1. Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect
Florida Department of Children and Families
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect

2. Florida Abuse Hotline
DCF MISSION: Protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.
HOTLINE MISSION: Help protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, abandonment and exploitation.
To achieve the hotline’s purpose we must successfully execute four essential tasks:
Ensure the public can access the Hotline and receive a positive experience.
Determine if calls meet statutory definition of abuse, neglect, abandonment and exploitation.
Provide accurate, complete and timely reports to the field.
Deliver extraordinary customer service to the citizens of Florida and the field.

3. Where is the Florida Abuse Hotline located?
The Florida Abuse Hotline is a centralized, call center located in the city of Tallahassee.
1317 Winewood Blvd Buildings 5/6
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Website:
Winewood Pond

4. Hotline Operations Availability 24 / 7 / 365 Staffing
Over 200 employees
Peak call volume = 10am to 3pm
Important Stats
Approximately 433,000 total contacts per year
71.4% of calls answered resulted in a report
81.4% of reports accepted involved children
49.16% of calls received were from professionally mandated reporters
Staffing: Abuse Hotline Counselors are required to have a minimum of a Bachelors Degree, and several also have a Master’s degree. Abuse Hotline Counselors attend 2 weeks of pre-service training and must pass a Hotline certification exam.
Crime Intelligence Staff do not require a degree, attend 2 weeks of pre-service training and must pass the FDLE certification exam.
Average 31,267 answered contacts per month
September and March were the highest call volume months in
About 66 % of the answered contacts become reports
81% of the reports are child-related (202,596)
19% of the reports are adult-related (46,851)
**Based on FY Stats.

5. Services provided by the Florida Abuse Hotline
Assess calls for Child abuse, neglect and abandonment
Assess calls for Adult abuse, neglect and exploitation
Provide information and community referrals
Partner with DCF investigative staff, law enforcement, and others by providing accurate, timely, and comprehensive documentation.

6. Who must report abuse?
Any person who has knowledge of or suspects abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a child or vulnerable adult is required to report.
Professionally mandated reporters include, but not limited to:
Medical Staff
Mental health professionals
Clergy
Law Enforcement
School Personnel
Post Secondary Institutions
Facility Staff
Judge/Court Personnel
Every Person has a responsibility to report suspected abuse or neglect, but some occupations are sanctioned by Florida law as required to do so. These are considered “professionally mandated reporters” They are required by Florida Statue to provide his or her name to the Abuse Hotline Counselor when reporting and is entered into the record of report, but is held confidential.

7. Confidentiality
All reports are confidential. Access to these reports are limited by specific criteria in Chapters 39 and 415 of the Florida Statutes (F.S.).
Hotline Counselors will not acknowledge the existence of any report, will not acknowledge that they have previously spoken to a particular caller, nor will they release any information provided by a caller or any information contained in a report.
Any person with a statutory right to a report copy must contact the local investigative office.

8. Penalties related to reporting child abuse
A person who is required to report and knowingly and willfully fails to do so or prevents another person from doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor of first degree. (Oct.1, 2012 = felony of third degree)
A person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of child abuse or advises another to make a false report, is guilty of a felony of the third degree.(Oct.1, 2012 = felony of second degree)

9. Penalties related to reporting child abuse
Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic
college, university, or school, as defined in s or s ,
whose administrators knowingly and willfully, upon receiving information
from faculty, staff, or other institution employees, fail to report known or
suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect committed on the
property of the university, college, or school, or during an event or
function sponsored by the university, college, or school, or who knowingly
and willfully prevent another person from doing so, shall be subject
to fines of $1 million for each such failure.

10. Non-reports of child abuse
A professional who is hired by or enters into a contract with the department for the purpose of treating or counseling any person, as a result of a report of child abuse is not required to again report to the Hotline
An officer or employee of the judicial branch is not required to again provide notice of child abuse when the child is currently being investigated by the department, there is an existing dependency case or the matter was previously reported to the department

11. Immunity and abrogation in cases involving child abuse
Immunity: Any person, official, or institution reporting in good faith any instance of child abuse shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability.
Abrogation: Privileged communication between husband and wife, any professional person and patient/client and any other privileged communication except that between attorney and client or clergy and “confidential” person, shall not apply to any communication involving the perpetrator in any situation of child abuse and shall not constitute grounds for failure to report as required regardless of the source of the information, failure to cooperate with law enforcement or give evidence in any judicial proceedings.

12. What is needed for a report to be accepted?
Jurisdiction is defined in Chapters 39 and 415 of the Florida Statutes.
Victim
Alleged Perpetrator
Means to locate in Florida
Significant level of harm

13. Is the victim a child? Child must be: Born Under the age of 18
Has not been emancipated by order of the court
Unmarried

14. Is the perpetrator a caregiver?
The alleged perpetrator of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment must be:
Parent
Legal custodian
Adult household member
Or other person responsible for the child’s welfare
"Caregiver" means the parent, legal custodian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child's welfare as defined in subsection
"Other person responsible for a child's welfare" includes:
the child's legal guardian or foster parent;
an employee of any school, public or private child day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency;
a law enforcement officer employed in any facility, service, or program for children that is operated or contracted by the Department of Juvenile Justice;
or any other person legally responsible for the child's welfare in a residential setting. FS (46)

15. Is the child a Florida resident?
The child victim must be:
A Florida resident, and can be located in Florida or is temporarily out of the state.
Not a resident of Florida, but the incident of harm occurred in Florida and the victim and alleged perpetrator are currently in Florida.
Not a resident of Florida, and the incident of harm occurred outside of Florida, or in Florida in the past, and there is cause to believe harm will reoccur or continue while the victim and alleged perpetrator are currently in Florida.
If the child is temporarily out of state, then it must be known that the child will be returning to Florida and the return is imminent.

16. What is abuse?
Means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual injury or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired.
FS 39.01(2)

17. Possible indicators of abuse
Burns
Bone Fractures
Asphyxiation
Physical Injuries
Internal Injuries
Bizarre Punishment
Mental Injuries
Sexual Abuse
Human Trafficking
Death

18. What is neglect?
Occurs when a child is deprived of, or is allowed to be deprived of, necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment or a child is permitted to live in an environment when such deprivation or environment causes the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired or to be in danger of being significantly impaired.
FS 39.01(44)

19. Possible indicators of neglect
Substance Misuse
Inadequate Supervision
Abandonment
Environmental Hazards
Malnutrition/Dehydration
Failure to Thrive
Medical Neglect
Failure to Protect
Family Violence
Threatened Harm

20. What is abandonment?
"Abandoned" or "abandonment" means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, makes no provision for the child's support and has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child.

21. What are some other types of reports accepted by the Hotline?
Foster Care Referral
Child-on-Child Sexual Abuse
Caregiver Unavailable
Parent in Need of Assistance

22. How to make a report? Telephone 1-800-962-2873 TDD 1-800-453-5145 Fax
Web
The preferred option for the Department of Children and Families is to call ABUSE, and talk to a hotline counselor.
Reporting by fax: The information will be assessed to see if it meets the legal criteria as a report for investigation, therefore it is EXTREMELY important that all information is completed and very thorough. Notification of whether or not an abuse report was accepted will only be provided if you request it.
Making a Web Report: You cannot remain anonymous when you make a web report. The following information is needed to make a web report:
At least one victim—can be up to 10 victim’s
At least one alleged perpetrator (only exception is for an adult self neglect report type)
A brief by detailed response to all questions asked.
Web reporting should be used to report NON-EMERGENCY situations!
The information in the web report will be assessed to see if it meets the legal criteria as a report for investigation. Notification of whether or not an abuse report was accepted will only be provided if you request it.
In all cases of abuse, neglect and/or exploitation that involve emergency or critical situations, please call the Hotline.

23. How is the call processed?
Greet and listen to concerns
Gather required information
Demographics, who, what, when, where, why, severity
Determine jurisdiction
Victim, Caregiver, Location and Harm
Ask probing questions
Review prior history to assist with screening decision
Inform caller of report acceptance or provide referrals
Document complete call information
Criminal history checks completed for all investigations
All Reports require a valid Means to Locate
Address to:
Home
School
Work
Precise directions
Current and 24 hour location
School Board
Home/Work/Cell Phone
Law Enforcement
Florida Tag
Priors in FSFN
Third Party (with knowledge)

24. What happens next?
The investigator has 24 hours to make a face to face contact with the victim.
In serious situations involving imminent danger, the investigator will response as soon as possible.
The investigator will also contact the reporter if they leave their name.
The investigator will also contact the family and other people who know the victim and family.

25. What are some possible investigative outcomes?
No findings: The family does not need services or the investigator makes a referral to services without oversight.
Not substantiated findings: The family may need some services and the investigator makes a referral to the local community based cares agency.
Verified findings: The family needs court intervention and the investigator files a petition with the courts.
Sheltering a child: The investigator determines the child victim cannot safely remain in the home, removes the child victim from the home and files a petition with the court.

26. Closing Questions