(a) A county child welfare department investigating a case of child abuse or neglect involving an allegation against the parent or guardian of the child shall attempt, as soon as practicable, to determine if the parent or guardian is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(b) A county child welfare department may develop and adopt memoranda of understanding with military installations, located in whole or in part within the borders of its jurisdiction, that govern the investigation of allegations of child abuse or neglect against active duty service members assigned to units on those installations. Those memoranda may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) To whom, how, and when each party would report information about an investigation.
(2) Each party’s role and responsibilities when conducting an investigation and in providing child maltreatment prevention or rehabilitative services to a family in response to the results of the investigations, consistent with state and federal law.
(3) Protocols describing what, if any, confidential information may be shared between the parties and for what purposes, in accordance with applicable state and federal law.
(c) This section does not limit or change the responsibilities of a county child welfare department with respect to investigations of, or responses to, allegations of abuse or neglect.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 233, Sec. 1. (SB 907) Effective January 1, 2021.)