GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 228*

Short Title:  Child Abuse/No Report Misdem.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Winner; Allran, Cooper, and Martin of Guilford.

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Referred to:  Judiciary.

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February 24, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPOSE A CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR THE WILLFUL FAILURE TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE CHILD FATALITY TASK FORCE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 7A-543 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-543.  Duty to report child abuse, neglect, dependency, or death due to maltreatment.
Any person or institution who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent, as defined by G.S. 7A-517, or has died as the result of maltreatment, shall report the case of that juvenile to the Director of the Department of Social Services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found.  The report may be made orally, by telephone, or in writing.  The report shall include information as is known to the person making it including the name and address of the juvenile; the name and address of the juvenile's parent, guardian, or caretaker; the age of the juvenile; the names and ages of other juveniles in the home; the present whereabouts of the juvenile if not at the home address; the nature and extent of any injury or condition resulting from abuse, neglect, or dependency; and any other information which the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the need for protective services or court intervention.  If the report is made orally or by telephone, the person making the report shall give the person's name, address, and telephone number.  Refusal of the person making the report to give a name shall not preclude the Department's investigation of the alleged abuse, neglect, dependency, or death as a result of maltreatment. Any person or institution required by this section to report child abuse, neglect, or dependency or a child's death due to suspected maltreatment, who knowingly and willfully fails to make the report, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another from making the report, shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
	Upon receipt of any report of child sexual abuse in a day care facility or day care home, the Director shall notify the State Bureau of Investigation within 24 hours or on the next work day. If child sexual abuse in a day care facility or day care home is not alleged in the initial report, but during the course of the investigation there is reason to suspect that child sexual abuse has occurred, the Director shall immediately notify the State Bureau of Investigation.  Upon notification that child sexual abuse may have occurred in a day care facility or day care home, the State Bureau of Investigation may form a task force to investigate the report."
Section 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.