Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse or Neglect Reports - Rhode Island

Establishment

Citation: Gen. Laws § 42-72-7

A central registry shall be established within the Department for Children, Youth and Families.

Purpose

Citation: Gen. Laws § 42-72-7

The central registry shall be responsible for the collection, receipt, dissemination, reporting, and maintenance of all files relating to children.

Contents

Citation: Gen. Laws § 42-72-7

The central registry will be the main repository for all case files and shall establish uniform forms and standards for data acquisition and transmission.

The department shall continuously maintain a management information database that includes all the information required to implement this section, including the number of cases reported by hospitals, health-care centers, emergency rooms, and other appropriate health-care facilities.

Maintenance

Citation: Gen. Laws §§ 40-11-3(a); 42-72-7(b)

The electronically recorded records, properly indexed by date and other essential identifying data, shall be maintained for a minimum of 3 years.

Any request for information, assistance, and investigation of complaints must be registered with the central registry to ensure the elimination of duplication and for gathering statistical data.