Pennsylvania Code
Title 49 - PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
Part I - DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
Chapter 45 - STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY
Subchapter F - CHILD ABUSE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Section 45.401 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Bodily injury-Impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.
Bureau-The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs within the Department of State of the Commonwealth.
Child-An individual under 18 years of age.
Child abuse-Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly doing any of the following:
(i) Causing bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act.
(ii) Fabricating, feigning or intentionally exaggerating or inducing a medical symptom or disease which results in a potentially harmful medical evaluation or treatment to the child through any recent act.
(iii) Causing or substantially contributing to serious mental injury to a child through any act or failure to act or a series of these acts or failures to act.
(iv) Causing sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any act or failure to act.
(v) Creating a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury to a child through any recent act or failure to act.
(vi) Creating a likelihood of sexual abuse or exploitation of a child through any recent act or failure to act.
(vii) Causing serious physical neglect of a child.
(viii) Engaging in any of the following recent acts:
(ix) Causing the death of the child through any act or failure to act.
(x) Engaging a child in a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking, as those terms are defined under section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Division A of Pub.L. No. 106-386).
ChildLine-An organizational unit of the Department of Human Services, 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.
Licensee-An audiologist or speech-language pathologist licensed by the Board.
Mandated reporter-A person who is required under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6311 (relating to persons required to report suspected child abuse) to make a report of suspected child abuse. For purposes of this subchapter, the term includes all audiologists and speech-language pathologists licensed by the Board.
Parent-A biological parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian.
Perpetrator-A person who has committed child abuse as defined in this section. The following apply:
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.
Program, activity or service-Any of the following in which children participate and which is sponsored by a school or a public or private organization:
(i) A youth camp or program.
(ii) A recreational camp or program.
(iii) A sports or athletic program.
(iv) A community or social outreach program.
(v) An enrichment or educational program.
(vi) A troop, club or similar organization.
Recent act or failure to act-An act or failure to act committed within 2 years of the date of the report to the Department of Human Services 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 neglect-Any of the following when committed by a perpetrator that endangers a child-s life or health, threatens a child-s well-being, causes bodily injury or impairs a child-s health, development or functioning:
(i) A repeated, prolonged or egregious failure to supervise a child in a manner that is appropriate considering the child-s developmental age and abilities.
(ii) The failure to provide a child with adequate essentials of life, including food, shelter or medical care.
Sexual abuse or exploitation-Any of the following:
(i) The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion of a child to engage in or assist another individual to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which includes the following:
(ii) Any of the following offenses committed against a child:
(iii) For the purposes of subparagraph (i), the term does not include consensual activities between a child who is 14 years of age or older and another person who is 14 years of age or older and whose age is within 4 years of the child-s age.
The provisions of this §45.401 amended under sections 5(2) and (7), 7(d)(1), 8(a) and 8.1 of the Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Licensure Act (63 P.S. §§ 1705(2) and (7), 1707(d)(1), 1708(a) and 1708.1); and section 810(a)(3) and (7) of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. § 279.1(a)(3) and (7)).
