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South Dakota

Who is mandated to report?

Are all health clinicians mandated to report?

  • Yes.  

Who else is a mandated reporter?

  • Hospital interns or residents
  • Mental health professionals or counselors
  • Psychologists
  • Social workers
  • Chemical dependency counselors

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?

What is the standard?

  • A report is required when a reporter has reasonable cause 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 abuse or neglect as defined by South Dakota statute 26-8A-2 and legal guidance interpreting the statute.
    • Abused or neglected child. In this chapter and chapter 26-7A, the term, abused or neglected child, means a child:
      • Whose parent, guardian, or custodian has abandoned the child or has subjected the child to mistreatment or abuse;
      • Who lacks proper parental care through the actions or omissions of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian;
      • Whose environment is injurious to the child's welfare;
      • Whose parent, guardian, or custodian fails or refuses to provide proper or necessary subsistence, supervision, education, medical care, or any other care necessary for the child's health, guidance, or well-being;
      • Who is homeless, without proper care, or not domiciled with the child's parent, guardian, or custodian through no fault of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian;
      • Who is threatened with substantial harm;
      • Who has sustained emotional harm or mental injury as indicated by an injury to the child's intellectual or psychological capacity evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment in the child's ability to function within the child's normal range of performance and behavior, with due regard to the child's culture;
      • Who is subject to sexual abuse, sexual molestation, or sexual exploitation by the child's parent, guardian, custodian, or any other person responsible for the child's care;
      • Who was subject to prenatal exposure to abusive use of alcohol, marijuana, or any controlled drug or substance not lawfully prescribed by a practitioner as authorized by chapters 22-42 and 34-20B; or
      • Whose parent, guardian, or custodian knowingly exposes the child to an environment that is being used for the manufacture, use, or distribution of methamphetamines or any other unlawfully manufactured controlled drug or substance.

 

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 South Dakota Codified Laws at the South Dakota Legislature website.

How to report:

What is the method of reporting?

  • A report must be made immediately orally by telephone.

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?

  • A mandated reporter who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child younger than age 18 has been abused or neglected shall report that information as required by law. The mandated reporter who witnessed the disclosure or evidence of the abuse or neglect must be available to answer questions when the initial report is made. Any person who knows or has reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected may report that information.

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 required from mandated reporters shall be made immediately orally by telephone or otherwise to the state's attorney, the Department of Social Services, or a law enforcement officer.

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

State/County Hotline?

  • Child Abuse and Neglect (Available Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM)
  • 1-877-244-0864
  • If a report needs to be made outside of these hours, contact your local law enforcement.  

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.