SECTION 707.499. Who will we notify of the investigation results?

(a) Required notification in abbreviated ruled out and thorough investigations.

(1) We must notify the following parties about the findings of an abbreviated ruled out or thorough investigation unless one of the exceptions specified in subsection (d) of this section apply:

(A) Each parent or other person with primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim or alleged perpetrator who is a minor;

(B) Each person identified as an alleged perpetrator. For an alleged perpetrator who is a minor, we may send the notice to the child's parents or other person with primary or legal responsibility for the child; and

(C) The reporter, if the reporter's identity is known.

(2) We must provide notice to the persons specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection within 15 days after the investigation is closed by the supervisor.

(b) Required notification in administratively closed investigations.

(1) We must notify the following parties about the findings of an investigation that was closed administratively unless one of the exceptions specified in subsection (d) of this section apply:

(A) Each parent or other person with primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim or alleged perpetrator who is a minor; and

(B) The reporter, if the reporter's identity is known.

(2) We must provide notice to the parents or other person with primary or legal responsibility for each alleged victim or alleged perpetrator who is a minor no later than 24 hours after the investigation is closed by the supervisor and to the reporter within 15 days.

(c) Optional provision of investigation findings upon request.

(1) We may provide information about the investigation to each parent or other person with primary or legal responsibility for any child in the home under investigation, at the request of the parent or person with primary or legal responsibility of the child, unless one of the exceptions specified in subsection (d) of this section exists. We may provide information from the investigation to the extent we deem necessary for the protection and care of the child when such information is necessary to meet the child's needs.

(2) We must not release information that is subject to redaction under §700.204, subchapter B, chapter 700, of this title (relating to Redaction of Records Prior to Release).

(d) Exceptions to providing notification.

(1) During the investigation, we were unable to locate the person entitled to notification despite having made reasonable efforts to locate the person.

(2) Notwithstanding requirements to notify certain persons of investigation results, we will not provide the notice when we determine that the notice is likely to endanger the safety of any child in the home, the reporter, or any other person who participated in the investigation of the report. This safety exception does not apply to a designated perpetrator entitled to receive notice under subsection (f) of this section, or to a former alleged perpetrator entitled to receive notice under subsection (g) of this section.

(3) We may delay notification of a person entitled to notification under this section if a law enforcement agency requests the delay because timely notification would interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation. We may delay notification only in those circumstances in which the law enforcement agency agrees to notify us at the earliest time that the delay is no longer needed. We must provide the notification within 15 days after the date on which we are notified that the law enforcement agency has withdrawn the request to delay the notification.

(4) We will not provide required notifications or optional information about findings under this section if an investigation is being closed administratively because the report was referred for investigation to another authorized entity, such as law enforcement or another state agency.

(e) Form of notification. Notifications about the findings of an investigation may be either written or oral, except the notifications in paragraphs (1)-(2) of this subsection must be provided in writing:

(1) Written notification of the designated perpetrator, or designated victim perpetrator; and

(2) Written notification of an alleged perpetrator when all allegations in the case involving the person as an alleged perpetrator have been ruled out.

(f) Required written notification of the designated perpetrator. We must give written notice of the findings of the investigation to everyone who has been identified as a designated perpetrator as specified in §707.497(b)(2) or (3) of this subchapter (relating to What roles can we assign to persons involved in a case after the investigation is complete?). For a designated perpetrator who is a minor, the notice is sent to the child's parents or other person with primary or legal responsibility for the child.

(g) Required written notification of an alleged perpetrator when all allegations involving the person as an alleged perpetrator have been ruled out. We must give written notice of the right to request removal of role information to each person who was identified as an alleged perpetrator when all the allegations in the case involving the person as an alleged perpetrator have been ruled out. If the person is a minor, we may send the notice to the minor's parents.

(h) Notifying the reporter. If the reporter is not a professional working with the family, notification to the reporter discloses only:

(1) That we investigated the report; and

(2) Whether we provided services to the family during the investigation or plan to provide services to the family after the investigation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §707.499 adopted to be effective July 15, 2020, 45 TexReg 4780