6700, Documenting the Investigation

September 28, 2018

Investigation records must include the investigation activities and conclusions related to findings with statute, administrative rules, or minimum standards. The investigator must document all activities related to investigations in CLASS.

The investigator must document investigation contacts in CLASS on the same date as the contact or by the next day. 

Procedure

The amount of documentation needed is determined by the complexity of the investigation. Documentation may be brief and succinct, but must adequately describe or explain the investigative activities and evidence collected. 

6710 Documentation in CLASS

October 2020

Procedure

Investigators document the following information in CLASS: 

  1. Allegations in the intake report by selecting the correct Allegation Type check boxes; 
  2. A description of the allegation; 
  3. Statute, administrative rules, and minimum standards evaluated as part of the investigation; 
  4. The identity of the agency home that is the subject of the investigation, if the investigation is of an agency foster home;
  5. Location of external documentation, including photographs, audio files or video files;
  6. Information about a safety plan on the Risk Factors page or as a contact in the investigation, if applicable;
  7. All identified risk factors on the Risk Factor page;
  8. Victim information, including if the child has been injured;
  9. Staffings and all other consultations; 
  10. All contacts made during the course of an investigation;
  11. An explanation of how the evidence supports the findings; and  
  12. All compliances, deficiencies, findings, and notification dates. 

See:

6250 Assessing an Intake Report for Allegation Types in CLASS
6312.1 Writing the Allegation
6312.2 Determining Which Minimum Standards to Evaluate
6334 Documenting the Safety Plan in CLASS
6724 Investigation Findings
6730 Updating the Person Detail Page

6720 Documentation on the Investigation Conclusion Page in CLASS

September 28, 2018

The investigator must document all of the information the investigator used to determine a finding in an investigation in CLASS on the Investigation Conclusion page.

6721 Initiation of Investigation Field

September 28, 2018

Procedure

The investigator must complete all pertinent information in the Initiation of Investigation section. See 6414 Documenting the Initiation.

6722 Observation Made During Inspection Field

September 28, 2018

Procedure

The investigator documents observations made during an investigation inspection according to the procedures in 6432 Documenting Observations Made During the Inspection.

6723 Contact List

April 2021

Procedure

The investigator enters a summary of information obtained for each contact by selecting Add New under the Contact List section of the Investigation Conclusion page. Details of the following types of contacts are entered on the Add/View Contacts page:

  1. Face-to-face and attempted face-to-face contacts;
  2. Telephone conversations and attempted telephone calls;
  3. Correspondence, whether sent or received;
  4. All staffings or consultations; 
  5. Any approvals received from management regarding the investigation; and
  6. Any additional communication, whether verbal or written, pertaining to the investigation.

For a recorded interview, the investigator enters a summary of the interview in the contact and documents the location of the recording. Documentation regarding children should include the first name and last initial of the child only.

See:

6420 Conducting Interviews

6440 Collecting Evidence

6723.1 Contact Types

April 2021

When entering a contact on the Add/View Contacts page, staff select from the following contact types:

Attempted Face-to-Face Contact

The investigator selects Attempted Face-to-Face when the investigator attempted a face-to-face contact that was not successful. The investigator notes the reason that the investigator did not complete the contact in the Entry Text.

Face-to-Face Contact

The investigator selects Face-to-Face for all face-to-face contacts (including face-to-face interviews conducted at the operation during the course of an inspection).

Inspection

The investigator selects Inspection to document observations that the investigator made during the inspection and conversations related to those observations.

Phone Call

The investigator selects Phone Call to document telephone conversations or attempted telephone conversations.

Other

The investigator selects Other for the following situations, including but not limited to:

  • Correspondence, whether sent or received;
  • All staffings or consultations; and
  • Any additional communication pertaining to the investigation, whether verbal or written.

See:
6420  Conducting Interviews
6440  Collecting Evidence

6723.2 Documenting Contacts with Victims in Residential Child Care Investigations

May 2021

Policy

When documenting face-to-face contact with an alleged victim for a P1 or P2 investigation at a residential child care operation, the investigator:

  • Selects Victim from the To/With column on the Add/View Contacts page;
  • Selects the alleged victim’s name from the drop-down menu; and
  • Enters the time of the contact with the alleged victim under Contact Time.

If the investigator makes face-to-face contact with an alleged victim outside of the required time frame or is unable to make face-to-face contact with the alleged victim, the investigator completes the following on the Victim and Parent Details page:

  • selects No for Face-to-Face Contact Completed under the Face-to-Face Contact Information;
  • selects the applicable reason from the Reason not completed/not completed timely drop-down menu; and
  • details the circumstances for the reason in the Explanation for Reason selected above box.

See:
6421.11  Exceptions to Meeting the Time Frame for Face-to-Face Contact with Victims During Priority 1 or Priority 2 Investigations of Residential Child Care Operations
6421.12  Exceptions to Completing Face-to-Face Contact with Victims During Priority 1 or Priority 2 Investigations of Residential Child Care Operations

6724 Investigation Findings

September 28, 2018

Procedure

The investigator completes the Investigations Findings section on the Investigation Conclusion page in CLASS for all investigations. 

6724.1 Explanation of Disposition Based on Preponderance

September 28, 2018

Procedure

This documentation explains how the investigator evaluated the evidence and determined whether the operation was in compliance with the relevant standards. The documentation must include a summary of how the specific evidence collected supported or refuted the allegations.

6725 Notification Dates

December 2020

Procedure

The following dates are entered in CLASS:

Notification to Provider – the date CLASS form 2936 or 2896 was sent to the provider notifying them of the outcome of the investigation and any citations issued.

  1. This date must be the same as the Investigation Complete date and the Documentation Complete date for an investigation assigned a Priority 1 or 2;
  2. This date must be the same as or later than the Investigation Complete date for all other investigations; or 
  3. If the investigation involved an unregulated operation with no address, this field is left blank.

Notification to Reporter – the date the notification letter to the reporter was sent. This date must be the same as or later than the Investigation Complete date. If no notification is required this field is left blank.

Investigation Complete – the date all actions in the investigation were taken and a determination was made. This date must match the Documentation Complete date. 

Documentation Complete – the date that all documentation pertaining to the investigation has been completed. This date must match the Investigation Complete date.

Investigation Closed – the date the investigation is closed in CLASS and no further action regarding this investigation is needed including due process actions for the operation. 

See Appendix 6000-1 Investigator Time Frames for Investigations

6725.1 Extension Approval

September 28, 2018

Procedure

The investigator must enter all pertinent information in the Extension Approval any time an extension has been approved for an investigation. See 6611.2 Documenting an Extension.

6730 Updating the Person Detail Page

Revision 22-4; Effective Sept. 20, 2022

By the conclusion of the investigation, the investigator ensures that identifying information and certain other information has been obtained and entered in CLASS for all alleged victims identified in the intake report and during the investigation. 

Procedure

The investigator ensures all children identified as an alleged victim (see 6120 Types of Contacts) in the intake and during the investigation are listed as a victim in the Victim/Parent List section on the Investigation Persons page in CLASS.

For every alleged victim, the investigator completes the following on the Investigation Victim and Parent Details page in CLASS:

  1. in the Victim/Parent Information section:
    1. victim’s name;
    2. victim’s date of birth;
    3. victims ethnicity; 
    4. victim’s gender; and
    5. parent’s information, if known;
  2. in the Injury Data for Residential and Day Care section, the investigator indicates whether each identified child sustained an injury. If the child sustained an injury, the investigator also documents:
    1. the type of injury;
    2. the cause of injury, if known;
    3. what the injury was related to, if known;
    4. the injury date;
    5. the injury time ;
    6. the incident location (whether the child was in care at or away from operation);
    7. whether the injury was related to abuse or neglect (HHSC staff select “No”);
    8. whether the injury was determined to be nonserious, serious, near fatal, or fatal; and   
    9. whether the injury was related to a minimum standard violation (for both HHSC and DFPS investigations); 
  3. for investigations involving residential child care operations, both fields in the Law Enforcement Information section.

6740 Maintaining an Investigation File 

Revision 22-5; Effective Nov. 4, 2022

During investigations, an investigation file is kept separate from the operation record because it is confidential and may be disclosed only in special situations. 

After completion of the investigation, all the information in the investigation file becomes part of the operation records and is subject to open records requests with confidential information redacted.

See: 

8100 Information for General Release

8210 Confidential Information Not for Release to the Public

Texas Government Code, Title 5, Ch. 552, Texas Public Information Act

Procedure

The investigator develops a confidential investigation file that includes notes and documents obtained during the investigation. The materials used in, and obtained during, the investigation are kept separate from the operation’s case record until after completion of the investigation. Information that is included in CLASS does not have to be included in the investigation file unless it is an item that requires an original signature.

See 1311 Records for Investigations