Georgia law requires fifteen categories of people to report suspected child abuse, and it gives them 24 hours to do it.
Who Has to Report
OCGA 19-7-5(c)(1) lists them: physicians and residents, hospital or medical personnel, dentists, licensed psychologists, podiatrists, nurses, professional counselors, social workers and marriage and family therapists, school teachers, school administrators, school counselors and school social workers, child welfare agency personnel, child-counseling personnel, child service organization personnel, law enforcement personnel, and reproductive health care facility or pregnancy resource center personnel and volunteers.
The duty is triggered by “reasonable cause to believe that suspected child abuse has occurred.” Anyone else may report under subsection (d).
The Deadline and the Chain
Under OCGA 19-7-5(e)(2), the report must be made “immediately, but in no case later than 24 hours from the time there is reasonable cause to believe that suspected child abuse has occurred.”
A reporter who works at a hospital, school, or agency notifies the person in charge, who then reports, and the employee “shall be deemed to have fully complied.” That supervisor may not “exercise any control, restraint, or modification” over what the reporter said.
Immunity, Privilege, and Penalty
OCGA 19-7-5(f) immunizes a good faith report from civil and criminal liability, whether the reporter was required to report or not. In O’Heron v. Blaney, 276 Ga. 871 (2003), a doctor reported suspected abuse of two children and was sued after the criminal case collapsed. The Georgia Supreme Court held that the immunity covered her.
Privileged communications must still be reported, except what a clergy member learns solely in confession. OCGA 19-7-5(g). Knowingly and willfully failing to report is a misdemeanor. OCGA 19-7-5(h). Even so, in McGarrah v. Posig, 280 Ga. App. 808 (2006), the Court of Appeals held that the statute “does not create a private cause of action for failure to report child abuse.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!