Washington Administrative Code › Title 388 - Social and Health Services, Department of › CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES › Chapter 388-15 - Child protective services › Part A - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION › Section 388-15-005 - What definitions apply to these rules?

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The following definitions apply to this chapter.
"Abuse or neglect"
means the injury, sexual
					 abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child as
					 defined in
					 RCW
					  26.44.020 and this chapter.
"Administrative hearing"
means a hearing held
					 before an administrative law judge and conducted according to
					 chapter
					 34.05 RCW and chapter
					 388-02 WAC.
"Administrative law judge (ALJ)"
is an
					 impartial decision-maker who presides at an administrative hearing. The office
					 of administrative hearings, which is a state agency but not part of DSHS,
					 employs the ALJs.
"Alleged perpetrator"
means the person
					 identified in a CPS referral as being responsible for the alleged child abuse
					 or neglect.
"Alternative response system"
means a
					 contracted provider in a local community that responds to accepted CPS
					 referrals that are rated low or moderately low risk at the time of
					 intake.
"Appellant"
means a person who requests an
					 administrative hearing to appeal a CPS finding.
"Child protection team (CPT)"
means a
					 multidisciplinary group of persons with at least four persons from professions
					 that provide services to abused or neglected children and/or parents of such
					 children. The CPT provides confidential case staffing and consultation to
					 children's administration.
"Child protective services (CPS)"
means the
					 section of the children's administration responsible for responding to
					 allegations of child abuse or neglect.
"Children's administration (CA)"
means the
					 cluster of programs within DSHS that is responsible for the provision of child
					 protective, child welfare, foster care licensing, group care licensing, and
					 other services to children and their families.
"Department"
or
"DSHS"
means the
					 Washington state department of social and health services.
"Department of early learning (DEL)"
means the
					 Washington state agency responsible for licensing child care homes and child
					 care facilities.
"Division of children and family services
					 (DCFS)"
means the division of children's administration that provides
					 child protective, child welfare, and support services to children and their
					 families.
"Division of licensed resources (DLR)"
means
					 the division of children's administration responsible for licensing group care
					 and foster care facilities, and responding to allegations of abuse or neglect
					 in such facilities.
"Finding"
means the final decision made by a
					 CPS social worker after an investigation regarding alleged child abuse or
					 neglect.
"Founded"
means the determination following an
					 investigation by CPS that based on available information it is more likely than
					 not that child abuse or neglect did occur.
"Inconclusive"
means the determination
					 following an investigation by CPS, prior to October 1, 2008, that based on
					 available information a decision cannot be made that more likely than not,
					 child abuse or neglect did or did not occur. Beginning October 1, 2008 the
					 department will no longer make inconclusive findings, but shall retain such
					 findings made prior to that date as provided in these rules.
"Mandated reporter"
means a person required to
					 report alleged child abuse or neglect as defined in
					 RCW
					  26.44.030.
"Preponderance of evidence"
means the evidence
					 presented in a hearing indicates more likely than not child abuse or neglect
					 did occur.
"Screened-out report"
means a report of
					 alleged child abuse or neglect that the department had determined does not rise
					 to the level of credible report of abuse or neglect and is not referred for
					 investigation.
"Unfounded"
means the determination following
					 an investigation by CPS that based on available information it is more likely
					 than not that child abuse or neglect did not occur or there is insufficient
					 evidence for the department to determine whether the alleged child abuse did or
					 did not occur.
Statutory Authority:
						RCW
						74.13.031,
						74.04.050, and
						chapter
						26.44 RCW. 08-18-040,
						§ 388-15-005, filed 8/28/08, effective 10/1/08; 02-15-098 and 02-17-045,
						§ 388-15-005, filed 7/16/02 and 8/14/02, effective
						2/10/03.