§ 3-105. Action upon receipt of report.
A. The Indian Child Welfare Department shall make a thorough investigation immediately upon receipt of any report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect. The immediate concern of such investigation shall be the protection of the child.
B. The investigation shall include a written report, which to the extent that it is reasonably possible, shall address the following:
1. The nature, extent and cause of the abuse or neglect;
2. The identity of the person or persons responsible for such abuse or neglect;
3. The names and conditions of other children who may be subject to similar abuse or neglect because of proximity to or association with the suspected perpetrator(s);
4. The written report shall, at a minimum, include the results of an interview with the child and a physical description of the child, including any visible evidence of abuse or neglect. Such a description shall be obtained through direct observation of the child, and the Indian Child Welfare Department worker shall take or cause to be taken of all such evidence as soon as reasonably possible.
C. Whenever possible, the interview shall take place at the child’s residence or the place in which the abuse or neglect reportedly occurred; a description of all other pertinent data observed at the interview location shall be included in the report.
D. If admission to such residence or location cannot be obtained, the Court, upon good cause shown, shall order the responsible person(s) to allow the interview, examination, photography and investigation. Should the responsible person(s) refuse to allow the interview, examination, photography and investigation, the Court shall hold an immediate hearing to show cause why the responsible person(s) should not be held in contempt of Court.
E. Upon receipt of a report, if the Indian Child Welfare Department has a confirmed report, it shall immediately offer social services to the child(ren) and the family and may cause a petition to be filed by the Tribal Prosecutor in the Trial Court. If, before the investigation is completed, the opinion of the investigators is that assistance of the Osage Nation Police is necessary for the protection of the child or other children under the same care, the Osage Nation Police and the Trial Judge shall be notified. If immediate removal is necessary to protect the child or other children under the same care from further abuse, the child or children may be placed in protective custody in accordance with Osage Nation law.
F. The Indian Child Welfare Department shall be the receiving agency responsible for the coordination of all investigations of all reports of known or suspected child abuse or neglect. The Indian Child Welfare Department shall arrange for such investigations to be conducted by persons trained to conduct either the complete investigation or such parts thereof as may be assigned. The Indian Child Welfare Department may conduct the investigation independently or in conjunction with the Osage Nation Police Department or may arrange for the initial investigation to be conducted by another agency in cooperation with the Indian Child Welfare Department. The Indian Child Welfare Department shall provide for persons to be continuously available to respond to such reports. Osage Nation, state and federal agencies shall cooperate to fulfill the requirements of this subsection. As used in this subsection, “continuously available” means the assignment of a person to be near an operable telephone or pager not necessarily located in the premises ordinarily used for business by the Indian Child Welfare Department or to have such arrangements made through agreements with the Osage Nation Police and/or local law enforcement agencies.
G. If a local law enforcement agency receives a report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect, it shall first attempt to contact the Indian Child Welfare Department in order to refer the case for investigation. If the local law enforcement agency is unable to contact the Indian Child Welfare Department, it shall refer the matter immediately to the Osage Nation Police for a complete investigation by the Indian Child Welfare Department and the Osage Nation Police. The Osage Nation Police, upon receipt of a report and upon completion of any investigation it may undertake, shall immediately forward a summary of the investigatory data plus all relevant documents to the Indian Child Welfare Department.