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State Laws on Maintaining Child Abuse and Neglect Records
The following Child Welfare Information Gateway products and other resources cover State laws governing retention and appropriate disclosure of records of child abuse and neglect reports.
State statutes index and search
Access the Child Welfare Information Gateway State Statutes Series by title, or search statutes by individual States on issues related to child abuse and neglect, child welfare, and adoption.
State Statutes Series
| Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records : Summary of State Laws | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 606KB) |
| Year Published: | 2010 - 79 pages |
| Summaries of statutes detailing the officials who may have access to confidential records and the circumstances under which information may be disclosed. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included. | |
| Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse Reports | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 332KB) |
| Year Published: | 2011 - 37 pages |
| Examines State laws and procedures for maintaining records of child abuse and neglect. Most States maintain a central registry, which is a centralized database of child abuse and neglect investigation records. In some States, the individual State agencies that received the reports of suspected abuse or neglect are required to maintain these records. Central registry reports are typically used to aid social services agencies in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of child abuse cases and to maintain statistical information for staffing and funding purposes. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included. | |
| Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 331KB) |
| Year Published: | 2011 - 38 pages |
| Examines State laws and procedures that provide persons who are named as alleged perpetrators in central registry reports the right to review the records and to request administrative hearings to contest the findings and have inaccurate records removed from the registry. Laws that provide for the expunction of old or unsubstantiated reports also are discussed. Summaries of relevant laws for all States and U.S. territories are included. | |
Related resources
State Child Abuse Registries (PDF - 208 KB)
National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (2007)
Provides contact information and procedures for obtaining the checks of State child abuse and neglect registries required by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.