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Failure to Report Child Abuse: F.S. 39.201(1)(c)

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Failure to Report Child Abuse – Over the past few years, the Florida legislature has increased the number of people and professionals that need to report any known child abuse or suspicions of active child abuse. Certain reporting persons must also provide their names when they make the report. § 39.201(1)(a) states:

“Any person who knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that a child is abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent, legal custodian, caregiver, or other person responsible for the child’s welfare…or that a child is in need of supervision and care and has no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative immediately known and available to provide supervision and care shall report such knowledge or suspicion to the department in the manner prescribed in subsection (2).”

If you know that a caregiver or parent is abusing a child, then you have a duty to report the abuse to DCF. The same is true if you suspect someone other than their parent or guardian is abusing a child. Finally, under 39.201(1)(c), if you know a child is the victim of sexual abuse, you must report it.

Someone working in the following occupations must also provide their name to DCF: physicians, hospital staff, mental health professionals, spiritual healers, school teachers or other school officials and personnel, social workers, daycare center workers, foster care workers, law enforcement officers, and judges.

39.205 makes it a third-degree felony in Florida not to report child abuse when you are required to do so by law. For example, if a social worker or therapist fails to report suspected child abuse to the Department of Children and Families and gets charged, that social worker or therapist would face up to 5 years in state prison. If you have any questions about whether you need to report something or whether it is “reasonable for you to suspect” child abuse and therefore need to report it, contact my office to discuss your duties and obligations.