14-3-203. Duties of state agency; on-call services.

(a) The state agency shall:

(i) Administer W.S. 14-3-201 through 14-3-215;

(ii) Be responsible for strengthening and improving state and community efforts toward the prevention, identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect in the state; and

(iii) Refer any person or family seeking assistance in meeting child care responsibilities, whether or not the problem presented by the person or family is child abuse or neglect, to appropriate community resources, agencies, services or facilities.

(iv) Repealed By Laws 2005, ch. 236, § 4.

(b) The state agency may contract for assistance in providing on-call services. The assistance may include screening protection calls, making appropriate referrals to law enforcement and the agency, and maintaining a record of calls and referrals. Contractors shall have training in child protection services.

(c) The state agency shall ensure that all child protective service workers are trained:

(i) In the principles of family centered practice that focus on providing services to the entire family to achieve the goals of safety and permanency for children, including balancing the best interests of children with the rights of parents;

(ii) In the duty of the workers to inform the individual subject to a child abuse or neglect allegation, at the earliest opportunity during the initial contact, of the specific complaints or allegations made against the individual;

(iii) Concerning constitutional and statutory rights of children and families from and after the initial time of contact and the worker's legal duty not to violate the constitutional and statutory rights of children and families from and after the initial time of contact;

(iv) To know the state's legal definitions of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, dependency and endangerment;

(v) To know the provisions of federal and state laws governing child welfare practice, including but not limited to the Adoption and Safe Families Act, Indian Child Welfare Act, Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act and the Family First Prevention Services Act, as amended;

(vi) To make reasonable efforts to determine if the person responsible for the welfare of a child in a suspected case of child abuse or neglect is a member of the armed forces or if the child is enrolled in the defense enrollment eligibility reporting system of the United States department of defense.