6334 - Disposition of complaints received.
§ 6334. Disposition of complaints received. (a) Notice to county agency.--Upon receipt of a complaint of suspected child abuse, the department shall immediately transmit orally to the appropriate county agency notice that the complaint of suspected child abuse has been received and the substance of the complaint. If the Statewide central register or the pending complaint file contains information indicating a prior report or a current investigation concerning a subject of the report, the department shall immediately notify the appropriate county agency of this fact. The appropriate county agency shall mean the agency in the county where the suspected child abuse occurred. If the residency of the subjects is a factor that requires the cooperation of more than one county agency, the department shall develop regulations to ensure the cooperation of those agencies in carrying out the requirements of this chapter. (b) Referral for services or investigation.--If the complaint received does not suggest suspected child abuse but does suggest a need for social services or other services or investigation, the department shall transmit the information to the county agency or other public agency for appropriate action. The information shall not be considered a child abuse report unless the agency to which the information was referred has reasonable cause to suspect after investigation that abuse occurred. If the agency has reasonable cause to suspect that abuse occurred, the agency shall notify the department, and the initial complaint shall be considered to have been a child abuse report. (c) Recording in pending complaint file.--Upon receipt of a complaint of suspected child abuse, the department shall maintain a record of the complaint of suspected child abuse in the pending complaint file. Upon receipt of a report under section 6353.2 (relating to responsibilities of county agency), the department shall maintain a record of the report in the report file under section 6331 (relating to establishment of pending complaint file, Statewide central register and file of unfounded reports). (d) Incidents occurring outside of this Commonwealth.-- (1) A report of suspected child abuse occurring in another state where the child victim is identified as a resident of this Commonwealth and the other state child protective services agency cannot investigate the report because of statutory or policy limitations shall be assigned as a general protective services report to the county of the child's residence or as determined by the department. (2) In addition to complying with the other requirements of this chapter and applicable regulations, a copy of the report shall be provided to the other state's child protective services agency and, when applicable under Pennsylvania law, to law enforcement officials where the incident occurred. (3) Reports and information under this subsection shall be provided within seven calendar days of completion of the general protective services assessment under section 6375 (relating to county agency requirements for general protective services). (Dec. 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151, eff. July 1, 1995; July 7, 2005, P.L.196, No.43, eff. imd.) 2005 Amendment. Act 43 added subsec. (d). Cross References. Section 6334 is referred to in sections 6335, 6336 of this title.