
• Is this the child’s behavior?
• Is the parent aware?
• Is the parent taking steps to address the issues?
• Can we keep the child safe with services?
CPS tries to exhaust all services available before they get to the court system
Generally speaking, parents are financially responsible for children up to age 21
• Children can petition for child support from their parents if they are kicked out of the house before age 21
NYS does not recognize emancipation
• Announcements
o Elder Law Fair on 6/17 from 9am – 1pm at the Adam’s Mark Hotel
o CASE Annual Network Conference on 5/13 from 8-1 in Sanborn
o Erie County Coalition Against Family Violence Meeting on 5/8 at Catholic Charities
o Southtowns Coalition Meeting on 5/12 at Elderwood in Hamburg
o SAFE Trainings are ongoing in the community
o Stay tuned for local listening sessions for the White House Conference on Aging