Wyo. Code R. 049-0014-1
Central Registry for Child & Disabled Adult Protection
Effective Date: 04/25/2018 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 049.0014.1.04252018
These rules of the Department of Family Services (Department) regarding the Central Registry of Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection cases are promulgated pursuant to W.S. § 14-3-213 through W.S. § 14-3-214, W.S. § 35-20-103, and W.S. § 35-20-115 through W.S. § 35-20-116.
These rules are adopted to establish and maintain a central registry system to protect Wyoming children and vulnerable adults from maltreatment.
If any provision of these rules or the application thereof to any person, program, service or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of these rules. To the extent that these rules can be given effect without the invalid provision, the provisions of these rules are severable.
(a) 'Applicant' means an employer or entity whose employees or volunteers may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults in the course of their employment or volunteer service, which may include child caring facilities, any state agency, and state institutions, who applies to the Department for a Central Registry screen.
(b) 'Central Registry' means a statewide record of persons who have been the subject of a substantiated child or vulnerable adult maltreatment complaint or for whom a complaint is under investigation.
(i) The Central Registry is not a list of court adjudications. Substantiated findings are based upon a 'preponderance of the evidence' standard.
(ii) When child and vulnerable adult maltreatment investigations are completed by the Wind River Reservation pursuant to a contract entered into between the Department and a Wind River tribal entity, Tribal Social Services is responsible for entry of cases into the Department's record system if all required notices are provided to the subject of the investigation, per the contract. Cases in which all required notices to the subject of the investigation cannot be verified shall be amended from the Department's Central Registry.
(c) 'Central Registry screen' is the process of examining the Department's records upon appropriate application.
(d) “Maltreatment” is defined to include abuse and neglect of children and vulnerable adults, and exploitation, abandonment, and intimidation of vulnerable adults.
(e) “Preponderance of the evidence” means the standard of proof which is met when evidence, based on the facts, indicates that it is more likely than not the child was abused or neglected, or the vulnerable adult was abused, neglected, intimidated, exploited, or abandoned.
(f) “Substantiated report” means any report of maltreatment, made to the Department, for which it is determined, after an investigation, that there is a preponderance of the evidence maltreatment exists.
(g) “Under investigation” means any report of maltreatment, made to the Department, for which there is no finding for a period of up to six (6) months after the investigation is initiated.
(h) “Unsubstantiated report” means any report of maltreatment, made to the Department, for which it is determined, after an investigation, that maltreatment does not exist, based on a preponderance of the evidence.
(i) “Volunteer” means a person who performs a service for an organization, and who does not receive compensation for that service. Volunteer as used in these rules and regulations, includes both prospective and current volunteers.