1. (a) Overview.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Differential response (DR) is a family engagement approach that allows the Division of Children and Family Services to respond to reports of specific, low risk allegations of child maltreatment with a family assessment approach rather than a traditional investigative response.
      2. (B) The goals of differential response are to prevent removal from the home and engage and strengthen the families involved.
      3. (C) As with investigations, differential response is initiated through accepted Child Abuse Hotline reports, focuses on the safety and well-being of the child, and promotes permanency.
      4. (D) Due to variations in the severity of reported maltreatment, having two (2) different response options allows for a differential response or an investigation, whichever is most appropriate, to respond to reports of child maltreatment.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Investigations require the gathering of forensic evidence in order to formally determine whether there is a preponderance of evidence that child abuse or neglect has occurred.
      2. (B)

2. (i) Differential response is an approach that uses a nonadversarial, nonaccusatory family assessment approach.

   1. (ii) With DR, there is no determination of “true” or “unsubstantiated”, and no one is identified as a perpetrator or offender.

      1. (C) Development of a family’s support network, community involvement, and connecting families to informal, supportive resources in their local communities are crucial aspects to a successful intervention for all types of cases, but particularly for DR.

   2. (3) DR involves a comprehensive and collaborative family assessment that includes an assessment of:

      1. (A) The household strengths and acts of protection;
      2. (B) The household safety and risks; and
      3. (C) Any underlying issues, needs, or additional child maltreatment concerns that may not have been identified in the original hotline report.

   3. (4)

      1. (A) Differential response also partners with families to build upon strengths identified during the family assessment process as well as to provide services to meet the family’s identified needs and support positive parenting.
      2. (B) The information obtained through the family assessment will be used to create a family plan with the family, if applicable.
      3. (C) Services within the family plan may include referrals, formal or informal services, and/or supports.

      4. (D) Services will be put into place to:

         1. (i) Strengthen existing acts of protection with the family;
         2. (ii) Meet the needs of the family; and
         3. (iii) Address the conditions or issues that resulted in the child maltreatment report.
   4. (5) The information obtained through the DR process will be used to create a family plan, if applicable, which will be designed to strengthen protective factors within the family and mitigate any risk factors facing the family.

3. (b) Differential response eligibility criteria.

   1. (1) All of the following factors must be present for a report to be assigned to differential response unless the exceptions on the following page apply:

      1. (A) Identifying information for the family members and their current address or a means to locate them is known at the time of the report;
      2. (B) Those alleged to be responsible for the allegations are parents, birth or adoptive, legal guardians, custodians, or any person standing in loco parentis;
      3. (C) The family has no pending investigation or open services case of any kind;
      4. (D) The children alleged to be maltreated, siblings, or other household members are not currently in the care and custody of the division or wards of the court;
      5. (E) Protective custody of the children has not been taken or required in the current investigation; and

      6. (F) The reported allegations shall only include:

         1. (i) Inadequate supervision;
         2. (ii) Inadequate food;
         3. (iii) Inadequate clothing;
         4. (iv) Inadequate shelter;
         5. (v) Educational neglect;
         6. (vi) Environmental neglect;
         7. (vii) Lock out;
         8. (viii) Medical neglect;
         9. (ix) Human bites;
         10. (x) Sprains/dislocations;
         11. (xi) Striking a child seven (7) years of age or older on the face;
         12. (xii) Striking a child with a closed fist; and
         13. (xiii) Throwing a child.

   2. (2) The allegations prohibit the report from being assigned to a differential response pathway:

      1. (A) Inadequate supervision reports involving a child or children under five (5) years of age or a child five (5) years of age or older with a physical or mental disability which limits his or her skills in the areas of communication, self-care, self-direction, and safety will be assigned the investigative pathway;
      2. (B) Educational neglect reports involving a child that was never enrolled in an educational program;
      3. (C) Environmental neglect reports involving a child or children under three (3) years of age, and those situations in which the hotline assesses an immediate danger to the child’s health or physical well-being based upon the severity;
      4. (D) Lock out reports involving a child or children under ten (10) years of age, and those situations in which the hotline assesses an immediate danger to the child’s health or physical well-being based upon the severity;
      5. (E) Medical neglect reports involving a child or children under thirteen (13) years of age or a child with a severe medical condition that could become serious enough to cause long-term harm to the child if untreated will be assigned the investigative pathway; and

      6. (F) Reports of human bites, sprains or dislocations, striking a child seven (7) years of age or older on the face, striking a child with a closed fist, and throwing a child when these allegations occurred:

         1. (i) Less than one (1) year ago; or
         2. (ii) If the caller to the hotline can verify an injury either through physical signs (for example, scarring), medical information, dated photographs, or other forms of documentation, as applicable.
         3. (c) Differential response initiation timeframes.
   3. (1) Face-to-face contact with the child or children named in the report and at least one (1) parent or caregiver involved in a differential response report must take place in the victim child’s or children’s household within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt of the initial hotline report.

   4. (2) All other household members must be seen face-to-face within five (5) days of receipt of the initial hotline report.

      1. (d) Safety and risk assessment.

   5. (1)

      1. (A) Upon initial contact, the division will complete the division’s approved safety assessment.
      2. (B) If a safety threat is identified and the safety assessment indicates the children are safe with a plan, the DR Worker will develop an immediate safety plan with the household and their identified network.
      3. (C) The DR Worker will obtain approval of the immediate safety plan from the DR Supervisor or designee prior to leaving the home.
      4. (D) The DR Worker will leave a copy or photo of the immediate safety plan with the household and their network.
   6. (2) If a safety threat is identified and the safety assessment indicates the children are unsafe, the DR Worker will take a seventy-two-hour hold of the children in consultation with the DR Supervisor or designee.
   7. (3) The safety assessment will be entered into the applicable information management system within two (2) business days of contact with the family and updated as needed throughout the family’s involvement with the division.

   8. (4)

      1. (A) The division’s approved risk assessment tool will be used to guide staff in their assessment of the likelihood of future maltreatment.
      2. (B) The risk assessment tool will be completed in the applicable information management system as soon as there is enough information to do so, but no later than the conclusion of the DR and prior to any decision about case opening, if applicable.

   9. (5)

      1. (A) Differential response cases are intended to be short-term lasting no longer than sixty (60) days.
      2. (B) If a DR case is not closed by the end of sixty (60) days, then it will be closed or reassigned as a prevention services case or as an investigation as appropriate.

4. (e) Differential response team.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Family assessments will be conducted by specific differential response teams (division teams or contract provider teams) whose role is to assess for safety and strengths, identify service needs, and arrange for the services to be put in place.

      2. (B) The local differential response team may consist of up to three (3) primary roles:

         1. (i)
5. (a) (a) DR Supervisor.

6. (b) (b) Provides management services including review and approval of assessments, case plans, and appropriateness of service referrals, case file documentation, service extensions, and requests to close family assessment cases;

   1. (ii)
7. (a) (a) DR Worker.

8. (b) (b) Initiates contact with family and assumes the role of the family’s advocate and case manager; and

   1. (iii)
9. (a) (a) DR Program Assistant or Assistants.

10. (b) (b) Provides support and assistance as needed to the DR Worker and families involved in DR cases.

    1. (2) At minimum, a local differential response team will be composed of a DR Supervisor and a DR Worker.

11. (f) Reassignments from differential response to investigations.

    1. (1) A DR will be reassigned to the investigative pathway if the division:

       1. (A) Is unable to conduct a safety assessment; or
       2. (B) Identifies a safety threat and the caregiver is assessed to be a risk to a vulnerable population.

    2. (2)

       1. (A) The division’s approved risk assessment tool assesses the likelihood of future maltreatment within that household.
       2. (B) The risk assessment does not serve as the sole determinant when assessing if a caregiver poses a risk to a vulnerable population which includes without limitation children, the elderly, persons with a disability, and persons with a mental health illness.
       3. (C) A separate assessment of whether a caregiver poses a threat to a vulnerable population must be conducted before requesting a DR to be reassigned to the investigative pathway.

       4. (D) The following factors will be considered when determining whether an offender poses a risk of maltreatment to a vulnerable population:

          1. (i) The severity of the child maltreatment;
          2. (ii) The nature and severity of an injury or other adverse impact caused by the child maltreatment;
          3. (iii) The current or future access the caregiver has or could have to a vulnerable population;
          4. (iv) The caregiver’s previous child maltreatment history and whether there are similar fact patterns related to the current allegation and past child maltreatment history;
          5. (v) Subsequent reports of child maltreatment against the caregiver; and
          6. (vi) Criminal history of the offender.
    3. (3) Additionally, if it is determined that there are additional children in the home who were not included in the Child Abuse Hotline report and whose ages would prohibit assignment to the differential response pathway, the DR Supervisor and Worker will assess on a case-by-case basis whether a case will remain a DR case or be reassigned to the investigative pathway.
    4. (4) Further, if upon initial contact with the family an additional Priority II child maltreatment allegation (not related to the allegation connected to the DR referral provided by the Child Abuse Hotline) is identified by the DR team, the DR Worker will contact the division DR Program Manager or designee to add the additional Priority II allegation to the DR referral.
    5. (5) If upon initial contact with the family a Priority I child maltreatment allegation is identified by the DR team, the DR Worker or designee will immediately call the Child Abuse Hotline to report the new Priority I allegation and then notify the DR Program Manager or designee of the new Priority I report.

    6. (6)

       1. (A) If at any time during the DR service delivery period the DR Worker, network member, contract provider, or other service provider has reasonable cause to believe that a safety threat is present and, as such, the child’s health or physical well-being are in immediate danger (as related to the allegation or allegations for which the initial DR referral was made), then an immediate safety plan will be developed and implemented with the family.
       2. (B) If an immediate safety plan cannot mitigate the safety threat, the DR Supervisor or designee will determine if taking protective custody is necessary and if at any point, in consultation with the division DR Program Manager or designee, whether the DR should be reassigned to the investigative pathway due to the caregiver posing a risk to a vulnerable population.
    7. (7) If at any time during the DR service delivery period the DR Worker, contract provider, or other service provider identifies a new child maltreatment allegation (not related to the allegation connected to the DR referral), a call will be made immediately to the Child Abuse Hotline by the individual who suspects the new child maltreatment allegation.
12. (g) Reassignments from investigations to differential response. If upon initial review of the investigation referral it is determined that the referral is eligible for differential response, the local division Supervisor may send an email request to the Child Abuse Hotline to assess for reassignment to the differential response pathway.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "02/2025"