(Effective 04/15/19)
Table of Contents
2.3 Determining Most Appropriate County for Investigation
2.3 Determining Most Appropriate County for Investigation
Before a report is sent to a county the following criteria should be considered:
- Assign to county where child is presently located and where incident has occurred if both factors are known and the child is not likely to leave present location.
- Assign to county where child is presently located if location and incident are in different counties and child is not likely to leave present location.
- Assign to county where child is presently located if child’s residence is unknown or location will not change within the next 24 hours.
- Assign to county of child’s residence when he/she is hospitalized at the time of the CA/N report.
- Assign to Out-of-Home Investigation (OHI) worker when the institution/staff person is named as alleged perpetrator for reports involving schools, residential facilities, or child care centers, which are licensed, exempt, or registered. The OHI worker may request the local worker see the child in emergency situations or when the child must be seen before an OHI worker can reasonably be expected to see the child.
- Assign to OHI if foster parent/member of family is named as alleged perpetrator and victim is a child in foster care.
Use the following guidelines where one or more of the factors of location, incident, or residence is out of the State of Missouri:
- Accept report when the child’s residence and either incident or location is in Missouri. Assign report to county of child’s location – or child’s residence if location is out of state.
- Accept report when the child is currently located out of state, but will be returning, and the incident occurred in another state.
- Accept report where residence is in another state as long as child’s location or incident or both are within Missouri.