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Georgia

Who is mandated to report?

Are all health clinicians mandated to report?

  • Yes.

Who else is a mandated reporter?

  • Hospital and medical personnel
  • Nurses
  • Psychologists
  • Social workers
  • Interns
  • Physician assistants

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 believe that child abuse has occurred.
    • A person who processes or produces visual or printed matter has reasonable cause to believe that the visual or printed matter submitted for processing or producing depicts a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct..

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 “child abuse” as defined by Georgia Code 19-7-5 and any case law and other legal guidance interesting the statute.
  • "Child abuse" means:
    • Physical injury or death inflicted upon a child by a parent or caretaker thereof by other than accidental means; provided, however, that physical forms of discipline may be used as long as there is no physical injury to the child;
    • Neglect or exploitation of a child by a parent or caretaker thereof;
    • Endangering a child;
    • Sexual abuse of a child; or
    • Sexual exploitation of a child.
    • However, no child who in good faith is being treated solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall, for that reason alone, be considered to be an abused child.
  • “Endangering a child” means:
    • Any act described by subsection (d) of Code Section 16-5-70;
    • Any act described by Code Section 16-5-73;
    • Any act described by subsection (l) of Code Section 40-6-391; or
    • Prenatal abuse, as such term is defined in Code Section 15-11-2.
  • "Sexual abuse" means a person's employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any minor who is not such person's spouse to engage in any act which involves:
    • Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
    • Bestiality;
    • Masturbation;
    • Lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;
    • Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude;
    • Condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of a person who is nude;
    • Physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with any person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or with a female's clothed or unclothed breasts;
    • Defecation or urination for the purpose of sexual stimulation; or
    • Penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure.
    • Sexual abuse shall include consensual sex acts when the sex acts are between minors if any individual is less than 14 years of age; provided, however, that it shall not include consensual sex acts when the sex acts are between a minor and an adult who is not more than four years older than the minor. This provision shall not be deemed or construed to repeal any law concerning the age or capacity to consent.
  • Sexual Exploitation means conduct by any person who allows, permits, encourages, or requires a child to engage in:

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 the Georgia Code at the Justia US Law website.

How to report:

What is the method of reporting?

  • A mandated reporter who has reasonable cause to believe that a child has been abused shall report or cause reports of that abuse to be made as provided in this section. An oral report shall be made immediately by telephone or otherwise and followed by a report in writing, if requested, and in no case later than 24 hours from the time there is reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused.

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?

  • An oral report must be made immediately and followed by a written report, if requested, in no greater than 24 hours.

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?

  • The report shall be made to a child welfare agency providing protective services, as designated by the Department of Human Services, or, in the absence of such agency, to an appropriate police authority or district attorney.

For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

State/County Hotline?

  • Division of Family and Children Services – Centralized Intake
  • Call at 1-855-GACHILD / 1-855-422-4453
  • Fax – 229-317-9663
  • Email – cpsintake@dhs.ga.gov
  • Web-based reporting

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.