Legal Basis For Licensing

(1) GENERAL: The legal basis for licensing is contained in T.C.A. §71-3-501 et seq. (2) DEFINITIONS: (a) Child Abuse Prevention Agency 1. Child Abuse Prevention Agency- (defined as “child abuse agency” in the law) shall mean and include any person, corporation, or agency which undertakes to or does provide any services of any nature whatsoever, including but not limited to emergency shelter care, homemaker services, or parent training services designed to prevent or treat child abuse or neglect or to protect children from child abuse or neglect. This shall not apply, however, to a person licensed by the State of Tennessee to practice medicine or psychology while in the course of such practice nor shall it apply to any school, hospital, mental health center, or similar institution operated or approved by an agency or Department of the State of Tennessee. Nor shall it apply to any church or church-related organization. 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed, however, to diminish or repeal the duty of any person to report suspected child abuse pursuant to T.C.A. §§37-1-401 et seq. and 37-1- 601 et seq. (b) Department - The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. (c) Commissioner - The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. (d) Staff - Full-time and part-time employees. (e) Law - T.C.A. §71-3-501 et seq. (f) License- A yearly permit issued to a child abuse prevention agency. Licensing is based on achievement in meeting minimum standards developed and published by the Department. (3) BASIS FOR APPROVAL FOR LICENSE: All child welfare agencies, as defined in T.C.A. §71-3-501, shall be licensed annually by the Department, said license to be based on standards developed and published for each child welfare agency in accordance with the following six points of excellence: (a) The present need for the proposed child welfare agency; (b) The good character and intention of the applicant; (c) The adequate financing of the organization; (d) The capability, training, and experience of the workers; STANDARDS FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AGENCIES CHAPTER 0250-4-11 (e) The facilities for and the methods of care provided and the consideration of the best interest of the child and the welfare of society In any placements of children to be made; and (f) The probability of permanence of the child welfare agency. (4) LICENSING PROCEDURE: (a) Conditional License Fees: Application for license shall be made to the Department upon blanks furnished by it. Upon receipt of the application for a license, the Department shall issue the applicant agency a conditional license which shall be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of issuance; provided, that the staff and facility do not present any apparent hazards to any children that may be in care and that the facility has received fire safety and environmental sanitation approval. A processing fee of $10 shall be submitted with the application. (b) Issuance of Annual License, Revocation, Suspension, and Hearings: If at the end of the 90-day period set forth above, evidence is provided by the applicant/licensee that the child welfare agency is suitable and properly managed as such, the Department shall issue such agency a license which shall be valid for a period of one year; provided, however, such license may at any time by revoked by the Department on 90-days notice being given to the licensee, or such license may be immediately suspended be the Department, as provided by law, if the public health, safety, or welfare imperatively so requires. The notice of revocation, or suspension order shall contain the cause of the revocation or suspension. The licensee may, upon written request filed with the Commissioner within 10 days of mailing of the notice of revocation, receive a hearing before the Board of Review, with such hearing to be held within the 90-day period set out in the notice of revocation. (c) When an application for a license has been denied or a license has been revoked on one occasion, the agency may not reapply for a period of 60 days from the date of the denial or revocation. If such license has been denied or revoked on two occasions, the agency may not reapply for a period of six months. If such license has been denied or revoked on three or more occasions, the agency may not reapply for a period of 12 months. The Department may waive the time restrictions herein upon a showing by the agency to the satisfaction of the Department that the agency has corrected the deficiencies which led to the denial or revocation. For purposes of this chapter, the “date of denial or revocation” shall, in cases where an appeal has been filed, mean the date on which any final administrative or judicial order has been entered finally determining the appeal. (d) Upon written notice to the applicant that a request for license has been denied, such applicant may request a hearing before the Board of Review. Such request must be made in writing and must be filed with the Commissioner within 10 days of the mailing date of the notice of denial. Such hearing must be granted at the next regular meeting of said Board of Review provided, however, that no longer than 60 days shall elapse after such request and before such hearing. (e) Any child welfare agency, as defined in T.C.A. §71-3-501, operating without being so licensed by the Department, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than $500, or both. Each day of operation without a license shall constitute a separate offense. (f) It shall be the duty of the Department, through its duly authorized agents, to inspect at regular intervals without previous notice all child welfare agencies, as defined in T.C.A. §71-3-501, within the state. It is given right of entrance privilege of inspection, access to accounts and records, and information regarding the whereabouts of children under care for the purpose of ascertaining the kind and quality of work done to obtain a proper basis for its decisions and recommendations. Any violation of the rights given in this section shall be a misdemeanor. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of T.C.A. §71-3-527, the Department shall have the following authority and responsibilities in any case in which the Department receives a report of harm in accordance with Part 4. or Part 6. of Chapter I of Title 37 of the T.C.A.. STANDARDS FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AGENCIES CHAPTER 0250-4-11 1. The Department shall have the authority and responsibility to fully investigate in accordance with the provisions of Part 4. or Part 6. of Chapter I of Title 37 any allegation of abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse which it receives regarding any child or children in the care of any agency or person whether or not such agency or person is subject to licensure hereunder. In the conduct of such Investigation, the Department shall be granted access to the records of all children in the care of the person or agency and personnel files of the director and all employees of the person or agency, shall be allowed to inspect all premises in which children are kept or cared for, and shall be allowed to interview any and all children in the care of such person or agency of the Department determined such interviews are necessary. 2. If the Department determines that abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse has occurred and the person or agency fails to take appropriate action to prevent future abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse., the Department shall take such action as may be necessary to revoke, suspend, or deny action as may be necessary to revoke, suspend, or deny the agency’s license. If the person or agency is not licensed or not subject to licensure, the Department may proceed to being an action in the Chancery Court of the county of the defendant’s residence or the county in which the abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse occurred to enjoin the person or agency or any individual found by the Department to have been responsible for the abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse from continuing to provide care for children on a full- time or part-time basis. (5) PUBLIC AGENCIES. Any child welfare agency, as defined in T.C.A. §71-3-501, which is under the direct management of an administrative Department of the state, a county or a municipality, or any combination of these three, shall not be subject to license but shall meet the minimum standards of program and care as required of such child welfare agencies. The Commissioner of the Department, through his authorized agent, shall make periodic inspections of such public administrative child welfare agencies. The report of such inspections and recommendations shall be made privately to the executive head of the public administrative child welfare agency, the Board of Directors, if any, and/or the division of the state, county, or such agency. It shall be the duty of the Department to cooperate with the public administrative agencies herein referred to, to the end that such recommended changes in program and policies can be adopted. If within a reasonable time, such standards and recommendations are not met, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the Department to make report of the above- mentioned inspections. If any serious abuses, dereliction, or deficiencies are found and are not corrected within a reasonable time, the same shall be reported in writing to the next session of the legislature. (6) REPORTING OF BRUTALITY, ABUSE, NEGLECT OR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE T.C.A. §§ 37-1- 403 and 37-1-605). (a) Any person, including but not limited to any: 1. Physician, osteopath, medical examiner, nurse, or hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examination, or treatment of persons; 2. Health or mental health professional other than one listed in subdivision (a)(1); 3. Practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing; 4. School teacher or other school official or personnel; 5. Judges of all courts-of the state; 6. Social worker, day care center worker, or other professional child care, residential, or institutional worker; STANDARDS FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AGENCIES CHAPTER 0250-4-11 7. Law enforcement officer; or 8. Neighbor, relative, friend, or any other person who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been sexually abused or having knowledge of or called upon to render aid to any child who is suffering from or has sustained any wound, injury, disability, or physical or mental condition which is of such a nature as to reasonably indicate that it has been caused by brutality, abuse, or neglect or which, on the basis of available information, reasonably appears to have been caused by brutality, abuse, or neglect, shall report such harm immediately by telephone, or otherwise, to the judge having juvenile jurisdiction or the county office of the Department of Children’s Services or to the office of the sheriff or the chief law-enforcement official of the municipality where the child resides. Any person, including judges of all courts of this state, who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been sexually abused shall report such information in accordance with the Public Acts of 1985, Public Chapter 478, relative to the sexual abuse of children, regardless of whether such person knows or believes that the child has sustained any apparent injury as a result of such abuse. (b) If a hospital, clinic, school, or any other organization responsible for the care of children has a specific procedure, approved by the director of the county office of the Department, for the protection of children who are victims of brutality, abuse, or neglect, any member of its staff whose duty to report under the preceding sentence arises from the performance of his services as a member of the staff of the organization may, at his option, fulfill that duty by reporting instead to the person in charge of the organization or his designee who shall make the report in accordance with the preceding sentence. (c) The report shall include, to the extent known by the reporter, the name, address, and age of the child, the name and address of the person responsible for the care of the child, and the facts requiring the report. The report may include any other pertinent information. (d) If a law enforcement official or judge becomes aware of known or suspected child abuse, through personal knowledge, receipt of a report, or otherwise, such information shall be reported to the Department immediately and, where appropriate, the child protective team shall be notified to investigate the report for the protection of the child in accordance with the provisions of this part. Further criminal investigation by such official shall be appropriately conducted in coordination with the team or Department to the maximum extent possible. (e) Any person required to report or investigate cases of suspected child abuse who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child died as a result of child abuse shall report his suspicion to the appropriate medical examiner. The medical examiner shall accept the report for investigation and shall report his findings, in writing, to the local law enforcement agency, the appropriate district attorney, and the Department. Autopsy reports maintained by the medical examiner shall not be subject to the confidentiality requirements provided for in T.C.A. §37-1-409. (f) Reports involving known or suspected institutional child sexual abuse shall be made and received in the same manner as all other reports made pursuant to the Public Acts of 1985, Public Chapter 478 relative to the sexual abuse of children. Investigations of institutional child sexual abuse shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of T.C.A. §37-1-606. (g) Every physician or other person who makes a diagnosis of, or treats, or prescribes for any venereal disease set out in T.C.A. §68-10-101, or venereal herpes and chlamydia in children 13 years or younger, and every superintendent or manager of a clinic, dispensary; or charitable or penal institution in which there is a case of any of the diseases, as set out in this subsection, in children 13 years of age or younger shall report the case immediately, in writing, on a form supplied by the Department of Health to that Department. If the reported cases are confirmed and if sexual abuse is suspected, the Department of Health will report the case to the Department of Children’s Services. The Department of Children’s Services will be responsible for any necessary follow-up. STANDARDS FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AGENCIES CHAPTER 0250-4-11 (7) VIOLATIONS PENALTIES: (a) Any person required to report known or suspected child sexual abuse who knowingly and willfully fails to do so, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another person from doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Any person who knowingly and willfully makes public or discloses any confidential information contained in the abuse registry or in the records of any child sexual abuse case, except as provided in the Public Acts of 1985, Public Chapter 478, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Public Acts of 1985, Public Chapter 478, §16.) (c) All staff of the agency whether paid, contracted, or volunteer, must report any suspected child abuse or neglect of any child enrolled in the agency, in conformance with Parts 4 and 6 of Chapter 1 of Title 37 of the T.C.A.. Failure to do so will, standing alone, be sufficient basis for denial or revocation of the agency’s license. (8) PLACEMENT IN TEMPORARY HOMES OR FOR ADOPTION: Private individuals including midwives, physicians, nurses, hospital officials, lawyers and the officials of any non-chartered and/or non-licensed child-caring institutions, child-placing agency, or maternity home are forbidden to engage in placing children for temporary care or for adoption. Violation of this restriction shall be punishable by imprisonment for not greater than 11 months, 29 days or a fine not to exceed $2,500, or both. (9) AMENDED ADOPTION LAW: No person, corporation, or agency except the Department of Children’s Services or an agency licensed by the Department as a child-placing agency shall engage in placing children for adoption; provided however, this section shall not be construed to prohibit any person from advising a natural or prospective adoptive parents of the availability of adoption or from acting as an agent for the natural or prospective adoptive parents in making necessary arrangements for adoption so long as no fees are charged for such service other than the usual and customary legal and medical fees in connection with the birth of the child and the legal proceedings relative to adoption. Any court of competent jurisdiction, upon the filing of a verified bill for injunction by the State of Tennessee, on behalf of the State Department of Children’s Services or by an agency, or by any person aggrieved, may temporarily enjoin or restrain any person, corporation, or agency from engaging or attempting to engage in placing children for adoption in violation or threatened violation, of the chapter of the T.C.A. relative to adoption, and upon final hearing, if the court determines that there has been a violation or threatened violation thereof, the injunction shall be made permanent. (10) POSTING OF LICENSE: A license to operate a child abuse prevention agency must be posted in a conspicuous place. (11) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: All child abuse prevention agencies licensed or approved by the Department must meet the following minimum requirements. (a) All child abuse prevention agencies, whether publicly or privately owned and/or operated, shall meet the standards of private licensed, child-abuse prevention agencies. (b) A child abuse prevention agency shall have office facilities adequate to meet its needs, including accessibility to the public, adequate space for staff, and an area which provides privacy for interviewing clients. (c) A child abuse prevention agency shall maintain professional confidentiality in accordance with the ethics of the social work profession. The agency shall act in the best interest of the client insofar as this does not violate the social responsibility of the agency for the protection of the community. (d) A child abuse prevention agency shall keep accurate statistical records which reflect the complete scope of the work or the agency. (e) Reports shall be made to the Department as follows: STANDARDS FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AGENCIES CHAPTER 0250-4-11 1. Monthly and annual statistical reports completed on forms provided by the Department; and 2. Change in location reported at or prior to time of change.