Child Abuse Identification and Reporting: The Pennsylvania Requirement _____________________________
• Has committed a specific act of habitual disobedience of the reasonable and lawful commands of their parent, guardian, or other custodian and who is ungovernable and found to be in need of care, treatment, or supervi- sion • Is younger than 10 years of age and has committed a delinquent act • Has been formerly adjudicated dependent under sec- tion 6341 of the Juvenile Act (relating to adjudication) and is under the jurisdiction of the court, subject to its conditions or placements, and who commits an act that is defined as ungovernable • Has been referred under section 6323 of the Juvenile Act (relating to informal adjustment) and who commits an act that is defined as ungovernable DEFINITIONS OF CHILD ABUSE In Pennsylvania, the child abuse law takes a very comprehensive approach to defining of child abuse [26]. According to Penn- sylvania law, child abuse shall mean intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly doing any of the following [13]: • Causing bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act • Fabricating, feigning, or intentionally exaggerating or inducing a medical symptom or disease that results in a potentially harmful medical evaluation or treatment to the child through any recent act • Causing or substantially contributing to serious mental injury to a child through any act or failure to act or a series of such acts or failures to act • Causing sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any act or failure to act • Creating a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act • Creating a likelihood of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any recent act or failure to act • Causing serious physical neglect of a child • Engaging in any of the following specific recent “per se” acts: – Kicking, biting, throwing, burning, stabbing, or cutting a child in a manner that endangers the child – Unreasonably restraining or confining a child, based on consideration of the method, location, or duration of the restraint or confinement – Forcefully shaking a child younger than 1 year of age – Forcefully slapping or otherwise striking a child younger than 1 year of age
– Interfering with the breathing of a child – Causing a child to be present at a location while a violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.2 relating to the operation of methamphetamine laboratory is occurring, provided that the violation is being investigated by law enforcement – Leaving a child unsupervised with an individual, other than the child’s parent, who the actor knows or reasonably should have known a) is required to register as a Tier II or Tier III sex- ual offender (under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 97 Subch. H relating to registration of sexual offenders), where the victim of the sexual offense was younger than 18 years of age when the crime was committed; b) has been determined to be a sexually violent predator (under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.24 relating to assessments, or any of its predecessors); has been determined to be a sexually violent delinquent child (as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.12 relating to definitions); or d) has been determined to be a sexually violent c) predator (under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.58, relating to assessments) or has to register for life (under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.55(b) relating to registration) • Causing the death of the child through any act or failure to act • Engaging a child in a severe form of trafficking in per- sons or sex trafficking, as those terms are defined under section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 KEY COMPONENTS OF CHILD ABUSE • Child: An individual younger than 18 years of age • Act or failure to act; Recent act; Recent act or failure to act; or A series of acts or failures to act – Act: Something that is done to harm or cause potential harm to a child – Failure to act: Something that is NOT done to prevent harm or potential harm to a child – Recent act: Any act committed within two (2) years of the date of the report to DHS or county agency – Recent act or failure to act: Any act or failure to act committed within two (2) years of the date of the report to DHS or county agency • Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly – Intentionally: Done with the direct purpose of causing the type of harm that resulted – Knowingly: Awareness that harm is practically certain to result – Recklessly: Conscious disregard of substantial and unjustifiable risk
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