(Effective 04/15/19)
Table of Contents
3.5.2 Addressing Secondary Calls
When multiple reports are received on a family that cannot be duplicated because they involve new allegations, staff can use the Combining Calls function, subject to the Hierarchy listed in Section 2, Chapter 3.5.1, to reduce the number of open reports.
- Only supervisors and above may combine reports.
- The primary call number is the lowest (oldest) call number.
- Calls cannot be combined if the primary call number has a Case Management function associated to it.
- As long as the primary call number has not been concluded and approved, reports can be combined to it.
- ONCE REPORTS ARE COMBINED THEY CANNOT BE UNCOMBINED. If an error is made in combining reports, this can only be corrected by making a new report to CANHU. Staff should use the Online System for Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting (OSCR) to make these corrected reports.
- The maximum number of Parent/Substitutes is two (2). If combining the call would create more than two, staff will be unable to proceed. Only reports involving the same Parent/Substitutes may be combined.
- DCNs should be updated and/or added as needed prior to combining calls. The participant characteristics screen can be accessed from the Combine Call screen by clicking the individual’s name.
- Addresses and phone numbers will populate from the primary call only. After reports are combined, staff will need to make sure this information is correct on the primary call.
- If contacts are entered on secondary calls, they will transfer to the primary call. If the same contacts are entered on multiple reports, this will result in duplicate contacts on the primary call.
- The Review copy of the CA/N1-REF1 displays the combined calls.
There are rules around what kind of reports can be combined. The following is the hierarchy of report types:
- Investigations
- Juvenile Assessments
- Differential Response Assessments
- Family Assessments
FACES will not allow higher level reports to be combined to lower level reports (i.e. an Investigation cannot be combined to a Family Assessment). Staff must change the primary call to the appropriate track prior to combining calls. If any combination of reports includes an Investigation, the primary call must end up being an Investigation, unless the report(s) do not rise to the level of an Investigative response and qualify to be downgraded to a Family Assessment. If any combination of assessments includes a Juvenile Assessment, the primary call must end up being a Juvenile Assessment.
NOTE: A Juvenile Assessment cannot be combined to an Investigation. If an ACI role is added to an Investigation, the worker will receive an error message ‘No participant may have a role of Alleged Child Initiator’ when the report is submitted for approval.
3.5.2 Addressing Secondary Calls
Staff have discretion on whether they make initial contact with the victim child, household child, and other participants on secondary calls. If the victim child on the secondary call has not yet been seen from the primary call, staff must see them within the assigned response priority level. Allegations from all calls MUST be addressed thoroughly with the family. Staff should consult with their supervisor to determine whether reports should be combined and how to address the concerns of the secondary calls. Things to consider when determining whether victim children need to be seen on secondary calls includes, but is not limited to:
- Were the concerns in the secondary call addressed during the initial contacts with the child(ren) and family?
- Are there safety concerns that need to be addressed within the assigned response time of the secondary call?
- How much time has passed since the children were seen? Staff must make contact with all reporters within forty-eight (48) hours of the receipt of any new report(s). It is not necessary to give new paperwork (i.e. CS-24, CS-24a, Know Your Rights, etc.). However, the family must be notified all new reported concerns.