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JHFE - Abused and Neglected Children

Teachers come into contact with troubled children and families at every social and economic level in the community.  Because educators are concerned for the whole child, seeking help for a child victim of abuse or neglect is a natural, ethical, moral, and legal response by the school.  Serious abuse or neglect often sets up blocks which inhibit growth and create learning disabilities for the child.  Attending to the sources of these learning problems, then, makes child advocacy an element in achieving educational objectives.
 
Teachers in all states are mandated to report suspected child abuse to the proper authority.  In New Hampshire, that authority is the New Hampshire Division of Children Youth and Families (DCYF). 

Key Elements of the Child Protection Act, RSA 169:C:

  1. All citizens of New Hampshire are mandated to make an oral report of any suspected child abuse immediately to the New Hampshire Division of Children Youth and Families (DCYF), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.  School personnel are specifically identified as mandated reporters. Such an oral report is to be followed within forty-eight (48) hours by a written report, if requested, to DCYF. 
  2. Failure to report suspected child abuse is a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to a year imprisonment.
  3. Anyone making a report of suspected child abuse in good faith is immune from any form of civil or criminal liability.
  4. The Division of Children Youth and Families is the State agency mandated to receive and assess reports of suspected child abuse to determine whether abuse is occurring.  This responsibility does not lie with the school.
  5. Schools must allow trained DCYS child protection social workers (CPSW) and law enforcement personnel to enter school facilities, interview students, and audio-or videotape the interview without the consent or notification of the parent or parents of a child if there is suspicion that the child has been abused or neglected.
  6. Schools must allow the CPSW doing the assessment to take, or cause to be taken, photographs and/or x-rays of injured children who are subjects of a child abuse report. Such photographs or x-rays may be taken without the consent of the child’s parent(s) or guardian(s).
  7. DCYF may request and shall receive any assistance and information from schools that will enable it to fulfill its obligations to complete an assessment of alleged child abuse.

It is the policy of SAU #65/Kearsarge Regional School District to comply with the requirements of RSA 169:C in reporting suspected child abuse and neglect. 

Further, it is our policy to cooperate with the New Hampshire Division of Children Youth and Families child protection social workers and law enforcement agencies in the course of investigations into alleged child abuse or neglect as outlined in RSA 169:C. 

Procedure for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse: 

Any school employee who suspects that a student may be abused or neglected must, in consultation with the school principal or designee, report such suspicion immediately by phone to the regional intake unit of the Division for Children and Youth   (DCYF).  A written report sent to the district office of the DCYF within 48 hours is requested.  A state telephone directory with numbers for all the regional and district offices is available in the Superintendent’s office. 

A school employee who suspects another school employee of abusing a student shall report that suspicion directly to the DCYF and the Police Department.  Once the report is made, the school principal shall be informed.  The principal shall then inform the Superintendent of Schools.  If the Principal is the suspected abuser, the school employee who made the report to DCYS should inform only the Superintendent. 

The oral and written reports should contain the following information, if known: 

  1. Name and address of the child suspected of being abused or neglected;
  2. Name, address, and telephone number of the parents of or persons caring for, the child;
  3. The specific information and observations indicating neglect or the nature and extent of the child’s injuries (including any information or previous injuries);
  4. The identity of the person or persons suspected of being responsible for such neglect or abuse;
  5. The names of siblings and the schools they attend;
  6. Any history of concern about the child;
  7. Any indication that the child may be in imminent danger, and
  8. Any other information that may be required by DCYF in completing a thorough assessment regarding the family.

A copy of the written report must be kept in a confidential file in the Principal’s office, apart from the student’s academic or counseling files.  In the case of a school employee suspected of abusing a student, a copy of the written report must be sent to the Superintendent of Schools. 


First Reading:  April 13, 1995
Second Reading:  May 11, 1995
Adopted:  May 11, 1995  
Revised: June 18, 2015
Last Review: June 18, 2015