Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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5.7 Child Abuse Investigations: Multi -Disciplinary Protocol
5.7.2 Operational Procedures (Revised: 8/1/14)
A. Definitions
1. Imminent Abuse Case
a. Sex abuse has occurred and the alleged perpetrator is in the home or has
ready access to the victim, with questionable protection by the non -
offending caretaker.
b. Physical trauma has occurred to the child as a result of sexual abuse and/or
physical abuse. It is understood that there is an increased level of risk to
children six years old and younger and questionable protection by the non -
offending caretaker.
c. Extreme neglect has occurred (as defined by Failure to Thrive diagnosis)
of a child three years of age and younger. There may be other cases of
extreme neglect causing severe emotional trauma which also fall under
this category.
d. An infant is born drug -affected and the hospital is planning to release the
child to the parent.
e. There is a child fatali ty.
2. Trained Officer
a. Training refers to the training in investigation of child abuse.
B. When a juvenile is a victim of neglect or mistreatment, or in need of protective custody,
he/she may be detained under W&I Code 300. This detention is not to be in a secure
facility. All juveniles detained for emergency or temporary shelter are to be taken to CPS,
SFGH, Building 80, 995 Potrero Avenue for medical screening and placement.
1. If a juvenile is currently under medi cal care at UCSF, a University -licen sed
clinical social worker us ually contacts CPS to receive authorization to place a
W&I Code 300 hold on the child.
a. After normal business hours, if there is no social worker available, the
officer must meet with the primary physician to obtain the facts of the
case.
b. The officer shall then contact th e CPS worker on -call to obtain
authorization for the W&I Code 300 ho ld.
2. In all W&I Code 300 cases, a juvenile admissions/booking form must be
completed.
a. If the juvenile is in the hospital, the officer keeps the orange (police
liaison) copy of the completed form to attach to the report. The other
forms shall be left with the medical staff to place in the child’s medical
record.
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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3. If a county other than San Francisco is involved, a fax number shall be obtained to
send a copy of the report. The officer’s completed report shall be approved
by the Watch Commander and then faxed to the appropriate CPS agency.
C. Imminent Abuse Cases
Imminent abuse cases shall be investigated by the CPS caseworker, with the assistance of
a detective if requested. Once an imminent abuse case is identified, the following
procedure should be followed:
1. Determine a need for immediate protection and the procedure for removing the
child from the home.
2. Notify CPS within 24 working hours by telephone.
3. Notify Investigations Unit of need for immediate follow -up of the case.
4. Untrained off icers/detectives shall not interview the victim of child sexual abuse.
5. A CPS caseworker, with an officer/detective present, if possible, should take
statements from the individuals to whom the victim has already disclosed
information to determine if th is is an “imminent” case and gather facts as part of
the investigation.
D. Non-imminent Abuse Cases
1. In the event of non -imminent abuse cases, a trained detective may take the initial
report; however, a CPS caseworker would be best candidate to take the report
with a detective present.
2. Within seven calendar days of the initial report, either a CPS caseworker or a law
enforcement officer/detective shall make contact with the victim.
3. The Investigations Unit Lieutenant shall review these cases to determine
appropriate follow -up investigation.
a. Only cases that require social services follow -up shall be referred to CPS.
b. Cases requiring prosecution or additional work to accurately make a
determination shall be assigned to a detective.
4. In eve ry case the report shall be completed during the shift and submitted to the
Investigations Unit Lieutenant.
5. Preliminary reports shall include, in the narrative, the fact that the reporting
officer made the mandatory notification to CPS within 24 hours o f the report.