Who Has To Report It
G.S. 7B-301 — any person who suspects, reports to the county social services director
In North Carolina, any person or institution with cause to suspect that a juvenile is abused, neglected or dependent, or has died as a result of maltreatment, reports the case to the director of the department of social services in the county where the juvenile lives or is found.
Every person has the duty, and failing it is a crime. Any person or institution that knowingly or wantonly fails to report as required, or knowingly or wantonly prevents someone else from reporting, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
What counts as abuse or neglect, the immunity a good faith report carries, and the confidentiality of the reporter are set in other sections and are not reproduced here. In an emergency, the police come first. Whether a duty applied in a particular case is a question for a court and for a licensed North Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.S. 7B-301 — Duty to report abuse, neglect, dependency, or death due to maltreatment
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed North Carolina attorney.