Policy: JG
Recognizing And Reporting Suspected Child Abuse And Neglect
It shall be the policy of the Lyme School District to comply
with the requirements of RSA 169-C in reporting suspected
child abuse and neglect. Further, it is the policy of the
district to cooperate with the New Hampshire Division of Children,
Youth and Families child protection social workers and law
enforcement agencies in the course of investigations into
alleged child abuse or neglect as outlined in RSA 169-C.
Attachment: RSA 169-C:29
ADOPTED: 10 March 1994
REVISED: 28 February 2002 (1st reading 10/25/01) (2nd reading
2/28/02)
Approved: 2/28/02
169-C:29. Persons Required to Report
Any physician, surgeon, county medical examiner, psychiatrist,
resident, intern, dentist, osteopath, optometrist, chiropractor,
psychologist, therapist, registered nurse, hospital personnel
(engaged in admission, examination, care and treatment of
persons), Christian Science practitioner, teacher, school
official, school nurse, school counselor, social worker, day
care worker, any other child or foster care worker, law enforcement
official, priest, minister, or rabbi or any other person having
reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected
shall report the same in accordance with this chapter.
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE CHILD PROTECTION ACT, RSA
169-C
1. All citizens of New Hampshire are mandated to make an oral
report of any suspected child abuse immediately to the New
Hampshire Division for Children and Youth Services (DCYS),
a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services. School
personnel are specifically identified as mandated reporters.
Such an oral report is to be followed within 48 hours by a
written report, if requested, to DCYS.
2. Failure to report suspected child abuse is a misdemeanor
punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to a year imprisonment.
3. Anyone making a report of suspected child abuse in good
faith is immune from any form of civil or criminal liability.
4. The Division for Children and Youth Services is the state
agency mandated to receive and assess reports of suspected
child abuse to determine whether abuse is occurring. This
responsibility does not lie with the school.
5. Schools must allow trained DCYS child protection social
workers (CPSW) and law enforcement personnel to enter school
facilities, interview students, and audio- or videotape the
interview without the consent or notification of the parent
or parents of a child if there is suspicion that the child
has been abuse or neglected.
6. Schools must allow the CPSW doing the assessment to take,
or cause to be taken,
photographs and/or x-rays of injured children who are subjects
of a child abuse report. Such photographs or x-rays may be
taken without the consent of the child's parents or guardians.
7. DCYS may request and shall receive any assistance and information
from schools that will enable it to fulfill its obligations
to complete an assessment of alleged child abuse.
PREPARED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S TASK FORCE ON CHILD ABUSE
AND NEGLECT, APRIL, 1993
