New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 3A - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › Chapter 3 - CLIENT INFORMATION › Subchapter 3 - DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC ABOUT A CHILD FATALITY OR NEAR FATALITY › Section 3A:3-3.5 - Information that shall be disclosed to the media or a member of the public during the child protection investigation

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Unless prohibited by
				N.J.S.A.
				9:6-8.10a or
				N.J.A.C.
				3A:3-3.4, and upon the request of the media or a
				member of the public in accordance with
				N.J.A.C.
				3A:3-3.3(a) and (b), information
				about a child fatality or near fatality that shall be disclosed upon request to a
				representative of the media or a member of the public during the child protection
				investigation, prior to the child protective investigator's determination of the
				finding, shall include and shall be limited to the following:
1. The name, age, and sex of the child
				victim;
2. The date of the incident and
				the date of the call regarding the incident to the Division;
3. The living arrangement of the child victim at
				the time of the incident, and, for a near fatality, the child victim's current
				living arrangement, if different. The Director or the Department's Office of
				Communications or designee shall:
i. Disclose the
				type of setting, such as the child's own home, a resource home, or an
				institution;
ii. Provide the name of the
				institution, if the incident occurred in an institution; and
iii. Not provide information containing the
				out-of-home placement provider's or other caregiver's name, address and other
				identifying information or whereabouts if the incident did not occur in an
				institution;
4. Information
				about other possible child victims. The Director or the Department's Office of
				Communications or designee shall disclose:
i. The
				names of other possible child victims only when they are also fatalities or near
				fatalities which the child protective investigator has reasonable cause to believe
				resulted from abuse or neglect;
ii. The
				relationship of each child to the child victim; and
iii. The type of living arrangement of each child
				under the conditions specified in (a)3i, ii and iii above;
5. The nature of the incident. The Director or
				designee or a representative of the Department's Office of Communications shall
				disclose:
i. The nature of the alleged abuse or
				neglect, including, but not limited to, physical abuse, neglect, or sexual
				abuse;
ii. The nature of the child
				victim's injuries, medical condition, and prognosis; and
iii. The name and identifying information about
				the alleged perpetrator and other specific information about the circumstances of
				the incident only after the child protective investigator concludes the child
				protection investigation, substantiates abuse or neglect, and confirms a
				perpetrator;
6. To the extent
				it is pertinent to the abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or near fatality,
				information regarding the status of the Division's involvement with the child victim
				and his or her family prior to the child fatality or near fatality, including:
i. Whether the case was in active status at the
				time of the child fatality or near fatality, in closed status or never known to the
				Division;
ii. The Division office or
				offices responsible for each prior case opening;
iii. The date and disposition of each prior
				call;
iv. The date of each prior case
				opening and closing;
v. The types of
				services provided by or through the Division, including any referral to a service
				not provided by the Division, without disclosing the name of any service provider;
				and
vi. The date and approximate time of
				the Division representative's last contact with the child victim prior to the
				incident, and whether the contact was in person or by telephone;
7. Division action taken to protect the
				child victim and other possible child victims within the family or the household;
				and
8. The name of the Division office
				supervising the case or conducting the child protection investigation.