School health centers didn't report underage sex
Portland's school-based health centers have not been reporting all illegal sexual activity involving minors as required by law, but they will from now on, city officials said Thursday.
Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson questioned the health centers' reporting practices after the Portland School Committee decided last week to offer prescription birth control at the King Middle School health center.
The King Student Health Center has offered comprehensive reproductive health care, including providing condoms and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, since it opened in 2000. The school serves students in grades 6 to 8, ages 11 to 15.
Maine law prohibits having sex with a person under age 14, regardless of the age of the other person involved, Anderson said.
A health care provider must report all known or suspected cases of sex with minors age 13 and under to the state Department of Health and Human Services, she said. Abuse also must be reported to the appropriate district attorney's office, Anderson said, when the suspected perpetrator is someone other than the minor's parent or guardian.
This part confuses me. Does this mean that they don't have to report abuse to the district attorney's office if the suspected perpetrator is the minor's parent or guardian? How crazy it that?!
Update Note: I checked the Maine law. If the abuser is a parent or guardian, the abuse is reported to Social Services.
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Related Tags: HPV, Sex Education, The Pill, Child Abuse
2 comments:
Perhaps if the abuser is the parent or guardian, there is mandatory reporting to CPS instead?
I hope so.
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