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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 - 574KB) |
| Year Published: | 2008 - 80 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 : Summary of State Laws | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 310KB) |
| Year Published: | 2008 - 35 pages |
| Every State has developed procedures for maintaining records of child abuse and neglect. Most States maintain some sort of central registry, which is a centralized database of child abuse and neglect investigation records. Approximately 42 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa and Guam have statutorily created central registries. Registries in other States, however, may be maintained as a matter of administrative or agency policy rather than statutory mandate and are beyond the scope of this publication. While a majority of States have statutes authorizing the establishment of a central ... | |
| Review and Expunction of Central Registries and Reporting Records: Summary of State Laws | |
| Series Title: | State Statutes |
| Author(s): | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability: | View Download (PDF - 502KB) |
| Year Published: | 2008 - 39 pages |
| Records of child abuse and neglect reports are maintained by State child protection or social services agencies to aid in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of child abuse cases and to maintain statistical information for staffing and funding purposes. In many States, these records and the results of investigations are maintained in databases, often known as central registries. Following an investigation, States classify child abuse records in a variety of ways, depending on the State statutory language. The term "unsubstantiated" is used to describe situations in which an investigation has been unable to determine the occurrence of abuse or neglect. ... | |
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.