Policy 7.16: Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting
Original Date of Issue: 10/21/15
Revised:
Purpose
To help ensure the safety of all minors while participating in any educational program or activity at any Delaware County Community College (College) facility.
To ensure compliance with the state statutory provisions providing protections from abuse to minors (23 Pa.C.S. Sec. 6101) through a requirement of mandatory reporting by any employee of the College in the event of any and all suspected child abuse, in the course of performing one’s duties on behalf of the College.
Scope
All employees of the College
Policy
It is the requirement of the College that all employees of the College immediately report any case of suspected, actual, admitted, or witnessed child abuse to their immediate supervisor. The immediate supervisor, in conjunction with the College’s President or designee shall respond to a report of suspected child abuse consistent with the requirements of the Child Protective Services Law. The College President shall inform the Board of Trustees when a mandatory report of suspected child abuse has been submitted.
The purpose of this policy is to protect abused or thought to be abused children from further abuse. It is the responsibility of supervisors, directors, managers, and vice-presidents of the College, once informed of any suspected or actual child abuse, to ensure that reporting to the proper state authority and the President has, in fact occurred.
In addition, reports of the suspected child abuse must be made immediately by telephone to ChildLine (800) 932-0313 by the reporter of the suspected child abuse followed by a written report within 48 hours as required by law.
Definitions
Child – An individual under the age of 18.
Child Abuse – The term child abuse shall mean intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly doing any of the following to a child:
- Causing bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act
- Fabricating, feigning, or intentionally exaggerating or inducing a medical symptom or disease which results in a potentially harmful medical evaluation or treatment to the child through any recent act
- Causing or substantially contributing to serious mental injury to a child through any act or failure to act or a series of such acts or failures to act
- Causing sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any act or failure to act
- Creating a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act
- Creating a likelihood of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any recent act or failure to act
- Causing serious physical neglect of a child
- Engaging in any of the following recent acts:
- Kicking, biting, throwing, burning, stabbing or cutting a child in a manner that endangers the child
- Unreasonably restraining or confining a child, based on consideration of the method, location, or the duration of the restraint or confinement
- Forcefully shaking a child under one year of age
- Forcefully slapping or otherwise striking a child under one year of age
- Interfering with the breathing of a child
- Causing a child to be present at a location while a violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.2 (relating to operation of methamphetamine laboratory) is occurring, provided that the violation is being investigated by law enforcement
- Leaving a child unsupervised with an individual, other than the child's parent, who the actor knows or reasonably should have known:
- Is required to register as a Tier II or Tier III sexual offender under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 97 Subch. H (relating to registration of sexual offenders), where the victim of the sexual offense was under 18 years of age when the crime was committed
- Has been determined to be a sexually violent predator under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.24 (relating to assessments) or any of its predecessors
- Has been determined to be a sexually violent delinquent child as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.12 (relating to definitions)
- Causing the death of the child through any act or failure to act
