Chapter 237
AN ACT
SB 412
Relating to reports of child abuse; amending
ORS 419B.015.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. ORS 419B.015 is amended to read:
419B.015. (1)(a) A person making a report of child abuse, [whether voluntarily or pursuant to] whether
the report is made voluntarily or is required by ORS 419B.010, shall make
an oral report by telephone or otherwise to the local office of the Department
of Human Services, to the designee of the department or to a law enforcement
agency within the county where the person making the report is located at the
time of the contact. The report shall contain, if known, the names and
addresses of the child and the parents of the child or other persons responsible
for care of the child, the child’s age, the nature and extent of the abuse,
including any evidence of previous abuse, the explanation given for the abuse
and any other information that the person making the report believes might be
helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse and the identity of the
perpetrator.
(b) When a report of
child abuse is received by the department, the department shall notify a law
enforcement agency within the county where the report was made. When a report
of child abuse is received by a designee of the department, the designee shall
notify, according to the contract, either the department or a law enforcement
agency within the county where the report was made. When a report of child
abuse is received by a law enforcement agency, the agency shall
notify the local office of the department within the county where the report
was made.
(2) When a report of
child abuse is received under subsection (1)(a) of
this section, the entity receiving the report shall make the notification required
by subsection (1)(b) of this section according to rules adopted by the
department under ORS 419B.017.
(3)(a) When a report
alleging that a child or ward in substitute care may have been subjected to
abuse is received by the department, the department shall notify the attorney
for the child or ward, the child’s or ward’s court appointed special advocate,
the parents of the child or ward and any attorney representing a parent of the
child or ward that a report has been received.
(b) The name and address
of and other identifying information about the person who made the report may
not be disclosed under this subsection. Any person or entity to whom
notification is made under this subsection may not release any information not
authorized by this subsection.
(c) The department shall
make the notification required by this subsection within three business days of
receiving the report of abuse.
(d) Notwithstanding the
obligation imposed by this subsection, the department is not required under
this subsection to notify the parent or parent’s attorney that a report of
abuse has been received if the notification may interfere with an investigation
or assessment or jeopardize the child’s or ward’s safety.
Approved by the Governor May 30, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 31, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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