0070-548.20 | Revision Date: 8/25/2021
Overview
This policy guide provides guidelines for taking children into Temporary CustodyThe removal of a child from the home of a parent or legal guardian and placement or facilitation of placement of the child in the home of a non-offending parent, relative, foster caregiver; group home or institutional setting.Temporary custody also includes: placing hospital holds on children; situations in which the CSW interrupts an established Family Law Court custody or visitation orders when the CSW believes that if the order is carried out, the child would be placed in immediate risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation and the child is allowed to remain in the home of the non-offending parent; situations in which DCFS requests that law enforcement remove a child from the home of his or her parent/legal guardian and the CSW places the child with a relative or unrelated caregiver; and situations in which the child is living with a relative or an unrelated caregiver and all of the following conditions exist: child’s parent is asking for the child to be returned home, CSW believes that the return of the child to his or her parent would place the child at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation, CSW does not allow the child to be returned to his or her parent; and, the child remains in the home of the relative or is placed in out-of-home care. and determining when a child can safely remain in the home prior to a detention hearing.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Temporary Custody by Law Enforcement
Taking a Child into Temporary Custody
Version Summary
This policy guide was updated from the 1/17/17 version to add an ARA consultation framework for non-exigent referrals when detention is being considered.
Temporary custody is the removal of a child at risk of abuse and neglect from the home of a parent or legal guardian. Temporary custody is subject to the warrant requirement of the US Constitution. This includes placing a child on hospital hold.
To detain a child at risk of abuse or neglect, a CSW must have one of the following:
The Child and Family Team (CFT) process is still applicable and necessary even with the warrant requirement, but the delay in detaining potentially impacts a finding of exigent circumstances. CFT Meetings (CFTMs) should only be used prior to detention if the child can remain safely in the home in the interim. If during the CFTM new circumstances and information arise, re-evaluate to determine whether exigent circumstances exist to detain.
When a CFTM is scheduled to discuss whether the children can remain safely in the custody of one or both parents, the CSW must make contact with the warrant desk to determine whether to begin proceedings to request a removal order or other court order.
If a child has been taken into temporary custody and it is determined that the child should be released back to the custody of one or both parents before the Detention Hearing, ARA approval is required.
Law enforcement has the authority to take children into temporary custody under WIC 300. When law enforcement detains or delivers (not detained) a child to DCFS, per WIC 306 and/or 309, a separate, independent safety assessment must be conducted by the CSW to determine if the child should be taken into temporary custody. To take a child into temporary custody, a CSW must have one of the following:
When law enforcement has taken a child into temporary custody and it is determined by DCFS that the child(ren) can return home permanently or pending a removal order, ARA approval and notification to law enforcement is required.
SCSW Responsibilities
Consult with CSW as needed to discuss:
ARA Responsibilities
In collaboration with CSW and SCSW, decide as a team whether a safety planning CFTM is needed to mitigate any short-term safety threat(s) until a subsequent CFTM can be facilitated.
In the CWS/CMS Contact Notebook, enter a new contact summarizing the results of the consultation, including the answers to the “Three (3) Questions” format.
Timeframes for Submission of Detention Reports to IDC
DCFS 179, Parental Consent and Authorization for Medical Care
DCFS 179-MH, Parental Consent for Child’s Mental Health Assessment and for Child’s Participation in Mental Health Treatment
DCFS 179-PHI, Authorization for Disclosure of Child’s Protected Health Information (PHI)As defined by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is health (including mental health) information created or maintained by a health care provider that identifies or can be used to identify a specific individual. PHI relates to an individual’s health, health care or payment for care – in the past, present or future.
DCFS 561(a), Medical Examination
DCFS 5210, Placement Address Disclosure
ICWA-010(A), Indian Child Inquiry Attachment (Hearing Notebook and LA County specific templates)
Individualized Investigation Narrative
Medical Hub Referral
Response to Mandated Reporter
DCFS 153 (SP), Dependency Court Information
DCFS 179, Parental Consent and Authorization for Medical Care
DCFS 179-MH (SP), Parental Consent for Child’s Mental Health Assessment and for Child’s Participation in Mental Health Treatment
DCFS 179-PHI (SP), Authorization for Disclosure of Child’s Protected Health Information (PHI)
DCFS 5649 , (SP) Indian Ancestry Questionnaire
Full Disclosure Information When a Child is Taken into Temporary Custody brochure (SP)
ICWA-010(A), Indian Child Inquiry Attachment (Hearing Notebook and LA County specific templates)
ICWA-030, Notice of Child Custody Proceedings for Indian Child
JV-285 (SP), RelativeFor the purpose of placement and foster care payments: An adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words, "great," "great-great" or "grand" or the spouse of any of these persons even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution. Information
ICWA-010(A), Indian Child Inquiry Attachment
ICWA-030, Notice of Child Custody Proceedings for Indian Child
DCFS 134, Notice of Detention
0070-548.00, Community-Based Resources
0070-548.01, Child and Family Teams (CFT)
0070-548.10, Investigation, Disposition and Closure of Emergency Response Referrals
0070-570.10, Obtaining Warrants and/or Removal Orders
0070-548.24, Structured Decision Making (SDM)
0070-548.25, Completing the Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Plan
0100-510.61, Placement Responsibilities
0300-303.06, Hospital Holds
0300-303.15, Writing the Detention Report
0300-306.05, Noticing Process for Juvenile Court Proceedings
0300-508.30, Identifying and Notifying the Court of Recurring Efforts to Locate Relatives and Nonrelative Extended Family Members (NREFMs)
0600-500.00, Medical Hubs
0600-500.05, Multidisciplinary Assessment Team (MAT) Assessments and Meetings
0600-514.10, Psychotropic MedicationMedications used as tools for producing certain chemical and physiological effects in the central nervous system. They are usually classified according to the types of disorders they are primarily used to treat.: Authorization, Review, and Monitoring for DCFS Supervised Children
1200-500.05, Adopting and Serving Children Under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
Greene v. Camreta, (9th Cir.) (2009) 588 F.3d 1011
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 224.2 – Explains a social worker's affirmative and continuing duty to inquire whether a child may be an Indian child, duty to further inquire when there is reason to believe the child may be an Indian child, and duty to provide notice when there is reason to know the child may be an Indian child.
WIC Section 300 – Describes types of child abuse in which a child may become a dependent child of the court.
WIC Section 306 – States the conditions under which any social worker in a county welfare department, or an Indian tribe that has entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1 while acting within the scope of the social worker’s regular duties under the direction of the juvenile court and pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 272, may take a child into temporary custody.
WIC Section 308(a) – When a peace officer or social worker takes a minor into custody, they must immediately notify the minor’s parent, guardian, or a responsible relative that the minor is in custody and that the child has been placed in a facility authorized by law to care for the child, and shall provide a telephone number at which the minor may be contacted. The confidentiality of the address of any licensed foster family home in which the child has been placed shall be maintained until the dispositional hearing, at which time the judge may authorize, upon a finding of good cause.
WIC Section 309(a) – States that upon delivery to the social worker of a child who has been taken into temporary custody, the social worker must immediately investigate the circumstances of the child and the facts surrounding the child’s being taken into custody and attempt to maintain the child with the child’s family through the provision of services. The social worker shall immediately release the child to the custody of the child’s parent, guardian or responsible relative if appropriate
WIC Section 309(e) – States, in pertinent part, that a social worker must immediately investigate the circumstances of a child taken into temporary custody and must attempt to maintain the child with their family through the provision of services. It also states that the social worker must initiate efforts in identifying and locating relatives of the child within thirty (30) days of the child's removal from the home to give written and oral notification of the proceedings, if appropriate.
WIC Section 361.3(a) – States that in any case in which a child is removed from the physical custody of the child’s parents, preferential consideration shall be given to a request by a relative of the child for placement of the child with the relative.
California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) Division 31-130 – States the conditions under which the social worker must request law enforcement assistance.
CDSS Manual of Policies and Procedures (MPP) Division 31-135 – States that when a social worker determines that the child cannot be safely maintained in the child’s own home, the social worker must ensure that authority to remove the child exists prior to removal.