Georgia Has New Definitions for Mandated Reporting

The Georgia legislature recently updated the state’s mandated reporter law, adding new definitions and responsibilities effective January 1, 2022.  Georgia’s complex web includes more than traditionally-understood abuse or neglect. The new law imposes a responsibility to report such things as abandonment, prenatal abuse, and emotional abuse, and specifically includes temporary caretakers such as child care teachers. Most of the statute’s previous requirements remain in place.

The statue now sets out several specific actions that constitute neglect, including the failure to provide parental care required by law or “other care or control necessary for a child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or morals.” It also clarifies an obligation to report unsupervised children,  specifically including the “failure to provide a child with adequate supervision necessary for such child’s well-being.”

The mandated reporter statute now incorporates the definition of "emotional abuse" from custody statutes, specifically acts or omissions that “cause any mental injury to [a] child’s intellectual or psychological capacity as evidenced by an observable and significant impairment in such child’s ability to function with a child’s normal range of performance and behavior or that create a substantial risk of impairment.” The definition also includes emotional abuse not only by parents or guardians, but also by any “other person responsible for the care of a child.” Thus, emotional abuse in a youth-serving organization would require a report. Cyberbullying by a classmate, on the other hand, would not fall within this particular statute.

The statute does not change the definition of sexual abuse, but clarifies what constitutes "sexual exploitation."  It retains the obligation to report some types of teen "sexting," even if everyone involves consents.

For a more detailed summary, download our Law Alert here.