Pennsylvania Code › Title 49 - PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS › Part I - DEPARTMENT OF STATE › Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS › Chapter 29 - STATE BOARD OF PODIATRY › CHILD ABUSE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS › Section 29.91 - Definitions relating to child abuse reporting requirements

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this section
						and §§
											29.92-29.97, have the following
						meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Child abuse
-A term meaning any of the
						following:
(i) A recent act or failure
					 to act by a perpetrator which causes nonaccidental serious physical injury to a
					 child under 18 years of age.
(ii)
					 An act or failure to act by a perpetrator which causes nonaccidental serious
					 mental injury to or sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child under 18
					 years of age.
(iii) A recent act,
					 failure to act or series of acts or failures to act by a perpetrator which
					 creates an imminent risk of serious physical injury to or sexual abuse or
					 sexual exploitation of a child under 18 years of age.
(iv) Serious physical neglect by a
					 perpetrator constituting prolonged or repeated lack of supervision or the
					 failure to provide the essentials of life, including adequate medical care,
					 which endangers a child's life or development or impairs the child's
					 functioning.
ChildLine
-An organizational unit of the
						Department of Public Welfare which operates a 24-hour a day Statewide toll free
						telephone system for receiving reports of suspected child abuse, referring
						reports for investigation and maintaining the reports in the appropriate
						file.
Individual residing in the same home as the
						child
-An individual who is 14 years of age or older and who resides in
						the same home as the child.
Perpetrator
-A person who has committed
						child abuse and is a parent of the child, a person responsible for the welfare
						of a child, an individual residing in the same home as a child or a paramour of
						a child's parent.
Person responsible for the child's
						welfare
-A person who provides permanent or temporary care,
						supervision, mental health diagnosis or treatment, training or control of a
						child in lieu of parental care, supervision and control. The term does not
						include a person who is employed by or provides services or programs in a
						public or private school, intermediate unit or area vocational-technical
						school.
Recent acts or omissions
-Acts or
						omissions committed within 2 years of the date of the report to the Department
						of Public Welfare or county agency.
Serious mental injury
-A psychological
						condition, as diagnosed by a physician or licensed psychologist, including the
						refusal of appropriate treatment, that does one or more of the
						following:
(i) Renders a child
					 chronically and severely anxious, agitated, depressed, socially withdrawn,
					 psychotic or in reasonable fear that the child's life or safety is
					 threatened.
(ii) Seriously
					 interferes with a child's ability to accomplish age-appropriate developmental
					 and social tasks.
Serious physical injury
-An injury that
						causes a child severe pain or significantly impairs a child's physical
						functioning, either temporarily or permanently.
Sexual abuse or exploitation
-The
						employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion of a child to
						engage in or assist another person to engage in sexually explicit conduct or a
						simulation of sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual
						depiction, including photographing, videotaping, computer depicting or filming,
						of sexually explicit conduct or the rape, sexual assault, involuntary deviate
						sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, molestation, incest, indecent
						exposure, prostitution, statutory sexual assault or other form of sexual
						exploitation of children.
The provisions of this §
													29.91 issued under the Child
						  Protective Services Law,
						  23 Pa.C.S. §
														6383(b)(2); and section 15
						  of the Podiatry Practice Act (63 P. S. §
														42.15).