AN ACT
RELATING TO THE CHILDREN'S CODE;
CLARIFYING A MEMBER OF THE CLERGY'S DUTY TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF
THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 77, Section 97, as amended) is amended to read:
"32A-4-3. DUTY TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD
NEGLECT--RESPONSIBILITY TO INVESTIGATE
CHILD ABUSE OR
NEGLECT--PENALTY.--
A. Every person, including a licensed physician;
a resident or an intern examining, attending or treating a child; a law
enforcement officer; a judge presiding during a proceeding; a registered nurse;
a visiting nurse; a schoolteacher; a school official; a social worker acting in
an official capacity; or a member of the clergy who has information that is not
privileged as a matter of law, who knows or has a reasonable suspicion that a
child is an abused or a neglected child shall report the matter immediately to:
(1) a local law enforcement agency;
(2) the department office in the county where the
child resides; or
(3) a tribal law enforcement or social services
agency for any Indian child residing in Indian country.
B. A law enforcement agency receiving the report
shall immediately transmit the facts of the report and the name, address and
phone number of the reporter by telephone to the department office in the
county where the child resides and shall transmit the same information in
writing within forty-eight hours. A
department office receiving a report shall immediately transmit the facts of
the report and the name, address and phone number of the reporter by telephone
to a local law enforcement agency and shall transmit the same information in
writing within forty-eight hours. The
written report shall contain the names and addresses of the child and the
child's parents, guardian or custodian, the child's age, the nature and extent
of the child's injuries, including any evidence of previous injuries, and other
information that the maker of the report believes might be helpful in
establishing the cause of the injuries and the identity of the person
responsible for the injuries. The
written report shall be submitted upon a standardized form agreed to by the law
enforcement agency and the department.
C. The recipient of a report under Subsection A
of this section shall take immediate steps to ensure prompt investigation of
the report. The investigation shall
ensure that immediate steps are taken to protect the health or welfare of the
alleged abused or neglected child, as well as that of any other child under the
same care who may be in danger of abuse or neglect. A local law enforcement agency is responsible
for investigating reports of alleged child abuse or neglect at schools, daycare
facilities or child care facilities.
D. If
the child alleged to be abused or neglected is in the care or control of or in
a facility administratively connected to the department, the report shall be
investigated by local law
enforcement. The investigation shall ensure
that immediate steps are taken to protect the health or welfare of the alleged
abused or neglected child, as well as that of any other child under the same
care who may be in danger of abuse or neglect.
E. A
law enforcement agency or the department shall have access to any of the
records pertaining to a child abuse or neglect case maintained by any of the
persons enumerated in Subsection A of this section, except as otherwise
provided in the Abuse and Neglect Act.
F. A
person who violates the provisions of Subsection A of this section is guilty of
a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of
Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978."
Section 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2003.
HB 247
Page 3