Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect - Cherokee Nation

Physical Abuse
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, 1407

'Abuse' means harm or threatened harm to a child's health, safety, or welfare by a person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare, including sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.

'Abuse' includes any case in which a child is dead or exhibits evidence of skin bruising, bleeding, malnutrition, failure to thrive, burns, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, or soft tissue swelling, and such condition is not justifiably explained or may not be the product of an accidental occurrence.

'Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety’ includes nonaccidental physical injury. 

Neglect
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, §§ 1101; 1407

'Deprived child' means a child to whom any of the following apply: 

• Who does not have the proper parental care or guardianship or whose home is an unfit place for the child by reason of neglect, cruelty, or depravity on the part of their parents, legal guardian, or other person who is charged with the child's care
• Who is a child in need of special care and treatment because of their physical or mental condition, including a child born dependent on a controlled dangerous substance, and their parents, legal guardian, or other custodian is unable or willfully fails to provide the special care and treatment
• Who is a handicapped child deprived of the nutrition necessary to sustain life or of the medical treatment necessary to remedy or relieve a life-threatening medical condition in order to cause or allow the death of said child if such nutrition or medical treatment is generally provided to similarly situated nonhandicapped or handicapped children
• Who is, due to improper parental care and guardianship, absent from school for 15 or more days or parts of days within a semester or 4 or more days or parts of days within a 4-week period, without a valid excuse if the child is subject to compulsory school attendance
• Whose parent or legal custodian for good cause desires to be relieved of the child's custody
• Who is a subsequent child born to a parent whose parental rights to any other child has been
• terminated if the condition that led to the termination of the parent's parental rights to the other child has not been corrected

The phrase ‘dependent and neglected’ shall be deemed to mean deprived.

'Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety’ includes neglect and failure or omission to provide protection from harm or threatened harm.

'Neglect' means failure or omission to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and supervision; special care made necessary by the physical or mental condition of the child; or abandonment. 

Sexual Abuse/Exploitation
Citation: Tribal Code, Tit. 10, § 1407

'Sexual abuse' includes, but is not limited to, rape, incest, and lewd or indecent acts or proposals made to a child, as defined by law, by a person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare.

'Sexual exploitation' includes, but is not limited to, the following acts by a person responsible for the child's health, safety, or welfare:

• Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution
• Allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the lewd, obscene, or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child in those acts 

'Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety’ includes sexual abuse or sexual exploitation.

Emotional Abuse
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, § 1407

'Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety’ includes nonaccidental mental injury.

Abandonment
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, § 1101

‘Deprived child’ means a child who is for any reason destitute, homeless, or abandoned.

'Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety’ includes abandonment.

Standards for Reporting
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, § 1101

A report is required when a mandatory reporter who knows or has reasonable suspicion that a child was abused in Indian country, or actions are being taken or are going to be taken, that would reasonably be expected to result in abuse of a child in Indian country.

Persons Responsible for the Child
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, § 1407

'Person responsible for a child's health, safety, or welfare' includes the following:

• A parent, legal guardian, custodian, or foster parent
• A person aged 18 or older with whom the child's parent cohabitates or any other adult residing in the home of the child
• An agent or employee of a public or private residential home, institution, facility, or day treatment program
• An owner, operator, volunteer, or employee of a child care facility

Exceptions
Citation: Tribal Code Tit. 10, § 1101

No medical treatment is necessary for a handicapped child if, in the reasonable medical judgment of the attending physician, such treatment would be futile in saving the life of the child. 

No child who, in good faith, is being provided with treatment and care by spiritual means alone, in accordance with the tenets and practice of a recognized church, religious denomination, traditional healing or medicine, or other religious organization by a recognized practitioner thereof, shall be considered, for that reason alone, to be a deprived child pursuant to any provision of this article.