EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

Emotional Deprivation: a. Child refuses to eat adequate amounts of food and thus is very frail. b. Displays overly exaggerated fears. c. Continually seeks out and "pesters" other adults (such as teachers, neighbors, etc.) for attention and affection. Appears normal but is unable to perform normally learned functions for a given age, e.g. walking, talking, etc. Physical Neglect: a. Unsanitary conditions in the home (garbage; animal or human excretion). b. Spoiled food in the refrigerator or cupboard or no food at all. c. Untreated injuries which endanger the health of the child. d. Unsafe home conditions and unsupervised young children left for long periods of time. Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: a. Child makes statement about sexual activities with parents, other relatives, and friends of the family or other adults. b. Child is known to be a victim of other forms of abuse. c. Bloody underclothing or tearing/bruising of the mouth, anus or genitals. 2. MANDATORY REPORTING Any employee of a public (or private) school is a mandated reporter. Agency employees that are trained in child abuse reporting who, within the scope of his/her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom he/she reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse, must make a telephone report to a department of children's services representative. Reporting suspected abuse is part of your job. a. The report must be made immediately or as soon as possible and must be followed up with a written report within 36 hours. The reports must be made even if the employee has no idea who inflicted the abuse. Notification should also be made to his/her supervisor, but notification to the supervisor does not meet the requirement of mandatory reporting. b. Proof of abuse is NOT required; law enforcement will determine proof during the course of their investigation. c. A trained classified employee who fails to make such a report to a child protective agency is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be punished by six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both. (Penal Code 11172 (e)) d. No person making such reports shall be subject to any sanctions for reporting. Any supervisor or administrator who impedes or inhibits the reporting duties of a classified employee is guilty of a misdemeanor. Penal Code 11166.1. e. Trained classified employees who make such reports have absolute immunity from civil or criminal liability arising from the reports. Penal Code 11172 (a) f. The identity of all persons making such reports is confidential. Penal Code 11167 (c). A classified employee cannot be required to disclose his/her identity to the school district employer. g. Reports must be made directly to the Department of Children's and Family Services Child Protection Hotline, telephone 1-800-540-4000 and ask for the intake evaluator , and the local Sheriff’s Department at (661) 948 -8466. Adult Protective Services (for those over the age of 18) may be reached at (877) 477 3646. Written follow-up forms must be mailed within 36 hours of the initial

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Revised 8/14/2024