Report Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect

The Washington State Abuse of Children Law (RCW 26.44) includes the following definitions:

Child or Children means any person under the age of eighteen years of age.

Abandonment:

• A parent or guardian foregoing the responsibility to provide essential care to a child.
• Leaving a child without the means or ability to obtain one or more basic needs including food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and medically necessary healthcare;
• Foregoing for an extended period of time parental rights, functions, duties, and obligations, despite an ability to fulfill these responsibilities; or
• Demonstrating a substantial lack of regard for parental functions or duties for an extended period of time.

Physical Abuse: The non-accidental infliction of physical injury on, or physical mistreatment of, a child.

• Physical discipline of a child is not considered to fall within the reporting obligation when it is reasonable and moderate and is inflicted by a parent or guardian for purposes of restraining or correcting the child.
• Any use of force on a child by any other person is unlawful unless it is reasonable and moderate and is authorized in advance by the child’s parent or guardian for purposes of restraining or correcting the child.

Negligent Treatment: An act or  failure to act, or the cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct, behavior, or inaction, that evidences a serious disregard of consequences that constitute a clear and present danger to a child’s health, welfare, or safety. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Failure to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, supervision, or health care necessary for a child’s health, welfare, or safety, such that the failure shows a serious disregard of the consequence to the child and creates a clear and present danger to the child’s health, welfare, or safety;
• Actions, failures to act, or omissions that result in injury or risk of injury to the physical, emotional, and/ or cognitive development of a child, such that it shows a serious disregard of the consequences to the child and creates a clear and present danger to the child’s health, welfare, or safety;
• The cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct, behavior, or inaction by a parent or guardian in providing for the physical, emotional or developmental needs of the child, such that it shows a serious disregard of the consequences to the child and creates a clear and present danger to the child’s health, welfare, or safety;

Sexual Abuse: Committing or allowing any sexual offense against a child, including intentional touching of sexual or intimate parts for the purpose of sexual gratification. Specifically,

• The intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the sexual or other intimate parts of a child or allowing, permitting, compelling, encouraging, aiding, or otherwise causing a child to engage in touching the sexual or other intimate parts of another for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of the person touching the child, the child, or a third party.
• A parent or guardian of a child, a person authorized by the parent or guardian to provide childcare for the child, or a person providing medically recognized services for the child, may touch a child in the sexual or other intimate parts for the purposes of providing hygiene, child care, and medical treatment or diagnosis.

Sexual Exploitation: Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in

• Prostitution;
• Sexually explicit, obscene, or pornographic activity to be photographed, filmed, or electronically reproduced or transmitted; or
• Sexually explicit, obscene, or pornographic activity as part of a live performance, or for the benefit or sexual gratification of another person.

If you have safety concerns about a situation but are not sure if it warrants a report, or for any other questions about your reporting requirements, contact uwminors@uw.edu or call 206-616-5706. 

• • Visit the “EO 56 FAQ” page for additional guidance and answers to common questions.

Certain conduct code violations, behaviors that are prohibited in youth programs, require notification to the Youth Protection Coordinator per APS 10.13. Examples are listed on this webpage: Addressing Conduct Code Violations & Behaviors of Concerns

• Visit the FAQ page to learn about examples of behaviors of concern and how to go about reporting the situation.