Alabama Administrative Code › Title 660 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES › Chapter 660-5-34 - PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN › Section 660-5-34-.08 - Due Process

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
The following rules apply to CA/N assessments conducted by
				County Departments of Human Resources and child abuse/neglect investigations
				conducted by law enforcement agencies and state agencies operating child
				residential facilities except for incidents involving military personnel and
				incidents occurring on Indian reservations where the Department does not have
				jurisdiction to conduct an CA/N assessment.
(1) All persons allegedly responsible for
			 abuse/neglect with substantiated (i.e., indicated) CA/N dispositions must be
			 given an opportunity to disagree with the Department's findings through either
			 a CA/N hearing or an administrative record review. If the persons allegedly
			 responsible are under age nineteen (19) years, the notice is sent in care of
			 the persons' parents or custodians who may request the hearing or record review
			 on their behalf.
(2) Any person who
			 is approved, licensed, or certified to care for children; and any person who is
			 employed (i.e., professional, nonprofessional, contract) by, serves as a
			 volunteer for, or is connected with (e.g., students completing an educational
			 practicum, board members) any facility, agency, or home which cares for and
			 controls any children and the facility is licensed, approved, or certified by
			 the state; operated as a state facility; or is any public, private, or
			 religious facility or agency that may be exempt from licensing procedures must
			 be offered a CA/N hearing when they have been identified as the person
			 allegedly responsible for abuse/neglect and the preliminary CA/N disposition is
			 "indicated." These individuals must be offered a hearing even if they were
			 reported to have abused/neglected their own children.
(3) Any person allegedly responsible for
			 abuse/neglect who has a preliminary "indicated" disposition and is not entitled
			 to a CA/N hearing must be offered an administrative record review. The record
			 review is completed to determine if the CA/N assessment contains sufficient
			 documentation based on a preponderance of credible evidence to support the
			 "indicated" disposition of child abuse/neglect.
(a) Except where written consent or a release
			 is obtained, written notification of an opportunity for a child abuse/neglect
			 hearing or administrative record review must be given to the person allegedly
			 responsible for abuse/neglect before releasing information from reports to
			 employers, prospective employers, or licensing/certifying agencies or groups in
			 outofhome care settings as described in
			 660-5-34-.05 and under the
			 following circumstances:
1. Persons
			 identified as allegedly responsible for abuse/neglect have contact with
			 children or other vulnerable persons as a part of their employment or potential
			 employment;
2. The child
			 abuse/neglect report involves the person's biological children or any other
			 children in any setting, or the care of vulnerable persons in any
			 setting;
3. The CA/N assessment
			 involves a preliminary disposition of "indicated" for the person allegedly
			 responsible for the abuse/neglect in a pending CA/N assessment; and
4. The Department determines that a completed
			 CA/N assessment with an "indicated" disposition already entered into the Child
			 Abuse/Neglect Central Registry without a hearing or review being offered should
			 be shared for the protection of children.