North Carolina § 7B-301 - Duty to report abuse, neglect, dependency, or death due to maltreatment.

§ 7B-301. Duty to report abuse, neglect, dependency, or death due to maltreatment.

Any person or institution who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent, as defined by G.S. 7B-101, or has died as the result of maltreatment, shall report the case of that juvenile to the director of the department of social services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found. The report may be made orally, by telephone, or in writing. The report shall include information as is known to the person making it including the name and address of the juvenile; the name and address of the juvenile's parent, guardian, or caretaker; the age of the juvenile; the names and ages of other juveniles in the home; the present whereabouts of the juvenile if not at the home address; the nature and extent of any injury or condition resulting from abuse, neglect, or dependency; and any other information which the person making the report believes might be helpful in establishing the need for protective services or court intervention. If the report is made orally or by telephone, the person making the report shall give the person's name, address, and telephone number. Refusal of the person making the report to give a name shall not preclude the department's assessment of the alleged abuse, neglect, dependency, or death as a result of maltreatment. Any person or institution who knowingly or wantonly fails to report the case of a juvenile as required by subsection (a) of this section, or who knowingly or wantonly prevents another person from making a report as required by subsection (a) of this section, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Repealed by Session Laws 2015-123, s. 3, effective January 1, 2016. History (1979, c. 815, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 923, s. 2; 1993, c. 516, s. 4; 1997-506, s. 32; 1998-202, s. 6; 1999-456, s. 60; 2005-55, s. 3; 2013-52, s. 7; 2015-123, s. 3.) Cross References. - As to failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement generally, see G.S. 14-318.5. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-52, s. 1, provides: This act may be cited as "Caylee's Law". Session Laws 2013-52, s. 8, made the amendment to this section by Session Laws 2013-52, s. 7, applicable to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2013. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-52, s. 7, effective December 1, 2013, redesignated the formerly two undesignated paragraphs as present subsection (a); and added subsections (b) and (c). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2015-123, s. 3, effective January 1, 2016, deleted the former last paragraph in subsection (a), relating to procedure followed when there is a report of child abuse in a child care facility; and deleted former subsection (c), which read: "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 pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."