A nurse in the pediatric ER is doing triage on a 4-year-old patient who has been brought to the ER 7 times in the last 3 weeks for various complaints. The patient has presented with a bump on the head from a fall, a gash to the left leg after a bike accident, a burn on the hand from touching a hot stove, as well as other accidental injuries. The frequency of the ER visits for injuries along with the age of the patient increases the nurse's curiosity about these injuries. The nurse knows that the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) includes which of the following?

Explanation

•The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted to require doctors, nurses, teachers, and others individuals to report any suspicion of possible abuse and neglect. The law protects persons reporting the suspicions from civil and criminal penalties if the reporting was done in "good faith" meaning that there is true and reasonable belief that abuse or neglect has occurred.

•Making claims of abuse and neglect when a person knows that the allegations are false, can be punished with civil or criminal penalties. The people making a report of suspected child abuse or neglect in "good faith" are still protected under the statute even if the allegations are proven to be false.

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