Among the State plan requirements for establishing eligibility for Federal grants under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, States are required to provide “immunity from civil or criminal liability under State and local laws and regulations for individuals making good faith reports of suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect, or who otherwise provide information or assistance, including medical evaluations or consultations, in connection with a report, investigation, or legal intervention pursuant to a good faith report of child abuse or neglect. “The policy of the Children’s Bureau within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services further clarifies that this requirement must 1 2 42 U.S.C. ยง 5106a(b)(2)(B)(vii) (2019). be met in State statutes. For this publication, statutes regarding the provision of immunity were collected for all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
IMMUNITY FOR MAKING REPORTS
The information collected indicates that all States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands provide some form of immunity from prosecution for persons who in good faith report suspected instances of child abuse or neglect under the State’s reporting laws. Immunity statutes protect reporters from civil or criminal liability that they might otherwise incur. This protection is extended to both mandatory and voluntary reporters. The term “good faith” refers to the assumption that the reporter, to the best of their knowledge, had reason to believe that the child in question was being subjected to abuse or neglect. Even if the allegations made in the report cannot be fully substantiated, the reporter is still provided with immunity. There is a “presumption of good faith” in approximately 17 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Guam, which means that the good faith of the reporter is presumed unless it can be proven to the contrary.