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How to Report

Georgia (GA)

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Who is required to report?

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 19-7-5; 16-12-100

The following persons are required to report:

  • Physicians, physician assistants, residents, interns, hospital and medical personnel, podiatrists, dentists, nurses, or nurse's aides
  • Teachers, school administrators, school counselors, visiting teachers, school social workers, or school psychologists
  • Psychologists, counselors, social workers, or marriage and family therapists
  • Child welfare agency personnel (as that agency is defined by § 49-5-12) or child-counseling personnel
  • Child service organization personnel (includes any organization—whether public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit, or voluntary—that provides care, treatment, education, training, supervision, coaching, counseling, recreational programs, or shelter to children)
  • Law enforcement personnel
  • Reproductive health-care facility or pregnancy resource center personnel and volunteers
  • Persons who process or produce visual or printed matter

Definition Note: The term "school" means any public or private prekindergarten, elementary school, secondary school, technical school, vocational school, college, university, or institution of postsecondary education.

When is a report required?

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 19-7-5; 16-12-100

A report is required when either of the following apply:

  • A reporter has reasonable cause to believe that child abuse has occurred
  • A person who processes or produces visual or printed matter has reasonable cause to believe that the visual or printed matter submitted for processing or producing depicts a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct

What information should the report include?

Citation: Ann. Code § 19-7-5

  • The names and addresses of the child and the child’s parents or caretakers, if known
  • The child’s age
  • The nature and extent of the child’s injuries, including any evidence of previous injuries
  • Any other information that the reporting person believes might be helpful in establishing the cause of the injuries and the identity of the perpetrator

The reporter is not specifically required by statute to provide his or her name in the report.

Failure to report

Citation: Ann. Code § 19-7-5(h)

Any person or official required by law to report a suspected case of child abuse who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.