23 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Chapter 63 - Child Protective Services
Subchapter A. Preliminary Provisions
- Section 6301 - Short Title Of Chapter
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Child Protective Services Law.
- Section 6302 - Findings And Purpose Of Chapter
(a) Findings.--Abused children are in urgent need of an effective child protective service to prevent them from suffering further injury and impairment. (b) Purpose.--It...
- Section 6303 - Definitions
(a) General rule.--The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the...
- Section 6304 - Exclusions From Child Abuse
(a) Environmental factors.--No child shall be deemed to be physically or mentally abused based on injuries that result solely from environmental factors, such as...
- Section 6305 - Electronic Reporting
(a) Departmental procedures.--The department shall establish procedures for the secure and confidential use of electronic technologies to transmit information under this chapter, including: (1)...
- Section 6306 - Regulations
The department shall promulgate regulations necessary to implement this chapter. (Apr. 7, 2014, P.L.388, No.29, eff. Dec. 31, 2014) 2014 Amendment. Act 29 added...
Subchapter B. Provisions and Responsibilities for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse
- Section 6311 - Persons Required To Report Suspected Child Abuse
(a) Mandated reporters.--The following adults shall make a report of suspected child abuse, subject to subsection (b), if the person has reasonable cause to...
- Section 6311.1 - Privileged Communications
(a) General rule.--Subject to subsection (b), the privileged communications between a mandated reporter and a patient or client of the mandated reporter shall not:...
- Section 6312 - Persons Encouraged To Report Suspected Child Abuse
Any person may make an oral or written report of suspected child abuse, which may be submitted electronically, or cause a report of suspected...
- Section 6313 - Reporting Procedure
(a) Report by mandated reporter.-- (1) A mandated reporter shall immediately make an oral report of suspected child abuse to the department via the...
- Section 6314 - Photographs, Medical Tests And X-rays Of Child Subject To Report
A person or official required to report cases of suspected child abuse may take or cause to be taken photographs of the child who...
- Section 6315 - Taking Child Into Protective Custody
(a) General rule.--A child may be taken into protective custody: (1) As provided by 42 Pa.C.S. § 6324 (relating to taking into custody). (2)...
- Section 6316 - Admission To Private And Public Hospitals
(a) General rule.--Children appearing to suffer any physical or mental condition which may constitute child abuse shall be admitted to, treated and maintained in...
- Section 6317 - Mandatory Reporting And Postmortem Investigation Of Deaths
A person or official required to report cases of suspected child abuse, including employees of a county agency, who has reasonable cause to suspect...
- Section 6318 - Immunity From Liability
(a) General rule.--A person, hospital, institution, school, facility, agency or agency employee acting in good faith shall have immunity from civil and criminal liability...
- Section 6319 - Penalties
(a) Failure to report or refer.-- (1) A person or official required by this chapter to report a case of suspected child abuse or...
- Section 6320 - Protection From Employment Discrimination
(a) Basis for relief.--A person may commence an action for appropriate relief if all of the following apply: (1) The person is required to...
Subchapter C. Powers and Duties of Department
- Section 6331 - Establishment Of Statewide Database
There shall be established in the department a Statewide database of protective services, which shall include the following, as provided by section 6336 (relating...
- Section 6332 - Establishment Of Statewide Toll-free Telephone Number
(a) General rule.--The department shall establish a single Statewide toll-free telephone number that all persons, whether mandated by law or not, may use to...
- Section 6333 - Continuous Availability Of Department
The department shall be capable of receiving oral reports of child abuse, reports of children in need of general protective services, reports made by...
- Section 6334 - Disposition Of Complaints Received
(a) Receipt of reports by county agencies and law enforcement.--After ensuring the immediate safety of the child and any other child in the child's...
- Section 6334.1 - Responsibility For Investigation
The department shall establish procedures regarding the following different responses to address suspected child abuse and protective services depending on the person's allegedly committing...
- Section 6335 - Access To Information In Statewide Database
(a) Request for information.--A county agency or law enforcement official shall use the Statewide toll-free telephone number, or any manner prescribed by the department,...
- Section 6336 - Information In Statewide Database
(a) Information authorized.--The Statewide database shall include and shall be limited to the following information: (1) The names, Social Security numbers, age, race, ethnicity...
- Section 6337 - Disposition And Expunction Of Unfounded Reports And General Protective Services Reports
(a) General rule.--When a report of suspected child abuse is determined by the appropriate county agency to be an unfounded report, the information concerning...
- Section 6338 - Disposition Of Founded And Indicated Reports
(a) General rule.--When a report of suspected child abuse is determined by the appropriate county agency to be a founded report or an indicated...
- Section 6338.1 - Expunction Of Information Of Perpetrator Who Was Under 18 Years Of Age When Child Abuse Was Committed
(a) General rule.--The name of a perpetrator who is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse and who was under 18 years...
- Section 6339 - Confidentiality Of Reports
Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter or by the Pennsylvania Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure, reports made pursuant to this chapter, including, but...
- Section 6340 - Release Of Information In Confidential Reports
(a) General rule.--Reports specified in section 6339 (relating to confidentiality of reports) shall only be made available to: (1) An authorized official of a...
- Section 6340.1 - Exchange Of Information
(a) Certified medical practitioners.--In circumstances which negatively affect the medical health of a child, a certified medical practitioner shall, in a timely manner, provide...
- Section 6341 - Amendment Or Expunction Of Information
(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding section 6338.1 (relating to expunction of information of perpetrator who was under 18 years of age when child abuse was committed):...
- Section 6342 - Studies Of Data In Records
(a) Studies.--The department may conduct or authorize the conducting of studies of the data contained in the Statewide database and by county agencies and...
- Section 6343 - Investigating Performance Of County Agency
(a) General rule.--If, within 30 days from the date of an initial report of suspected child abuse, the appropriate county agency has not investigated...
- Section 6343.1 - Citizen Review Panels
(a) Establishment.--The department shall establish a minimum of three citizen review panels. The department may designate a child fatality or near fatality review team...
- Section 6344 - Employees Having Contact With Children; Adoptive And Foster Parents
(a) Applicability.--Beginning December 31, 2014, this section applies to the following individuals: (1) An employee of child-care services. (2) A foster parent. (3) A...
- Section 6344.1 - Information Relating To Certified Or Licensed Child-care Home Residents
(a) General rule.--In addition to the requirements of section 6344 (relating to employees having contact with children; adoptive and foster parents), an individual who...
- Section 6344.2 - Volunteers Having Contact With Children
(a) Applicability.--This section applies to an adult applying for or holding an unpaid position as a volunteer with a child-care service, a school or...
- Section 6344.3 - Continued Employment Or Participation In Program, Activity Or Service
(a) (Reserved). (b) (Reserved). (c) (Reserved). (d) (Reserved). (e) Noninterference with decisions.--Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to otherwise interfere with the ability...
- Section 6344.4 - Recertification
New certifications shall be obtained in accordance with the following: (1) Effective December 31, 2014: (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (v), a person...
- Section 6345 - Audits By Attorney General
The Attorney General shall conduct a mandated audit done randomly but at least once during each year on an unannounced basis to ensure that...
- Section 6346 - Cooperation Of Other Agencies
(a) General rule.--The secretary may request and shall receive from Commonwealth agencies, political subdivisions, an authorized agency or any other agency providing services under...
- Section 6347 - Reports To Governor And General Assembly
(a) General rule.--No later than May 1 of every year, the secretary shall prepare and transmit to the Governor and the General Assembly a...
- Section 6348 - Regulations
The department shall adopt regulations necessary to implement this chapter. Special Provisions in Appendix. See section 10(2) of Act 151 of 1994 in the...
- Section 6349 - Penalties
(a) Failure to amend or expunge information.-- (1) A person or official authorized to keep the records mentioned in section 6337 (relating to disposition...
Subchapter C.1. Students in Public and Private Schools (Repealed)
- Section 6351 - § 6353.4 - (Repealed)
2014 Repeal. Subchapter C.1 (§§ 6351 - 6353.4) was added December 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151, and repealed May 14, 2014, P.L.645, No.44, effective December...
Subchapter C.2. Background Checks for Employment in Schools (Repealed)
- Section 6354 - § 6358 - (Repealed)
2014 Repeal. Subchapter C.2 (§§ 6354 - 6358) was added December 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151, and repealed May 14, 2014, P.L.653, No.45, effective December...
Subchapter D. Organization and Responsibilities of Child Protective Service
- Section 6361 - Organization For Child Protective Services
(a) Establishment.--Every county agency shall make available child protective services within the agency. The department may waive the requirement that a county agency be...
- Section 6362 - Responsibilities Of County Agency For Child Protective Services
(a) General rule.--The county agency shall be the sole civil agency responsible for receiving and investigating all reports of child abuse made pursuant to...
- Section 6363 - County Plan For Protective Services
The county agency shall include provisions for protective services in its annual plan as required by the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21),...
- Section 6364 - Purchasing Services Of Other Agencies
Any other provision of law notwithstanding but consistent with sections 6361 (relating to organization for child protective services) and 6362 (relating to responsibilities of...
- Section 6365 - Services For Prevention, Investigation And Treatment Of Child Abuse
(a) Instruction and education.--Each county agency shall make available among its services for the prevention and treatment of child abuse instruction and education for...
- Section 6366 - Continuous Availability To Receive Reports
Each county agency shall receive 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all reports, both oral and written, of suspected child abuse in...
- Section 6367 - Reports To Department And Coroner
(a) Reports to department.--Upon the receipt of each report of suspected child abuse made pursuant to this chapter, the county agency shall immediately transmit...
- Section 6368 - Investigation Of Reports
(a) Response to direct reports.--Upon receipt of a report of suspected child abuse by a perpetrator from an individual, the county agency shall ensure...
- Section 6369 - Taking Child Into Protective Custody (Repealed)
§ 6369. Taking child into protective custody (Repealed). 2014 Repeal. Section 6369 was repealed April 15, 2014, P.L.417, No.33, effective December 31, 2014.
- Section 6370 - Voluntary Or Court-ordered Services; Findings Of Child Abuse
(a) General rule.--Based on the investigation and evaluation conducted pursuant to this chapter, the county agency shall provide or contract with private or public...
- Section 6371 - Rehabilitative Services For Child And Family
The county agency shall provide or arrange for and monitor rehabilitative services for children and their families on a voluntary basis or under a...
- Section 6372 - Protecting Well-being Of Children Maintained Outside Home
The county agency shall be as equally vigilant of the status, well-being and conditions under which a child is living and being maintained in...
- Section 6373 - General Protective Services Responsibilities Of County Agency
(a) Program objectives.--Each county agency is responsible for administering a program of general protective services to children and youth that is consistent with the...
- Section 6374 - Principles And Goals Of General Protective Services
(a) Primary purpose.--The primary purpose of general protective services is to protect the rights and welfare of children so that they have an opportunity...
- Section 6375 - County Agency Requirements For General Protective Services
(a) Duties of county agency.--The county agency shall make available a program of general protective services within each agency. The county agency shall perform...
- Section 6376 - Appeals With Respect To General Protective Services
(a) Right to appeal.--A custodial parent or person who has primary responsibility for the welfare of a child may appeal the county agency's decision...
- Section 6377 - Caseloads
The department by regulation shall set forth staff-to-family ratios for general protective services. (Dec. 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151, eff. July 1, 1997) 1994 Amendment....
- Section 6378 - Purchase Of Services
Except for the receipt and assessment of reports alleging a need for protective services, the county agency may purchase and utilize the services of...
Subchapter E. Miscellaneous Provisions
- Section 6381 - Evidence In Court Proceedings
(a) General rule.--In addition to the rules of evidence provided under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters), the rules of evidence in...
- Section 6382 - Guardian Ad Litem For Child In Court Proceedings (Repealed)
§ 6382. Guardian ad litem for child in court proceedings (Repealed). 2000 Repeal. Section 6382 was repealed May 10, 2000, P.L.74, No.18, effective in...
- Section 6383 - Education And Training
(a) Duties of department and county agencies.--The department and each county agency, both jointly and individually, shall conduct a continuing publicity and education program...
- Section 6384 - Legislative Oversight
A committee of the Senate designated by the President pro tempore of the Senate and a committee of the House of Representatives designated by...
- Section 6385 - Reimbursement To County Agencies
The department shall certify in accordance with the needs-based budgeting provisions of Article VII of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known...
- Section 6386 - Mandatory Reporting Of Children Under One Year Of Age
(a) When report to be made.--A health care provider shall immediately make a report or cause a report to be made to the appropriate...
Last modified: October 8, 2016