NORTH CAROLINA
MANDATORY REPORTING LAWS
MANDATORY REPORTING LAWS
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Professionals required to report
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-301
Any person or institution that has cause to suspect abuse or neglect shall report.
Other persons required to report
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-301
All persons who have cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent or has died as the result of maltreatment
shall report.
Institutional responsibility to report
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
WHAT ARE THEY REQUIRED TO REPORT
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-301
A report is required when a reporter has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent or has died as the result of maltreatment.
PENALTIES FOR FAILING TO REPORT
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-301
Any person or institution who knowingly or wantonly fails to report the case of a juvenile as required, or who knowingly or wantonly prevents another person from making a report as required, is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
A director of social services who receives a report of sexual abuse of a juvenile in a child care facility and who knowingly fails to notify the State Bureau of Investigation of the report as required is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
PENALTIES FOR FALSE REPORTING
This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.
PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-310
No privilege shall be grounds for failing to report, even if the knowledge or suspicion is acquired in an official professional capacity, except when the knowledge or suspicion is gained by an attorney from that attorney’s client during representation only in the abuse, neglect, or dependency case. No privilege, except the attorney-client privilege, shall be grounds for excluding evidence of abuse, neglect, or dependency.
REPORTER’S IDENTITY
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-301
The report must include the name, address, and telephone number of the reporter.
Disclosure of Reporter Identity
Citation: Gen. Stat. § 7B-302
The Department of Social Services shall hold the identity of the reporter in strictest confidence, except that the department shall disclose confidential information regarding the identity of the reporter to any Federal, State, or local government entity or its agent with a court order. The department may only disclose confidential information regarding the identity of the reporter to a Federal, State, or local government entity or its agent without a court order when the entity demonstrates a need for the reporter’s name to carry out the entity’s mandated responsibilities.