PREFACE

This document may be freely copied, printed, or distributed for personal, nonprofit, governmental, or educational use, if the copy displays this permission statement with the copyright: © Pinion Feather Press, LLC, 2020, 2023.

“Children are a gift,” Psalm 127:3

Federal law and the laws of every U.S. state and territory require professionals and sometimes young workers to notify authorities right away if there is reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect. Those rules require people to learn: (1) who may or must report, and the standard for suspicion; (2) when to report; (3) where and how to report; (4) why failing to report (in good faith) may be a crime; and (5) what is called abuse or neglect in that jurisdiction. This Digest outlines those laws. Persons who are responsible for young people should learn the rules in their home jurisdiction and for outings in other jurisdictions. Certain cautions apply.

·     Many legal summaries here are not verbatim. Laws can be hard to read, so this Digest summarizes, reorganizes, or paraphrases some legal language, for readability.

·     Certain legal terms are shown “as is”. The first few pages of the Digest explain them.

·     Sexually explicit terms are carried over from laws. This book is meant for adult use only.

·     The Digest is not advice or commentary.  It is legal information. Users who need more than that should check other resources (see below) or consult an attorney or contact authorities.

o   The National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.4.A.CHILD [1-800-422-4453] is staffed 24/7 with crisis counselors. They access a database of 55,000 emergency, social service and support resources. All calls are anonymous.

o   The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) has summaries on reporting and laws at https://apps.rainn.org/policy/compare/children.cfm

o   The Digest’s citations to authorities such as social service offices and police include contact information, directories, and/or websites for them.

o   The Digest’s legal facts are directly from current federal, state, and territorial statutes and regulation, or rarely from the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

o   The statutes cited here are usually freely accessible in full online.

·        Some details in this document may be superseded by legal amendments after its release. 

·        The Digest aims for strict accuracy, but the author neither guarantees total accuracy nor assumes legal liability for errors or omissions.

The federal resources below provide more information for compliance:

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/manda.pdf      -      Mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/repproc.pdf     -      Making and screening reports of child abuse and neglect

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/reporterimmunity.pdf   -  Immunity for reporters of child abuse and neglect

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/define.pdf        -     Definitions of child abuse and neglect

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/report.pdf        -      Penalties for failure to report and false reporting of child abuse and neglect