The care of a child is both a family and a Tribal responsibility. Any member of the Tulalip Tribes, employees, contractors, volunteers, agents and persons residing within the jurisdiction of the Tribes who have reason to believe that a child has been abused or neglected shall report the matter to the Washington State Child Protection Services hotline, 1-866-ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276).
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)
Persons who reasonably suspect that a child has been abused, neglected, or abandoned shall report the matter to the Child Protection Services hotline, 1-866-ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276) for investigation. The Tulalip Tribes considers all employees, volunteers and agents of the Tulalip Tribes to be mandatory reporters unless special circumstances exist or the information has been obtained as a result of privileged communication.
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)
A community member who files a report may remain anonymous. A mandated reporter may not unless exceptional circumstances exist.
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)
All persons or agencies reporting in good faith, and with reasonable grounds, known or suspected instances of abuse or neglect shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution in Tribal Court.
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)
Any person who is required to report abuse or neglect under this chapter, or supervises someone who is required to report, and knowingly fails to report abuse or neglect, or prevents that person from reporting the abuse or neglect, is subject to a civil fine not to exceed $5,000 or, if an employee of the Tribes, subject to a sanction under the Tulalip Tribal Government Employee Handbook.
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)
(1) 
Protection of Child. It is the policy of the Tulalip Tribes that examinations and interviews of a child suspected of having been subject to abuse or neglect shall be conducted under such circumstances and with such safeguards as are designed to minimize additional trauma to the child. It shall be the responsibility of the departments involved in the investigation and/or prosecution of the alleged offenses to coordinate their interviews and intrusive examinations with respect to the child.
(2) 
Waiver of Parental Consent. Photographs, X-rays, medical examinations, psychological examinations, drug testing, interviews and forensic interviews of a child alleged to have been subject to abuse or neglect shall be allowed without parental consent if beda?chelh or law enforcement officials have reason to believe the child has been subject to abuse or neglect. (See 25 U.S.C. Chapter 34.) The interviews may be conducted at school, the child’s day care facility or at other suitable locations outside the presence of parents or guardians.
(3) 
Role of beda?chelh. Upon receiving a report of alleged abuse and/or neglect of a child under this chapter, designated beda?chelh personnel shall investigate such allegations and have access and be provided copies within a timely manner, recognizing that time may be of the essence, of all records, reports, files, and other relevant information of the child from Tribal departments, clinics, child care facilities, and schools for the purposes of investigating abuse and/or neglect. These records may include but are not limited to health and medical records, school attendance records, disciplinary records, and other behavioral information that may be relevant to a dependency case. This information shall continue to be available throughout the course of an investigation or dependency case. At this stage, beda?chelh will make a determination as to whether the referral is credible and, if so, if the case is appropriate for prevention using a family-centered intervention, or if the child is at imminent risk of harm requiring court intervention.
(a) 
Beda?chelh or the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) shall make a referral to the proper law enforcement agency if, at any point in their civil investigation of alleged abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, beda?chelh determines that the child may be a victim of a possible criminal law violation.
(b) 
The Child Advocacy Center shall be provided a copy of the CPS referral regarding suspected abuse, neglect or abandonment of a child, as soon as it is available. TPD shall provide a copy of a police report regarding suspected abuse, neglect or abandonment of a child upon request of the CAC and in accordance with TPD’s policies.
(c) 
Records covered by this section shall be kept in accordance with TTC § 4.05.420, Confidentiality.
(4) 
Role of Tulalip Tribal Police (TPD). The TPD is an integral part of the MDT and has a direct responsibility in identifying and reporting incidents of when a child is suspected to be abused, neglected or abandoned. The Tulalip Police Department shall:
(a) 
Report any suspected child abuse or neglect to the Child Protection Services (“CPS”) Central Intake by faxing the police report directly to 360-805-8550, or calling Central Intake Hotline at 1-866-ENDHARM (1-866-363-4276).
(b) 
Provide protection and assistance in the removal and placement of children on request by beda?chelh or authorized child protection and placement agency personnel.
(c) 
Be authorized to take, or cause to be taken, a child into protective custody without a court order if there is probable cause to believe that the child is abused or neglected and that the child’s health, safety, and welfare will be at risk of imminent harm if it were necessary to first obtain a court order pursuant to this chapter. The officer shall cause a CPS referral to be submitted to Washington State Central Intake and then call the on-call after hours beda?chelh social worker in order for beda?chelh to prepare protective custody documents which law enforcement shall sign, and clear an emergency placement.
(d) 
Perform child welfare checks upon reasonable request by beda?chelh or the CAC.
(e) 
Work collaboratively with other appropriate disciplines to provide information when children are identified as being, or at risk of being, abused, neglected or abandoned.
(Res. 2018-346; Res. 2015-101; Res. 2020-554)