§ 40-11-1 Policy
§ 40-11-2 Definitions
§ 40-11-3 Duty to report – Deprivation of nutrition or medical treatment
§ 40-11-3.1 Duty to report death of child due to child abuse or neglect
§ 40-11-3.2 False reporting of child abuse and neglect
§ 40-11-3.3 Duty to report – Sexual abuse of a child in an educational program
§ 40-11-4 Immunity from liability
§ 40-11-5 Protective custody by physician or law enforcement officer
§ 40-11-6 Report by physicians and healthcare providers of abuse or neglect
§ 40-11-6.1 Penalty for failure to report or perform required act
§ 40-11-7 Investigation of reports – Petition for removal from custody – Report to child advocate – Attorney general – Court-appointed special advocate – Children’s advocacy center
§ 40-11-7.1 Family court proceedings
§ 40-11-7.2 Evidence
§ 40-11-7.3 Mediation of child protection matters
§ 40-11-8 Injury control unit
§ 40-11-9 Duties of law enforcement agency
§ 40-11-10 Use of physician’s report for petition for removal
§ 40-11-11 Abrogation of privileged communications
§ 40-11-12 Award of custody
§ 40-11-12.1 Family court review
§ 40-11-12.2 Permanency plan – Order of court
§ 40-11-12.3 Guardianship subsidy
§ 40-11-12.4 Restraining orders
§ 40-11-12.5 Review of young adults under the court’s legal supervision and receiving care and placement services from DCYF
§ 40-11-13 Confidentiality of reports and records – Penalty for disclosure
§ 40-11-13.1 Destruction of reports and records
§ 40-11-14 Right to representation in court proceedings
§ 40-11-15 Religious practices
§ 40-11-16 Severability
§ 40-11-17 Shaken-baby syndrome prevention initiative
§ 40-11-18 Children’s advocacy centers – Services – Requirements
§ 40-11-19 Parents with disabilities
§ 40-11-20 Military family advocacy program
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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 40-11 - Abused and Neglected Children

  • Child: means a person under the age of eighteen (18). See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means department of children, youth and families. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
  • Institution: means any private or public hospital or other facility providing medical or psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, and care. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Institutional child abuse and neglect: means situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect where the person allegedly responsible for the abuse or neglect is a foster parent or the employee of a public or private residential childcare institution or agency; or any staff person providing out-of-home care or situations where the suspected abuse or neglect occurs as a result of the institution's practices, policies, or conditions. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Law enforcement agency: means the police department in any city or town or the state police. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Mental injury: includes a state of substantially diminished psychological or intellectual functioning in relation to, but not limited to, such factors as: failure to thrive; ability to think or reason; control of aggressive or self-destructive impulses; acting-out or misbehavior, including incorrigibility, ungovernability, or habitual truancy; provided, however, that the injury must be clearly attributable to the unwillingness or inability of the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare to exercise a minimum degree of care toward the child. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • oath: includes affirmation; the word "sworn" includes affirmed; and the word "engaged" includes either sworn or affirmed. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-11
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Physician: means any licensed doctor of medicine, licensed osteopathic physician, and any physician, intern, or resident of an institution as defined in subsection (8). See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probable cause: means facts and circumstances based upon as accurate and reliable information as possible that would justify a reasonable person to suspect that a child is abused or neglected. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Shaken-baby syndrome: means a form of abusive head trauma, characterized by a constellation of symptoms caused by other than accidental traumatic injury resulting from the violent shaking of or impact upon an infant or young child's head. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-11-2
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8