Physical Abuse, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
'Abuse' means:

• Extreme or repeated cruelty to a child
• Engaging in conduct creating a realistic and serious threat of death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of a bodily organ
• An injury that is at variance with the history given
• Any nonaccidental physical injury
• Any of the following acts with physical injury:
  • Throwing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child
  • Striking a child with a closed fist
  • Shaking a child
  • Striking a child on the face or head
• Any of the following acts with or without physical injury:
  • Striking a child age 6 or younger on the face or head
  • Shaking a child age 3 or younger
  • Interfering with a child's breathing
  • Pinching, biting, or striking a child in the genital area
  • Tying a child to a fixed or heavy object or binding or tying a child's limbs together
  • Giving a child or permitting a child to consume or inhale a poisonous or noxious substance not prescribed by a physician that has the capacity to interfere with normal physiological functions
  • Giving a child or permitting a child to consume or inhale a substance not prescribed by a physician that has the capacity to alter the mood of the child, including, but not limited to, marijuana, alcohol for use other than during a recognized and established religious ceremony, a narcotic, or an over-the-counter drug if a person purposely administers an overdose or an inappropriate drug and the child is detrimentally affected
• Exposing a child to dangerous chemicals including, but not limited to, a chemical used or generated during the manufacture of methamphetamine
• Subjecting a child to Munchausen syndrome by proxy or a factitious illness by proxy if the incident is confirmed by medical personnel

Neglect, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
'Neglect' means failure or refusal to:

• Prevent abuse of the child when the person knows or has reasonable cause to know the child is or has been abused
• Provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, and education required by law, or medical treatment necessary for the child's well-being
• Take reasonable action to protect the child from abandonment, abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, neglect, or parental unfitness when the existence of the condition was known or should have been known
• Provide for essential and necessary physical, mental, or emotional needs of the child, including the failure to provide a shelter that does not pose a risk to the health or safety of the child
• Provide for the child's care and maintenance, proper or necessary support, or medical, surgical, or other necessary care
• Assume responsibility for the care and custody of the child or to participate in a plan to assume such responsibility
• Appropriately supervise the child that results in the child being left alone at an inappropriate age or in inappropriate circumstances creating a dangerous situation or a situation that puts the child at risk of harm

'Neglect' shall also include:

• Causing a child to be born with an illegal substance in the child's bodily fluids or bodily substances as a result of the pregnant mother knowingly using an illegal substance before the birth of the child
• At the time of the birth of a child, the presence of an illegal substance in the mother's bodily fluids or bodily substances as a result of the pregnant mother knowingly using an illegal substance before the birth of the child
  • An 'illegal substance' is a drug that is prohibited to be used or possessed without a prescription.
  • A test of the child's or the mother's bodily fluids or bodily substances may be used as evidence to establish neglect.

Sexual Abuse/Exploitation, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
'Sexual abuse' means:

• By a person age 10 or older to a person younger than age 18:
  • Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion
  • Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion
  • Indecent exposure
  • Forcing the watching of pornography or live sexual activity
• By a person age 18 or older to a person not his or her spouse who is younger than age 16:
  • Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact
  • Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact
• By a caregiver to a person younger than age 18:
  • Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact
  • Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact
  • Forcing or encouraging the watching of pornography
  • Forcing, permitting, or encouraging the watching of live sexual activity
  • Forcing the listening to a phone sex line
  • An act of voyeurism
• By a person younger than age 10 to a person younger than age 18:
  • Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion
  • Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion

'Sexual contact' means an act of sexual gratification involving:

• Touching, directly or through clothing, the sex organs, buttocks, or anus of a person or the breast of a female
• Encouraging of a child to touch the offender in a sexual manner
• The offender requesting to touch a child in a sexual manner

'Sexual exploitation' means:

• Allowing, permitting, or encouraging participation or depiction of the child in prostitution, obscene photography, or obscene filming
• Obscenely depicting, posing, or posturing a child for any use or purpose

Emotional Abuse, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
The term 'abuse' includes acts or omissions that result in injury to a child's intellectual, emotional, or psychological development, as evidenced by observable and substantial impairment of the child's ability to function within the child's normal range of performance and behavior.

Abandonment, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
'Abandonment' means:

• Failure of the parent to provide reasonable support and to maintain regular contact with the child through statement or contact, when the failure is accompanied by an intention on the part of the parent to permit the condition to continue for an indefinite period in the future
• Failure to support or maintain regular contact with the child without just cause
• An articulated intent to forgo parental responsibility

Standards for Reporting, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-402
A report is required when there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to child maltreatment.

Persons Responsible for the Child, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
Responsible persons include:

• A parent, guardian, or custodian
• A foster parent
• A person age 18 or older living in the child's home, whether related or unrelated
• A person who is entrusted with the child's care, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, child care facility, public or private school, or any person legally responsible for the child's welfare

Exceptions, Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-103
Abuse does not include physical discipline of a child when it is reasonable and moderate and is inflicted by a parent or guardian for purposes of restraining or correcting the child.

Abuse shall not include when a child suffers transient pain or minor temporary marks as the result of an appropriate restraint if:

• The person exercising the restraint is an employee of an agency licensed or exempted from licensure under the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act.
• The agency has policy and procedures regarding restraints.
• No alternative exists to control the child except for a restraint.
• The child is in danger or hurting himself or herself or others.
• The person exercising the restraint has been trained properly in restraining children, de-escalat-ion, and conflict resolution techniques.
• The restraint is for a reasonable period of time.
• The restraint is in conformity with training and agency policy and procedures.

Reasonable and moderate physical discipline inflicted by a parent or guardian shall not include an act that is likely to cause and that does cause injury more serious than transient pain or minor temporary marks.

The age, size, and condition of the child, the location of the injury, and the frequency or recurrence of injuries shall be considered when determining whether the physical discipline is reasonable or moderate.

It is not considered neglect when the parent's failure to provide for the child's needs is due to financial inability, and no services or relief have been offered.