§ 415 — Reporting procedure

§ 415. Reporting procedure. Reports of suspected child abuse or\nmaltreatment made pursuant to this title shall be made immediately by\ntelephone or by telephone facsimile machine on a form supplied by the\ncommissioner of the office of children and family services. Oral reports\nshall be followed by a report in writing within forty-eight hours after\nsuch oral report. Oral reports shall be made to the statewide central\nregister of child abuse and maltreatment unless the appropriate local\nplan for the provision of child protective services provides that oral\nreports should be made to the local child protective service. In those\nlocalities in which oral reports are made initially to the local child\nprotective service, the child protective service shall immediately make\nan oral or electronic report to the statewide central register. Written\nreports shall be made to the appropriate local child protective service\nexcept that written reports involving children being cared for in a home\noperated or supervised by an authorized agency or the office of children\nand family services shall be made to the statewide central register of\nchild abuse and maltreatment which shall transmit the reports to the\nagency responsible for investigating the report, in accordance with\nsection four hundred twenty-four-b of this title. Written reports shall\nbe made in a manner prescribed and on forms supplied by the commissioner\nof the office of children and family services and shall include the\nfollowing information: the names and addresses of the child and his or\nher parents or other person responsible for his or her care, if known,\nand, as the case may be, the name and address of the program in which\nthe child is receiving care; the child's age, sex and race; the nature\nand extent of the child's injuries, abuse or maltreatment, including any\nevidence of prior injuries, abuse or maltreatment to the child or, as\nthe case may be, his or her siblings; the name of the person or persons\nalleged to be responsible for causing the injury, abuse or maltreatment,\nif known; family composition, where appropriate; the source of the\nreport; the person making the report and where he or she can be reached;\nthe actions taken by the reporting source, including the taking of\nphotographs and x-rays, removal or keeping of the child or notifying the\nmedical examiner or coroner; and any other information which the\ncommissioner of the office of children and family services may, by\nregulation, require, or the person making the report believes might be\nhelpful, in the furtherance of the purposes of this title.\nNotwithstanding the privileges set forth in article forty-five of the\ncivil practice law and rules, and any other provision of law to the\ncontrary, mandated reporters who make a report which initiates an\ninvestigation of an allegation of child abuse or maltreatment are\nrequired to comply with all requests for records made by a child\nprotective service relating to such report, including records relating\nto diagnosis, prognosis or treatment, and clinical records, of any\npatient or client that are essential for a full investigation of\nallegations of child abuse or maltreatment pursuant to this title;\nprovided, however, that disclosure of substance abuse treatment records\nshall be made pursuant to the standards and procedures for disclosure of\nsuch records delineated in federal law. Written reports from persons or\nofficials required by this title to report shall be admissible in\nevidence in any proceedings relating to child abuse or maltreatment.\n