- 1. When any physician, dentist, chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist, intern, nurse, medical examiner, social worker, psychologist, minister, Christian Science practitioner, peace officer, pharmacist, physical therapist, facility administrator, nurse's aide or orderly in a residential facility, day program or specialized service operated, funded or licensed by the department or in a mental health facility or mental health program in which people may be admitted on a voluntary basis or are civilly detained pursuant to chapter 632, RSMo, or employee of the department has reasonable cause to believe that a patient, resident or client of a facility, program or service has been abused or neglected, he or she shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the department or the department of health and senior services, if such facility or program is licensed pursuant to chapter 197, RSMo.
- 2. The report shall contain the name and address of the residential facility, day program or specialized service; the name of the patient, resident or client; information regarding the nature of the abuse or neglect; the name of the complainant, and any other information which might be helpful in an investigation.
- 3. Any person required in subsection 1 of this section to report or cause a report to be made to the department who fails to do so within a reasonable time after the act of abuse or neglect is guilty of an infraction.
- 4. In addition to those persons required to report under subsection 1 of this section, any other person having reasonable cause to believe that a resident has been abused or neglected may report such information to the department.
- 5. Any person who knowingly files a false report of abuse or neglect is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
- 6. Any person having a prior conviction of filing false reports and who subsequently files a false report of abuse or neglect pursuant to this section or section 565.188, RSMo, is guilty of a class D felony.
(L. 1980 H.B. 1724 § 630.165 subsecs. 1 to 4, A.L. 1996 S.B. 884 & 841, A.L. 2003 S.B. 556 & 311)