Who is mandated to report?
Are all health clinicians mandated to report?
- Yes.
Who else is a mandated reporter?
- Medical, dental, or mental health professionals
- Christian Science practitioners or religious healers
- Teachers or other school personnel
- Social service, child care, or foster care workers
- Emergency medical services personnel
- Peace officers, law enforcement officials, or humane officers
- Members of the clergy
- Circuit court judges, family court judges, employees of the Division of Juvenile Services, or magistrates
- Youth camp administrators, counselors, employees, coaches, or volunteers of entities that provide organized activities for children
- Commercial film or photographic print processors
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?
- Any mandatory reporter who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is neglected or abused or observes the child being subjected to conditions that are likely to result in abuse or neglect shall report the circumstances or cause a report to be made to the Department of Health and Human Resources. In any case where the reporter believes that the child suffered serious physical abuse or sexual abuse or sexual assault, the reporter shall also immediately report, or cause a report to be made, to the State Police and any law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction to investigate the complaint.
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?
- “Abused child” means a child whose health or welfare is being harmed or threatened by:
- A parent, guardian or custodian who knowingly or intentionally inflicts, attempts to inflict or knowingly allows another person to inflict, physical injury or mental or emotional injury, upon the child or another child in the home. Physical injury may include an injury to the child as a result of excessive corporal punishment;
- Sexual abuse or sexual exploitation;
- The sale or attempted sale of a child by a parent, guardian or custodian in violation of section fourteen-h, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code;
- Domestic violence as defined in section two hundred two, article twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code; or
- Human trafficking of a child, or attempting to traffic a child, in violation of section two, article fourteen, chapter sixty-one of this code.
- “Neglected child” means a child:
- Whose physical or mental health is harmed or threatened by a present refusal, failure or inability of the child’s parent, guardian or custodian to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care or education, when that refusal, failure or inability is not due primarily to a lack of financial means on the part of the parent, guardian or custodian; or
- Who is presently without necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education or supervision because of the disappearance or absence of the child’s parent or custodian;
- “Neglected child” does not mean a child whose education is conducted within the provisions of section one, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code.
For the most current definitions of these terms, refer to West Virginia Code 201 at the West Virginia Legislature website.
How to report:
What is the method of reporting?
- An oral report must be made immediately when a mandatory reporter has reason to believe that a child has be subjected to child abuse and/or neglect.
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 is neglected or abused, including sexual abuse or sexual assault, or observes the child being subjected to conditions that are likely to result in abuse or neglect shall immediately, and not more than 24 hours after suspecting this abuse or neglect, report the circumstances to the Department of Health and Human Resources. In any case in which the reporter believes that the child suffered serious physical abuse, sexual abuse, or sexual assault, the reporter also shall report immediately to the state police and any law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to investigate the complaint.
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 of child abuse and neglect shall be made immediately by telephone to the local state child protective service agency and shall be followed by a written report within 48 hours, if so requested by the receiving agency. The department shall establish and maintain a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week telephone number to receive such calls reporting suspected or known child abuse or neglect.
- A copy of any report of serious physical abuse, sexual abuse, or sexual assault shall be forwarded by the department to the appropriate law enforcement agency, the prosecuting attorney, or the coroner or medical examiner's office. Reports of known or suspected institutional child abuse or neglect shall be made and received as all other reports made pursuant to this article.
For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
State/County Hotline?
- Abuse and Neglect Hotline (24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week): 1-800-352-6513
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.