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	Reporting Laws: Religious Exemptions Child abuse and neglect state statues series ready reference. Author(s):  National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information Year Published:  2003 Rate this Publication     Average Rating: 3.50 (out of 5), 2 Raters Printable Verison PDF (9 pgs, 121 KB) Current through February 2003 The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1996 added new provisions specifying that nothing in the Act be construed as establishing a Federal requirement that a parent or legal guardian provide any medical service or treatment that is against the religious beliefs of the parent or legal guardian (42 U.S.C. 5106i). Many States do provide in their statutory definitions of child abuse and neglect an exemption for parents who choose not to seek medical care for their children due to religious beliefs. These include the following states: Alabama Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Vermont Virginia Washington Wyoming This Ready Reference is a product of the Child Abuse and Neglect State Statutes Series prepared by the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. Ready Reference publications contain excerpts of text with citations from specific sections of each State’s code that focus on a single issue of special interest. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State’s code as well as in agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

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Updated on July 23, 2004 by webmaster_nccanch@caliber.com.