(a) The agency shall require all staff to report immediately and according to agency policy any knowledge, suspicion, or information they receive regarding an incident of sexual abuse or sexual harassment that occurred in a facility, whether or not it is part of the agency; retaliation against residents or staff who reported such an incident; and any staff neglect or violation of responsibilities that may have contributed to an incident or retaliation.
(b) The agency shall also require all staff to comply with any applicable mandatory child abuse reporting laws.
(c) Apart from reporting to designated supervisors or officials and designated State or local services agencies, staff shall be prohibited from revealing any information related to a sexual abuse report to anyone other than to the extent necessary, as specified in agency policy, to make treatment, investigation, and other security and management decisions.
(d)(1) Medical and mental health practitioners shall be required to report sexual abuse to designated supervisors and officials pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, as well as to the designated State or local services agency where required by mandatory reporting laws.
(2) Such practitioners shall be required to inform residents at the initiation of services of their duty to report and the limitations of confidentiality.
(e)(1) Upon receiving any allegation of sexual abuse, the facility head or his or her designee shall promptly report the allegation to the appropriate agency office and to the alleged victim’s parents or legal guardians, unless the facility has official documentation showing the parents or legal guardians should not be notified.
(2) If the alleged victim is under the guardianship of the child welfare system, the report shall be made to the alleged victim’s caseworker instead of the parents or legal guardians.
(3) If a juvenile court retains jurisdiction over the alleged victim, the facility head or designee shall also report the allegation to the juvenile’s attorney or other legal representative of record within 14 days of receiving the allegation.
(f) The facility shall report all allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, including third-party and anonymous reports, to the facility’s designated investigators.
Resources:
Model Policy on Responding to Reports of Sexual Abuse and Harassment, Protection of Victims, Reporting to Other Facilities
Oregon law on mandatory reporting (PDF)
OYA PREA Checklist for Response to Abuse Reports (PDF)
Back to Official Response Following a Resident Report Category
Back to PREA Standards