Iowa law requires licensed employees to report to the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) instances of suspected child and dependent adult abuse which they become aware of within the scope of their professional practice.
The law further specifies that a licensed employee who knowingly or willfully fails to report a suspected case of child and dependent adult abuse is guilty of a simple misdemeanor and that the licensed employee may be subject to civil liability for damages caused by the failure to report.
Employees participating in good faith in the making of a report or in a judicial proceeding that may result from the report, are immune from liability.
Child Abuse Defined
“Child abuse” is defined as:
- Any nonaccidental physical injury, or injury which is at variance with the history given of it, suffered by a child as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child.
- The commission of a sexual offense with or to a child . . . as a result of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the child. . . . Sexual offense includes sexual abuse, incest, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
- The failure on the part of a person responsible for the care of a child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing or other care necessary for the child’s welfare when financially able to do so. A parent or guardian legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child for that reason alone shall not be considered abusing the child . . . .
- The acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of a child which allow, permit or encourage the child to engage in acts prohibited pursuant to Iowa Code, section 725.1 which deals with prostitution.
- Any mental injury to a child’s intellectual or psychological capacities evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment in the child’s ability to function within the child’s normal range of performance and behavior as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child, if the impairment is diagnosed by a licensed physician or qualified mental health professional.
- An illegal drug is present in a child’s body as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts of omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child.
Teachers in public schools are not “persons responsible for the care of the child” under this definition. However, a teacher who abuses a child is subject to civil, criminal, and professional sanctions.
Dependent Adult Abuse Defined
A Dependent Adult refers to a person eighteen years of age or older who is unable to protect his/her own interests or is unable to adequately perform or obtain services necessary to meet essential human needs, as a result of a physical or mental condition which requires assistance from another.
“Dependent adult abuse” is defined as deprivation of the minimum food, shelter, clothing, supervision, physical or mental health care, and other care necessary to maintain a dependent adult’s life or health. It could be as a result of the acts or omissions of the dependent adult him/herself, or any of the following as a result of the willful or negligent acts or omission of a caretaker:
- A nonaccidental physical injury, unreasonable confinement, unreasonable punishment, or assault of a dependent adult.
- The commission of a sexual offense with or against a dependent adult.
- Exploitation of a dependent adult which means the act or process of taking unfair advantage of a dependent adult or the misuse of the adult’s physical or financial resources for one’s own personal or monetary gain without the informed consent of the dependent adult. This would include theft by the use of undue influence, harassment, duress, deception, false representation, or false pretense.
- The deprivation of the minimum food, shelter, clothing, supervision, physical or mental health care, or other care necessary to maintain a dependent adult’s life or health.
Reporting Procedures for Child Abuse
Licensed employees, including teachers and school nurses, are required to report, either orally or in writing, within twenty‐four hours to the Iowa DHS when the employee reasonably believes a child has suffered from abuse within the scope of employment. Within forty‐eight hours of an oral report, a written report must be filed with DHS.
Each report should contain as much of the following information as can be obtained within the time limit. However, the law specifies a report will be considered valid even if it does not contain all of the following information:
- name, age, and home address of the child
- name and home address of the parents, guardians or other persons believed to be responsible for the care of the child
- the child’s present whereabouts if not the same as the parent’s or other person’s home address
- description of injuries, including evidence of previous injuries
- name, age, and condition of other children in the same home
- any other information considered helpful
- name and address of the person making the report.
Board policy states it is not the responsibility of employees to prove that a child has been abused or neglected. Employees should not take it upon themselves to investigate the case or contact the family of the child. The DHS is responsible for investigating the incident of alleged abuse.
Reporting Procedures for Dependent Adult Abuse
Licensed employees, including teachers and school nurses, are required to report, either orally or in writing, within twenty‐four hours to the Iowa DHS when the employee reasonably believes a dependent adult has suffered from abuse within the scope of employment. Within forty‐eight hours of an oral report, a written report must be filed with DHS. Each report should contain as much of the following information as can be obtained within the time limit. However, the law specifies a report will be considered valid even if it does not contain all of the following information:
- name and home address of the dependent adult, caretakers, and other people believed to be responsible for the care of the dependent adult
- the dependent adult’s present whereabouts, if not the same as the address given
- description of injuries, including evidence of previous injuries
- the reason the adult is believed to be dependent
- the dependent adult’s age
- the nature and extent of the adult abuse, including evidence of previous adult abuse
- information concerning the suspected adult abuse of other dependent adults in the same residence
- any other information considered helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse or the identity of the people responsible for the abuse or helpful in providing assistance to the dependent adult
- name and address of the person making the report.