NEW HAMPSHIRE

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WHO:        ANY person MUST report if s/he has reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:29]

These are mandatory (MUST report): • Physicians, surgeons, county medical examiners, psychiatrists, residents, interns, dentists, osteopaths, optometrists, chiropractors, psychologists, therapists, registered nurses, hospital personnel (engaged in admission, examination, care and treatment of persons), or Christian Science practitioners • Teachers, school officials, school nurses, or school counselors • Social workers • Daycare workers or any other child or foster care workers • Law enforcement officials • Priests, ministers, or rabbis.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:29]

·       STANDARD  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:29; 169-C:3(V)]  Child means under age 18.

(1)   For ALL reporters: reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected: 

·       PRIVILEGE:  Only attorney-client privilege is grounds for failure to report, or for excluding evidence from proceedings. Husband-wife privilege and professional-patient/client privilege specifically do not apply.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:32]

WHEN:      For a  mandated reporter: (1) IMMEDIATE oral report by phone or otherwise; (2) within 48 HOURS, follow-on written report IF DHHS requests.   [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:30] 

WHERE & HOW:  (1) Report to Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS) orally by phone or otherwise; (2) then a written report IF DHHS requests it.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:30; https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/cps/index.htm; https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/cps/contact.htm]

·       DHHS Division for Children, Youth & Families (DCYF):  HOTLINE STAFFED 24/7

o   From inside NH:                (800) 894-5533  (toll-free) or (603) 271-6556

o   Local or out-of-state:        (603) 271-6562

o   To report by fax:                (603) 271-6565

o   To report by TDD:              (800) 735-2964

·       DCYF Mailing / Street Address:

OTHER ASPECTS

·       REPORT DETAILS: (1) Reports MUST contain, if known: (a) the name and address of the child and person responsible for the child's welfare; (b) the full nature and extent of injuries, including any evidence of prior injury; (c) the identity of the person(s) suspected of abuse or neglect; (d) any other info that might help establish the cause of neglect or abuse or that DHHS may require.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:30]  (2) DHHS would also like to know, if available: (e) the child’s sex and age, and the name, sex and age of any other children in the home: (f) phone numbers for adult(s) responsible for the child (home, work, cell); (g) full nature and extent, and any history of abuse, maltreatment, or neglect; (h) how great a risk the reporter believes this may be to the child; (i) how the reporter learned of the situation; (j) any action the reporter took to treat or assist the child; (k) the family’s strengths and resources; (l) (d) any other info to help establish the cause of injuries.  [https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/cps/stop.htm]  (3) Intake workers would also like to know, if available: (m) parent and stepparent biographical info; (n) who the guardian is, if not a parent; (o) any other household members; (p) how the info was obtained; (q) relation of perpetrator to child; (r) who was present; (s) dates and times of incidents; (t) method of harm; (u) frequency and severity of harm; (v) any risk factors in the home (substance abuse; domestic violence; mental and/or physical impairments); and (w) any other information the reporter has.  [https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

·       REPORTER PROTECTION: (1) Statutes do not specifically require the reporter’s name to be in the report. (2) DHHS case records do not include the reporter’s name or info that would identify him/her.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 170-G:8-a(I)(d)]  (3) Any reporter in good faith is immune from civil and criminal liability.  [Rev. Stat. Ann.  § 169-C:31]

WHY:        Knowingly failing to report is a misdemeanor.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:39]

WHAT:      In New Hampshire, abuse of a child means sexual abuse, intentional or other non-accidental physical abuse, psychological abuse, human trafficking (for labor or commercial sex) or female genital mutilation. In New Hampshire, neglect of a child means abandonment, deprivation of care or control, or incapacity.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(II),(XIX)]    

Initial Screening Criteria: (a) Reports are examined under law and policy to determine if they meet criteria for abuse and/or neglect warranting an investigation (cf. Rev. Stat. Ann. 169-C). (b) Intake personnel immediately notify law enforcement of reports that concern a child who is: (i) sexually molested or sexually exploited; (ii) intentionally or otherwise non-accidentally physically injured resulting in serious bodily injury; or (iii) a victim of a crime. Intake personnel notify reporters of the case disposition.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 169-C:38(I); https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

Reportable: (a) a parent, guardian, or custodian for neglect by abandonment, deprivation, or incapacity, including failing to protect against abuse or neglect; and for allowing female genital mutilation; or (b) anyone for abuse: sexual abuse (but incest is in-family), intentional or other non-accidental physical injury, psychological injury, human trafficking (for labor or commercial sex), or female genital mutilation.  [See items below.]

·        Terms:  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(XXII),(XXI),(XIV),(XVII),(XIV-a)]

o   Person responsible for a child's welfare is any of a parent, guardian, custodian, or an out-of-home caretaker (e.g., daycare, etc.) who is not one of those. 

o   Parent means a mother, father, or adoptive parent, whose rights have not been judicially terminated or voluntarily relinquished. 

o   Guardian means a court-appointed parent or other individual with duty and authority for a child’s major decisions, such as medical care, lawsuits, visitation or custody not set by a court, and consent to [early] marriage or military enlistment.

o   Custodian means someone with court-ordered rights and duties as to the child’s residence, physical person, protection and constructive discipline, and all aspects of provision; these are contingent on conditions from a court, guardian, &/or parent.

o   Household member is anyone who lives with the parent, guardian, or custodian at least sometimes and is involved with the child’s care at least occasionally.

I.  Child Abuse means any of: (a) sexual abuse; (b) intentional physical injury; (c) psychological injury in which the child exhibits symptoms of emotional problems generally recognized to result from consistent mistreatment or neglect; (d) non-accidental physical injury; (e) subjected, by any person, to human trafficking; or (f) subjected to female genital mutilation.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(II)]

(A)     Sexual Abuse:  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(XXVII-b)]

(1)     DEFINITION: sexual abuse is any of the following, with a child under age 18:

(a)      to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a child to engage in or assist sexually explicit conduct or simulate it for [porn] production; or

(b)      to rape, molest, prostitute, or otherwise sexually exploit children; or

(c)      to engage in incest with children. Incest is sexual penetration while knowing that the child is – legitimately or not – one’s: (i) ancestor or descendant; (ii) brother or sister of whole or half blood; or (ii) uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece. It includes: blood relationships; stepchildren; and adoption.  A child under age 18 is not liable if the partner is older by 3 years or more at the time.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 639:2(I)]

(2)     INDICATORS of sexual abuse include: (a) young children in explicit sexual acts upon others; (b) sexualized behaviors and/or language beyond the norm at that age; (c) excessive masturbation (persistent though the behavior is redirected); (d) force, coercion, secrecy; (e) difficulty walking or sitting; (f) torn, stained, or bloody underclothing; (g) pain, itching, or swelling in genital area; (h) pain when urinating; (i) bruises or bleeding at external genitalia, vaginal or anal areas, mouth or throat; (j) vaginal discharge; (k) venereal disease or vaginal infections.  [https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

(3)     CONTEXT: THE AGE OF CONSENT is 16. A child who is age 13, 14, or 15 may consent to sexual contact with a person who is less than 4 years older. Sexual contact means non-penetrative intentional touching of sexual or intimate parts such as genitalia, anus, breasts, and buttocks for arousal, gratification, or humiliation. An exception allows underage sex with a spouse. Sex is prohibited with non-spouses who have direct supervisory, disciplinary, or other authority over the child.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 632-A:2; 632-A:3; 632-A:4]

(B)     Physical Injury:  [https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

(1)     EXAMPLE: injuries directly attributable to a non-accidental physical act by a caregiver: the ACT is intended; the resulting injury may or may not be.

(2)     CAVEAT: medically significant injuries are not required, IF there is a threat of harm to the child.

(3)     INDICATORS: (a) extensive bruises of different colors or stages of healing; (b) burns, especially from cigarettes or glove-like scalding patterns; (c) bruises on multiple body parts or in the shape of an object; (d) frequent injury, soreness or moving as if in pain; (e) sleep problems, appetite disturbance, stomach aches, headaches, ulcers; (f) bedwetting, involuntary urination, involuntary defecation; (g) compulsive, repetitive acts for self-soothing and control [e.g., rocking, banging own head], or fixation on a security item [e.g., doll or blanket]; (h) social withdrawal, avoiding contact with others; (i) aggressive acting out, hostility, bizarre or self-destructive acts, destructive behavior, cruelty to animals; (j) anxiety, nightmares, exaggerated startle reflex, hypervigilance; (k) phobias, obsession; (l) depression, guilt, impaired capacity to enjoy life.

(C)    Psychological Injury:    [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(II)(c);

[https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

(1)     DEFINITION #1: the child exhibits symptoms of emotional problems generally recognized to result from consistent mistreatment or neglect.

(2)     DEFINITION #2: injury to child’s intellectual or psychological capacity, as evidenced by observable impairment in the child’s ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior.

(3)     EXAMPLES OF ACTS: (a) berating and name-calling; (b) threats to harm the child; (c) threats to harm self in the child’s presence; (d) threats with a weapon or thrown object; (e) threats to harm a child’s pet; (f) harming the pet in the child’s presence; or (g) domestic violence in a child’s presence or involving the child.

(4)     DIAGNOSIS: a mental health professional provides a written report documenting the child’s impaired functioning, and directly relates it to mental or emotional maltreatment by a caregiver, e.g., berating and name-calling that results in the child’s aggression, withdrawal, or suicidal thoughts.

(D)    Human Trafficking:       [Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 169-C:3(II)(e); 633:7(I)(a),(b), (II); ]

(1)     DEFINITION: To (a) recruit, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or otherwise make available a person, (b) knowing or believing it likely that s/he will be subjected to involuntary servitude – either sexual or non-sexual, where (c) the compulsion involves an act or threat of: (i) harming anyone; (ii) unlawful confinement; (iii) abusing the legal process; (iv) destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or otherwise making unavailable a passport, immigration document, or other actual or purported government identification document; (v) threatening to commit a crime against the person; (vi) false promise of terms or conditions of employment, education, marriage, or financial support; (vii) threat to reveal information about the person’s legal status or expose their criminal liability; (viii) facilitating or controlling access to an addictive controlled substance; (ix) engaging in any scheme, overt or subtle, to make the person believe that anyone would suffer serious harm or physical restraint if s/he did not perform labor, services, commercial sex acts, or sexually explicit performances; (x) withholding or threatening to withhold food or medication despite a duty or promise to provide it; or (xi) coercion of an act to satisfy a debt.

(2)     BUT this law does NOT criminalize parents etc. who require the child to perform common household chores under threat of typical parental discipline.

(E)     Female Genital Mutilation:       [Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 169-C:3(II)(f); 632-A:10-d(I)]

(1)     TECHNICAL DEFINITION: circumcising, excising, or infibulating [sewing shut] the whole or any part of a female child’s labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris.

(2)     LEGAL DEFINITION: (a) knowingly performing the act; (b) where the act is allowed, by the parent, guardian, or other person legally responsible or charged with the care or custody of a female child; or (c) knowingly doing, causing, or permitting removal of a female child from the state for the purpose of the act.

Neglect means abandonment, deprivation, or incapacity, by the child’s parent(s), guardian, or custodian.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 169-C:3(XIX), (I);

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/holu-reporting-neglect-and-abuse.pdf]

(A)     Abandonment: the child is left without provision for care, supervision or financial support although his/her parent, guardian or custodian is financially able to provide it, or refuses to seek public financial assistance for which they are eligible.

(B)     Deprivation: the child is without proper parental: (a) care or control; (b) subsistence; (c) education as required by law (ages 6 to 18); or (d) other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health.

(1)     CONDITIONS: It is not neglect unless it is established that: (i) the child's health suffered or is likely to suffer serious impairment; and (ii) the deprivation is NOT due primarily to the parent’s, guardian’s, or custodian’s lack of financial means.

(2)     FAILURE TO PROTECT is neglect: a caregiver fails to act to protect the child against physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect by an adult or another child. This includes lack of supervision either: (a) with a caregiver, such as a young child playing in traffic or left with a known threat (e.g., registered sexual offender); or (b) with no caregiver, such as failing to arrange for a babysitter, or where a child may access developmentally inappropriate items such as weapons etc.

(3)     MEDICAL OR DENTAL NEGLECT includes lack of medical, psychological, psychiatric, or dental care, where a condition left untreated could worsen to endanger the child’s health.  BUT good-faith treatment solely by an accredited practitioner’s prayer from a recognized church or denomination is NOT neglect.

(4)     SERIOUS IMPAIRMENT means substantial weakening or diminishment of a child’s: (a) emotional, physical, or mental health; or (b) safety & general well-being.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(XXVII-a)]

(5)     FACTORS in determining serious impairment are: (a) age and development; (b) mental, emotional, or physical disabilities; (c) school attendance and performance; (d) child’s illegal use of controlled substances or contact with users or sellers of them, or with alcohol abusers; (e) exposure to domestic or sexual violence; (f) documented failure to thrive; (g) frequent illness or injury; (h) findings in other proceedings; (i) condition of the residence; (j) professional assessments; or (k) other relevant factors.  [Rev. Stat. Ann. § 169-C:3(XXVII-a)]

(6)     INDICATORS for poor care include: (a) failure to thrive (child under age 2 underweight, etc.); (b) malnutrition; (c) Munchhausen’s syndrome by proxy (attention-seeking caregiver induces or fabricates symptoms in a child); (d) inadequate hygiene or clothing; (e) inadequate shelter, or exposure to weather;

(C)    Incapacity: the child’s parents, guardian or custodian is/are unable to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child because of incarceration, hospitalization, or other physical or mental incapacity. This may be due to drug and/or alcohol abuse.