Reporting Suspected Child Abuse

 

Purpose

To facilitate compliance with ORS 419B.005 through 419B.017, which states that employees of higher educational institutions are mandatory reporters at all times, both on and off campus, unless specifically exempted by statute. 

 

Statement

General

As amended by the 2012 Oregon Legislature, employees of higher educational institutions are included as mandatory reporters of child abuse at all times, both on and off campus. The college requires employees who have reasonable cause to believe that any unmarried child under the age of 18 with whom they come in contact has been abused must report it to 911 or the Department of Human Services (DHS) within the county where the employee was when the contact was made.

Staff Resources and Responsibilities

The college will provide direct notice to all current and newly hired staff of their status as mandated abuse reporters.  The college will make information available to all staff related to the “reasonable cause” standard as it applies to abuse cases, and provide resources to assist all staff to respond appropriately and comprehensively in the event of a case of suspected abuse.  Individual managers and their staff are responsible for the completion of mandatory training related to mandatory reporting, the “reasonable cause” standard and proper reporting.    

Reporting

In the event that any incident(s) of child abuse is suspected, a report shall be made by calling 911 or by calling the State of Oregon Department of Human Services abuse and neglect reporting hotline. In the event that an incident is suspected to have occurred on college owned/operated property or is suspected to have involved an LBCC student, LBCC’s Public Safety Office must also be notified.

Information provided as part of a report should include (if known):

1. The addresses of the child and the parents of the child or other persons responsible for care of the child,
2. The child's age,
3. The nature and extent of the abuse (including any evidence of previous abuse),
4. The explanation which the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse and the identity of the perpetrator.

 

 

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