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New Hampshire

Who is mandated to report?

Are all health clinicians mandated to report?

  • Yes.

Who else is a mandated reporter?

  • Psychiatrists
  • Residents
  • Interns
  • Dentists
  • Chiropractors
  • Nurses
  • Hospital personnel
  • Social workers
  • Psychologists
  • Therapists

For more information, refer to Mandatory Reports 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 person has reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.

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 an abused or neglected child as defined by section 169-C:3 of the New Hampshire Code and legal guidance interpreting the statute.
    • "Abused child" means any child who has been:
        • Sexually abused; or 
        • Intentionally physically injured; or 
        • Psychologically injured so that said child exhibits symptoms of emotional problems generally recognized to result from consistent mistreatment or neglect; or 
        • Physically injured by other than accidental means; or
        • Subjected, by any person, to human trafficking as defined in RSA 633:7.
        • Subjected, by any person, to human trafficking as defined in RSA 633:7; or
        • Subjected to an act prohibited by RSA 632-A:10-d. 
    • "Neglected child" means a child: 
      • Who has been abandoned by his or her parents, guardian, or custodian; or 
      • Who is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, when it is established that the child's health has suffered or is likely to suffer serious impairment; and the deprivation is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of the parents, guardian, or custodian; or 
      • Whose parents, guardian or custodian are unable to discharge their responsibilities to and for the child because of incarceration, hospitalization or other physical or mental incapacity; 
      • Provided, that no child who is, in good faith, under treatment 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 a neglected child under this chapter. 
        • "Sexual abuse" means the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or having a child assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children. With respect to the definition of sexual abuse, the term "child" or "children" means any individual who is under the age of 18 years. 

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 New Hampshire Revised Statutes at the New Hampshire Government website.

How to report:

What is the method of reporting?

  • A mandated reporter shall immediately make an oral report to the Department of Health and Human Services by telephone or otherwise, followed within 48 hours by a written report, if so requested by the department.

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, within 48 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?

  • Reports are made to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

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

State/County Hotline?

  • New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
  • Division for Children, Youth, and Families (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
  • Toll Free (In-State): 1-800-894-5533
  • Toll Free (Out-of-State): 1-603-271-6562

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.