(a)
Disciplinary action. A licensee who willfully fails to comply
with the reporting requirements in §§
42.42 -
42.44 (relating to suspected child
abuse-mandated reporting requirements; photographs, medical tests and X-rays of
child subject to report; and suspected death as a result of child
abuse-mandated reporting requirement) will be subject to disciplinary action
under section 16 of the act (
63 P.S. §
1516).
(b)
Criminal penalties.
Under
23 Pa.C.S. §
6319
(relating to penalties), a licensee who is required to report a case of
suspected child abuse or to make a referral to the appropriate authorities, and
who willfully fails to do so, commits a criminal offense, as follows:
(1) An offense not otherwise specified in
paragraphs (2), (3) or (4) is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(2) An offense is a felony of the third
degree if all of the following apply:
(i) The
mandated reporter willfully fails to report.
(ii) The child abuse constitutes a felony of
the first degree or higher.
(iii)
The mandated reporter has direct knowledge of the nature of the
abuse.
(3) If the willful
failure to report continues while the mandated reporter knows or has reasonable
cause to suspect a child is being subjected to child abuse by the same
individual, or while the mandated reporter knows or has reasonable cause to
suspect that the same individual continues to have direct contact with children
through the individual-s employment, program, activity or service, the mandated
reporter commits a felony of the third degree, except that if the child abuse
constitutes a felony of the first degree or higher, the mandated reporter
commits a felony of the second degree.
(4) A mandated reporter who, at the time of
sentencing for an offense under
23 Pa.C.S. §
6319,
has been convicted of a prior offense under
23 Pa.C.S. §
6319,
commits a felony of the third degree, except that if the child abuse
constitutes a felony of the first degree or higher, the penalty for the second
or subsequent offense is a felony of the second degree.
Notes
The
provisions of this § 42.47 adopted November 8, 1996, effective
11/9/1996, 26 Pa.B. 5425;
amended December 7, 2001, effective 12/8/2001, 31 Pa.B. 6663.
Amended by
Pennsylvania
Bulletin, Vol 53, No. 44. November 4, 2023, effective
11/4/2023
The provisions of this § 42.47 issued under the
Child Protective Services Law,
23 Pa.C.S. §
6383(b)(2); and section 5 of
the Occupational Therapists Practice Act (63 P. S. §
1505); amended under sections 5(b) and
6(a)(2) of the Occupational Therapy Practice Act (63 P. S. §§
1505(b) and
1506(a)(2)).
This section cited in 49 Pa. Code §
42.41 (relating to child abuse
reporting requirements).
