Who is mandated to report?
Are all health clinicians mandated to report?
- Yes.
Who else is a mandated reporter?
The following persons are required to report:
- Physicians or surgeons, including physicians in training, osteopaths, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, child health associates, medical examiners or coroners, dentists, nurses, or hospital personnel
- Christian Science practitioners
- School officials or employees
- Social workers or workers in family care homes or child care centers
- Mental health professionals
For more information, refer to Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
When is the reporting duty triggered?
What is the standard?
- A report is required when:
- A reporter has reasonable cause to know or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect.
- A reporter has observed the child being subjected to circumstances or conditions that would result in abuse or neglect.
For more information, refer to Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
What must be reported?
How does state law define child abuse and neglect for reporting purposes?
- Mandated reporters must report abuse or neglect as defined by Code section 45.2001 and any case law and other legal guidance interpreting this statute. “Abuse” or “child abuse or neglect” means an act or omission in one of the following categories which seriously threatens the health or welfare of a child:
- When a child exhibits evidence of serious bruising, bleeding, malnutrition, failure to thrive, mental injury, burns, fracture of a bone, subdural hematoma, soft tissue swelling, or death, and the condition or death is not justifiably explained, or where the history given concerning the condition or death is at variance with the degree or type of the condition or death, or circumstances indicate that the condition or death may not be the product of an accidental occurrence;
- When a child is subject to the sexual offenses contained in 46.3601 to 46.3617 and 46.3802, or is allowed, permitted, or encouraged by the child’s parents, legal guardian, custodian, or any other person responsible for the child’s health and welfare, to engage in prostitution or be the subject of obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting;
- Any case in which the child’s parents, legal guardians, custodians or any other person responsible for the child’s health and welfare fail to take the action to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision that a prudent parent would take
- “Neglect” means acts which can reasonably be construed to fall under the definition of “child abuse or neglect” as defined in the definition above.
Are child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, statutory rape, incest, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and/or trafficking of a minor reportable as child abuse or neglect and if so, how are they defined and what is reportable?
For the most current definitions of these terms, refer to American Samoa Annotated Code.
How to report:
What is the method of reporting?
- A report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect is immediately made to the department by a written report prepared by a mandated reporter, if so requested by the receiving CPS agency.
For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
What is the timeline in which to report?
- Mandated reporters who have reasonable cause to know or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the child protection services (CPS) agency.
For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
To whom are reports made?
- A report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect is immediately made to the department by a written report prepared by a mandated reporter, if so requested by the receiving CPS agency. The receiving agency will forward a copy of its own report to the central registry on forms supplied by the registry. If at any time a report of suspected child abuse or neglect is made to the CPS agency, the department must be notified. If a report of suspected child abuse or neglect is made to the department, the agency must be notified. Copies of the report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect are immediately transmitted by the receiving agency to the attorney general's office and to the department.
For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
State/County Hotline?
- National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453
Confidentiality:
What federal confidentiality laws apply to health information collected during a Title X visit?
- Title X regulations 42 CFR 59.11
- HIPAA 45 CFR 164.502
Is there an exception in federal confidentiality law that allows a clinician to comply with mandatory child abuse reporting laws?
- Yes.