The department, within five working days of commencing the assessment, shall provide written notification of the assessment to the child’s parents. If a parent is alleged to have committed the child abuse, the notice shall inform the parents regarding the complaint or allegation made regarding the parent. The parents shall be informed in a manner that protects the confidentiality rights of an individual who reported the child abuse or provided information as part of the assessment process. However, if the department shows the court to the court‘s satisfaction that notification is likely to endanger the child or other persons, the court shall orally direct the department to withhold notification. Within one working day of issuing an oral directive, the court shall issue a written order restraining the notification. The department shall not reveal in the written notification to the parents or otherwise the identity of the reporter of child abuse to a subject of a child abuse report listed in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”.

 Unless otherwise prohibited under section 234.40 or 280.21, the use of corporal punishment by the person responsible for the care of a child which does not result in a physical injury to the child shall not be considered child abuse.

 The assessment may, with the consent of the parent or guardian, include a visit to the home of the child named in the report and an interview or observation of the child may be conducted. If permission to enter the home to interview or observe the child is refused, the juvenile court or district court upon a showing of probable cause may authorize the person making the assessment to enter the home and interview or observe the child.

 The assessment may include a visit to a facility providing care to the child named in the report or to any public or private school subject to the authority of the department of education where the child named in the report is located. The administrator of a facility, or a public or private school shall cooperate with the child protection worker by providing confidential access to the child named in the report for the purpose of interviewing the child, and shall allow the child protection worker confidential access to other children for the purpose of conducting interviews in order to obtain relevant information. The child protection worker may observe a child named in a report in accordance with the provisions of section 232.68, subsection 3, paragraph “b”. A witness shall be present during an observation of a child. Any child aged ten years of age or older can terminate contact with the child protection worker by stating or indicating the child’s wish to discontinue the contact. The immunity granted by section 232.73 applies to acts or omissions in good faith of administrators and their facilities or school districts for cooperating in an assessment and allowing confidential access to a child.

 If the department determines that disclosure is necessary for the protection of a child, the department may disclose to a subject of a child abuse report referred to in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, that an individual is listed in the child or dependent adult abuse registry or is required to register with the sex offender registry in accordance with chapter 692A.

 If the department refers a child to a physician or physician assistant for a physical examination, the department shall contact the physician or physician assistant regarding the examination within twenty-four hours of making the referral. If the physician or physician assistant who performs the examination upon referral by the department reasonably believes the child has been abused, the physician or physician assistant shall report to the department within twenty-four hours of performing the examination.

 In each county or multicounty area in which more than fifty child abuse reports are made per year, the department shall establish a multidisciplinary team, as defined in section 235A.13, subsection 9. Upon the department’s request, a multidisciplinary team shall assist the department in the assessment, diagnosis, and disposition of a child abuse assessment and the subsequent provision of services.

 The department shall provide or arrange for and monitor services for abused children and their families on a voluntary basis or under a final or intermediate order of the juvenile court. The department may provide or arrange for and monitor services for children and their families on a voluntary basis for cases in which a family assessment is completed.

  If the department determines that a safety issue continues to require a child to reside outside of the child’s home at the conclusion of a family assessment, the department shall transfer the assessment to the child abuse assessment pathway for a disposition.

 At the conclusion of a family assessment, the department shall transfer the case, if appropriate, to a contracted provider to review the service plan for the child and family. The contracted provider shall make a referral to the department abuse hotline if a family’s noncompliance with a service plan places a child at risk. If any of the criteria for child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, are met, the department shall commence a child abuse assessment. If any of the criteria for a child in need of assistance pursuant to section 232.96A are met, the department shall determine whether to request a child in need of assistance petition.

 The department shall provide the juvenile court and the county attorney with a copy of the written child abuse assessment report, the written family assessment report for cases in which the department requests a child in need of assistance petition, or other reports for cases in which the department requests a child in need of assistance petition. The juvenile court and the county attorney shall notify the department of any action taken concerning an assessment provided by the department.

 If a fourth report is received from the same person who made three earlier reports which identified the same child as a victim of child abuse and the same person responsible for the care of the child as the alleged abuser and which were determined by the department to be entirely false or without merit, the department may determine that the report is again false or without merit due to the report’s spurious or frivolous nature and may in its discretion terminate its assessment of the report. If the department receives more than three reports which identify the same child as a victim of child abuse or the same person as the alleged abuser of a child, or which were made by the same person, and the department determined the reports to be entirely false or without merit, the department shall provide information concerning the reports to the county attorney for consideration of criminal charges under section 232.75, subsection 3.

 The department shall adopt rules regarding the intake process, assessment process, assessment reports, contact with juvenile court or the county attorney, involvement with law enforcement, case record retention, and dissemination of records for both child abuse assessments and family assessments.

 The department shall engage external stakeholders, including but not limited to representatives of the county attorneys’ offices, service providers, and parent partners to develop a quality assurance component to the differential response system.