§ 905 — Telephone reports, Child Protection Registry and information

(a) The Department shall establish and maintain a 24-hour statewide toll-free telephone report line operating at all times and capable of receiving all reports of alleged abuse and neglect of a child.

(b) The Department shall maintain a Child Protection Registry and an internal information system. The Department shall keep unsubstantiated reports in the internal information system.

(c) Every report of child abuse, neglect, or suspected human trafficking made to the Department shall be entered in the Department’s internal information system.

(d) Upon receipt of a report on any multidisciplinary case, the Department shall notify the appropriate law-enforcement agency and shall provide a detailed description of the report received. Notwithstanding any provision of the Delaware Code to the contrary, to the extent the law-enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the case is unable to assist, the primary law-enforcement agency may request another law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction to exercise such jurisdiction. Upon request, the other law-enforcement agency may exercise such jurisdiction.

(e) All persons who are licensed through the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation and the Department of Education who report child abuse, neglect, or suspected human trafficking under § 903 of this title must provide their name and address upon making the report. While other reporters may remain anonymous, the Department shall in all cases, after obtaining relevant information regarding alleged abuse, neglect, or suspected human trafficking request the name and address of any person making a report.

(f) Upon receipt of a report, the Department shall immediately communicate such report to its appropriate staff, after a check has been made with the internal information system to determine whether previous reports have been made regarding actual or suspected abuse or neglect of the subject child, or any reports regarding any siblings, family members, or the alleged perpetrator, and such information as may be contained from such previous reports. Such relevant information as may be contained in the internal information system must also be forwarded to the appropriate Department staff.

(g) Upon receipt of a report of death, serious physical injury, sexual abuse, suspected human trafficking of a child, or any other report requested by the Investigation Coordinator, the Department shall notify the Investigation Coordinator of the report, in sufficient detail to permit the Investigation Coordinator to undertake the Investigation Coordinator’s duties, as specified in § 906 of this title.

Legislative History

16 Del. C. 1953, § 1004; 58 Del. Laws, c. 154 ; 60 Del. Laws, c. 494, § 1 ; 64 Del. Laws, c. 108, § 4 ; 68 Del. Laws, c. 440, § 2 ; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1 ; 71 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 4 ; 73 Del. Laws, c. 412, §§ 26, 27 ; 77 Del. Laws, c. 320, § 3 ; 78 Del. Laws, c. 403, § 3 ; 81 Del. Laws, c. 144, § 5 ; 83 Del. Laws, c. 228, § 1 ; 84 Del. Laws, c. 129, § 3 ; 85 Del. Laws, c. 128, § 6