Statutes | 4 HCC § 3 Chapter II § 9 | 2020

a. CFS Workers shall be employed by CFS and shall execute the duties and powers enumerated in this Act.

 

b. CFS may cooperate with such state and community agencies as necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act. CFS may negotiate working agreements with other jurisdictions. Such agreements shall be subject to ratification by the Legislature or its designee.

 

c. Duties. A CFS Worker shall:

 

    (1) Receive reports of neglected, abused, or abandoned children and be prepared to provide a temporary placement home and/or shelter care for such children. 

 

    (2) Receive from any source, oral or written, information regarding a child who may be in need of protective services.

 

    (3) Upon receipt of any report or information under paragraph (1) or (2), above, shall immediately:

 

        (a) Notify the appropriate law enforcement agency and the County Department of Social Services, if deemed necessary by CFS.

 

        (b) Initiate an investigation within twenty-four (24) hours of the intake case assignment. The investigation will be thorough and shall include a determination of the nature, extent, and cause of any circumstance which is detrimental to the child&rsquos best interests and the names, ages, and conditions of other children in the home.

 

        (c) Whenever CFS is informed by a police officer or any other person that a child is or appears to be within the Nation&rsquos jurisdiction, CFS shall make a preliminary investigation to determine whether the interests of the Nation or the child&rsquos safety require further action be taken. The report of the preliminary investigation shall be filed in the record system of CFS.

 

    (4) Duty to Inform.

 

        (a) Before offering voluntary protective services to a family, a CFS Worker shall inform the family that he/she has no legal authority to compel the family to accept such services and of CFS&rsquo authority to initiate a petition in Court.

 

        (b) If the family declines the offered services, the CFS Worker may initiate a petition in Court alleging a child in need of protective services if CFS believes it to be in the child&rsquos best interest or refer the case to the appropriate county agency.

 

    (5) Within thirty (30) days after a referral of a child in need of protective services, submit a final written report of the investigation and assessment, which shall be recorded in a central registry maintained by CFS.

 

    (6) CFS shall have the duty to refer eligible youth who are in out-of-home care for at least six (6) months and who are between the ages of fifteen (15) and seventeen (17) to the Independent Living Services Program.

 

    (7) If a child is in the custody of CFS and is believed to be incompetent, then CFS shall refer the child to the appropriate jurisdiction before the child reaches the age of majority, for the purposes of an adult guardianship.

 

d. Powers of CFS:

 

    (1) After the investigation, prepare an assessment of the home environment of 18 the child or children in the same home and the risk to such children if they remain in the home environment, and all other relevant factors. CFS shall determine whether any of such children are in need of protective services.

 

    (2) CFS may enter into either an informal (out of court) agreement or consent decree (court ordered) at any time with the child of age twelve (12) or older, the parent(s) or guardian(s) and other parties pursuant to the procedures set forth in this Act.

 

    (3) Take a child into temporary custody from his/her surroundings based on reasonable grounds to believe that the child is in imminent danger due to injury, neglect, or abuse and that removal is necessary.

 

        (a) Place the child temporarily in accordance with placement preferences in this Act in an emergency placement home, or in a facility approved by CFS.

 

        (b) Law enforcement officials may assist CFS with the removal of a child from the custody of his/her parent(s), guardian(s), or custodian(s) when necessary.

 

    (4) Offer the family and the child services when it is determined that any child is found to be in need of protective services.

 

    (5) As the agency with legal custody, it shall have the authority to make those major life decisions, such as the right to consent to marriage, to enlist in the Armed Forces, to consent to major medical, surgical, or psychiatric treatment, to make educational decisions, and as may otherwise be granted by the Court.