The following was sent via email to all PSU employees on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023:
Dear Colleagues,
All PSU faculty and staff, including student employees and graduate assistants, are mandatory reporters under Oregon’s child abuse reporting law and should understand their child abuse reporting obligations.
If you are unsure if a particular situation is reportable under this law, you should contact your local Department of Human Services (DHS) office for guidance. Contact information and training materials can be found online at PSU’s Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting informational webpage. We encourage you to review the webpage. And, if you want to know more, DHS has created this video that you can review at any time.
Below is a summary of your reporting obligations:
You must immediately report to the DHS or law enforcement if you have “reasonable cause to believe” that any child with whom you come into contact has suffered abuse or that any person with whom you come into contact has abused a child. A “child” is any unmarried person under 18 years of age. The definition of "child abuse" includes physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, exploitation, and/or neglect.
Reports of suspected child abuse must be made to the local office of the DHS or to a law enforcement agency in the county where the reporter is located at the time of contact. Because PSU's Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO) is a police department under Oregon law, this report may be made to PSU’s CPSO. The report must be an oral report made by telephone or otherwise.
Reporting is both a professional and personal requirement, and it goes beyond the workplace. This means that you are a mandatory child abuse reporter 24/7 and you are required to report suspected child abuse anytime, anywhere. Whether you learn of suspected abuse or of a suspected abuser while you are at work, while coaching your child’s soccer team, or when shopping for groceries on the weekend, your reporting obligation is the same. Failure to report is a Class A violation. The penalty for a Class A violation is a maximum fine of $2,000; however, mandatory reporters are generally immune from liability for reporting suspected abuse in good faith.
PSU also requires that employees, including student employees, report the incident to their supervisor when they encounter suspected abuse or a suspected abuser while acting in their official capacity as a PSU employee. This is in addition to your obligation to report to DHS or law enforcement. Supervisors who receive such reports are to notify PSU's CPSO of all suspected abuse that is reported to have occurred on campus or that is otherwise related to PSU. Failure to meet these internal reporting obligations is grounds for discipline, up to and including termination.
Thank you for reviewing this email. Working together, we can help assure a safe environment for Oregon’s children.
Cynthia J. Starke
PSU General Counsel