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Wyoming

Who is mandated to report?

Are all health clinicians mandated to report?

  • Yes.

Who else is a mandated reporter?

  • All persons are required to report.

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 person knows or has reasonable cause to believe or suspect that a child has been abused or neglected.
    • A person observes any child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect.

For more information, refer to Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect Document at the Child Welfare Information Gateway for more information.

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 Wyoming Statute 14-3-202 and legal guidance interpreting the statute.
    • “Abuse” means inflicting or causing physical or mental injury, harm or imminent danger to the physical or mental health or welfare of a child other than by accidental means, including abandonment, unless the abandonment is a relinquishment substantially in accordance with W.S. 14-11-101 through 14-11-109, excessive or unreasonable corporal punishment, malnutrition or substantial risk thereof by reason of intentional or unintentional neglect, and the commission or allowing the commission of a sexual offense against a child as defined by law:
      • “Mental injury” means an injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of a child as evidenced by an observable or substantial impairment in his ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior with due regard to his culture;
      • “Physical injury” means any harm to a child including but not limited to disfigurement, impairment of any bodily organ, skin bruising if greater in magnitude than minor bruising associated with reasonable corporal punishment, bleeding, burns, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma or substantial malnutrition;
      • “Substantial risk” means a strong possibility as contrasted with a remote or insignificant possibility;
      • “Imminent danger” includes threatened harm and means a statement, overt act, condition or status which represents an immediate and substantial risk of sexual abuse or physical or mental injury. “Imminent danger” includes violation of W.S. 31-5-233(m).
    • “Neglect” means a failure or refusal by those responsible for the child's welfare to provide adequate care, maintenance, supervision, education or medical, surgical or any other care necessary for the child's well being. Treatment given in good faith by spiritual means alone, through prayer, by a duly accredited practitioner in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination is not child neglect for that reason alone.

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 Wyoming Statutes at the Wyoming Legislature website.

How to report:

What is the method of reporting?

  • Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected shall immediately report it to the child protective agency or local law enforcement agency. The report can be made orally to the reporting 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?

  • Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected shall immediately report it to the child protective agency or local law enforcement 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?

  • Reports of child abuse or neglect or of suspected child abuse or neglect made to the local child protective agency or local law enforcement agency shall be conveyed immediately by the agency receiving the report to the appropriate local child protective agency or local law enforcement agency and, if the person responsible for the welfare of a child is a member of the armed forces or if the child is enrolled in the defense enrollment eligibility reporting system of the U.S. Department of Defense, to the state judge advocate for the Wyoming Military Department. The agencies shall continue cooperating and coordinating with each other during the assessment or investigation.
  • The state agency may establish and maintain a statewide reporting center to receive reports of child abuse or neglect on 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, toll-free telephone number. Upon establishment of the service, all reports of child abuse or neglect may be made to the center, which shall transfer the reports to the appropriate local child protective agency.

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

State/County Hotline?

  • To find the contact information for your local Department of Family Services county office, please visit this contact information resource provided by the Wyoming Department of Family Services.

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.