Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Chapter 63 - Child Protective Services
Section 6375 - County agency requirements for general protective services


(a) Duties of county agency.--The county agency shall make available a program of general protective services within each agency. The county agency shall perform those functions assigned by this chapter and others that would further the purposes of this chapter. It shall have sufficient staff of sufficient qualifications to fulfill the purposes of this chapter and be organized in a way as to maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of individual workers toward individual children and families. The department by regulation shall set forth staff-to-family ratios for the receipt and assessment of reports of children in need of protective services and for the provision of services to neglected children and their families.
(b) Organization of county agency.--Each county agency shall be organized and staffed to ensure that the agency can provide intake for general protective services. Intake occurs when a report or referral is made to the agency or when a parent or person responsible for the child's welfare requests the assistance of the agency.
(c) Assessment for services.--
(1) Within 60 days of receipt of a report, an assessment shall be completed and a decision on whether to accept the family for service shall be made. The county agency shall provide or arrange for services necessary to protect the child during the assessment period.
(1.1) The county agency shall immediately notify the department upon the completion of the assessment whether the report was determined to be valid or invalid and whether the family was accepted for services or referred to community services.
(1.2) The county agency shall immediately notify the department upon the closure of services for a child or family that has been accepted for services.
(2) Each county agency shall implement a State-approved risk assessment process in performance of its duties.
(d) Receiving and assessing reports.--The county agency shall be the sole civil agency responsible for receiving and assessing all reports of children in need of protective services made pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of providing protective services to prevent abuse or neglect to children and to provide or arrange for and monitor the provision of those services necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's well-being and development and to preserve and stabilize family life wherever appropriate. The department may waive the receipt and assessment requirement pursuant to section 6361 (relating to organization for child protective services). Nothing in this subsection limits 42 Pa.C.S. ยง 6304 (relating to powers and duties of probation officers).
(e) Family service plan.--The county agency shall prepare a written family service plan in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.
(f) Types of services.--Each county agency shall make available for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect: multidisciplinary teams, instruction and education for parenthood and parenting skills, protective and preventive social counseling, emergency caretaker services, emergency shelter care, emergency medical services, part-day services, out-of-home placement services, therapeutic activities for the child and family directed at alleviating conditions that present a risk to the safety and well-being of a child and any other services required by department regulations.
(g) Monitoring, evaluating and assessing.--The county agency shall frequently monitor the provision of services, evaluate the effectiveness of the services, conduct in-home visits and make a periodic assessment of the risk of harm to the child, which shall include maintaining an annually updated photograph of the child and verification of the identification of the child.
(h) Emergency coverage.--As part of its general protective services program, a county agency shall provide 24-hour-a-day emergency coverage and be accessible to the public.
(i) Protective custody.--Pursuant to section 6315 (relating to taking child into protective custody) and after receipt of a court order, the county agency shall take a child into protective custody to protect the child from abuse or further neglect. No county agency worker may take custody of a child without judicial authorization based on the merits of the situation.
(j) Court action.--If the county agency determines that protective services are in the best interest of a child and if an offer of those services is refused or if any other reason exists to warrant court action, the county agency shall initiate the appropriate court proceedings.
(k) Adjudication of dependency.--The county agency shall maintain its responsibility for petitioning the court when necessary for the adjudication of dependency of a child pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters).
(l) Assistance to court.--The county agency shall assist the court during all stages of a court proceeding in accordance with the purposes of this chapter.
(m) Weekly face-to-face contacts.--For those children assessed under this section as being at high risk for abuse or neglect who are remaining in or returning to the home in which the abuse or neglect occurred, the county agency shall ensure that those children are seen at least once a week, either directly by a county agency worker or through purchase of service, until they are no longer assessed as being at high risk for abuse or neglect.
(n) Transfer of files between county agencies.--Whenever a county agency transfers to another county agency a file relating to a child who receives or is in need of protective services under this chapter, the file shall include any photographic identification and an annual photograph taken of the child.
(o) Availability of information.--Information related to reports of a child in need of general protective services shall be available to individuals and entities to the extent they are authorized to receive information under section 6340 (relating to release of information in confidential reports).
(Dec. 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151; Nov. 24, 1999, P.L.542, No.50, eff. 60 days; Oct. 27, 2006, P.L.1192, No.126, eff. 60 days; Dec. 18, 2013, P.L.1167, No.107, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Apr. 7, 2014, P.L.388, No.29, eff. Dec. 31, 2014)

2014 Amendment. Act 29 amended subsec. (c).
2013 Amendment. Act 107 added subsec. (o). See section 6 of Act 107 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability.
2006 Amendment. Act 126 amended subsec. (g) and added subsec. (n). Section 3 of Act 126 provided that the Department of Public Welfare may promulgate rules and regulations to administer and enforce the amendment of section 6375 effected by Act 126.
1999 Amendment. Act 50 added subsec. (m).
1994 Amendment. Act 151 added section 6375, effective July 1, 1997, except as to subsec. (c)(2). See section 10(1) of Act 151 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to the effective date of subsec. (c)(2).
Cross References. Section 6375 is referred to in section 6328 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

Structure Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes

Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes

Title 23 - DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 63 - Child Protective Services

Extra - Chapter Notes

Section 6301 - Short title of chapter

Section 6302 - Findings and purpose of chapter

Section 6303 - Definitions

Section 6304 - Exclusions from child abuse

Section 6305 - Electronic reporting

Section 6306 - Regulations

Section 6311 - Persons required to report suspected child abuse

Section 6311.1 - Privileged communications

Section 6312 - Persons encouraged to report suspected child abuse

Section 6313 - Reporting procedure

Section 6314 - Photographs, medical tests and X-rays of child subject to report

Section 6315 - Taking child into protective custody

Section 6316 - Admission to private and public hospitals

Section 6317 - Mandatory reporting and postmortem investigation of deaths

Section 6318 - Immunity from liability

Section 6319 - Penalties

Section 6320 - Protection from employment discrimination

Section 6331 - Establishment of Statewide database

Section 6332 - Establishment of Statewide toll-free telephone number

Section 6333 - Continuous availability of department

Section 6334 - Disposition of complaints received

Section 6334.1 - Responsibility for investigation

Section 6335 - Access to information in Statewide database

Section 6336 - Information in Statewide database

Section 6337 - Disposition and expunction of unfounded reports and general protective services reports

Section 6338 - Disposition of founded and indicated reports

Section 6338.1 - Expunction of information of perpetrator who was under 18 years of age when child abuse was committed

Section 6339 - Confidentiality of reports

Section 6340 - Release of information in confidential reports

Section 6340.1 - Exchange of information

Section 6341 - Amendment or expunction of information

Section 6342 - Studies of data in records

Section 6343 - Investigating performance of county agency

Section 6343.1 - Citizen review panels

Section 6344 - Employees having contact with children; adoptive and foster parents

Section 6344.1 - Information relating to certified or licensed child-care home residents

Section 6344.2 - Volunteers having contact with children

Section 6344.3 - Continued employment or participation in program, activity or service

Section 6344.4 - Recertification

Section 6345 - Audits by Attorney General

Section 6346 - Cooperation of other agencies

Section 6347 - Reports to Governor and General Assembly

Section 6348 - Regulations

Section 6349 - Penalties

Section 6361 - Organization for child protective services

Section 6362 - Responsibilities of county agency for child protective services

Section 6363 - County plan for protective services

Section 6364 - Purchasing services of other agencies

Section 6365 - Services for prevention, investigation and treatment of child abuse

Section 6366 - Continuous availability to receive reports

Section 6367 - Reports to department and coroner

Section 6368 - Investigation of reports

Section 6369 - Taking child into protective custody (Repealed)

Section 6370 - Voluntary or court-ordered services; findings of child abuse

Section 6371 - Rehabilitative services for child and family

Section 6372 - Protecting well-being of children maintained outside home

Section 6373 - General protective services responsibilities of county agency

Section 6374 - Principles and goals of general protective services

Section 6375 - County agency requirements for general protective services

Section 6376 - Appeals with respect to general protective services

Section 6377 - Caseloads

Section 6378 - Purchase of services

Section 6381 - Evidence in court proceedings

Section 6382 - Guardian ad litem for child in court proceedings (Repealed)

Section 6383 - Education and training

Section 6384 - Legislative oversight

Section 6385 - Reimbursement to county agencies

Section 6386 - Notification to department and development of plan of safe care for children under one year of age

Section 6387 - Pandemic of 2020

Section 6388 - Task Force on Child Pornography