Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

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210.110. Definitions. — As used in sections 210.109 to 210.165, and sections 210.180 to 210.183, the following terms mean:

(1) "Abuse", any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child's care, custody, and control, except that discipline including spanking, administered in a reasonable manner, shall not be construed to be abuse. Victims of abuse shall also include any victims of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking as those terms are defined in 22 U.S.C. Section 7102, as amended;

(2) "Assessment and treatment services for children", an approach to be developed by the children's division which will recognize and treat the specific needs of at-risk and abused or neglected children. The developmental and medical assessment may be a broad physical, developmental, and mental health screening to be completed within thirty days of a child's entry into custody and in accordance with the periodicity schedule set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics thereafter as long as the child remains in care. Screenings may be offered at a centralized location and include, at a minimum, the following:

(a) Complete physical to be performed by a pediatrician familiar with the effects of abuse and neglect on young children;

(b) Developmental, behavioral, and emotional screening in addition to early periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment services, including a core set of standardized and recognized instruments as well as interviews with the child and appropriate caregivers. The screening battery may be performed by a licensed mental health professional familiar with the effects of abuse and neglect on young children, who will then serve as the liaison between all service providers in ensuring that needed services are provided. Such treatment services may include in-home services, out-of-home placement, intensive twenty-four-hour treatment services, family counseling, parenting training and other best practices.

Children whose screenings indicate an area of concern may complete a comprehensive, in-depth health, psychodiagnostic, or developmental assessment within sixty days of entry into custody;

(3) "Central registry", a registry of persons where the division has found probable cause to believe prior to August 28, 2004, or by a preponderance of the evidence after August 28, 2004, or a court has substantiated through court adjudication that the individual has committed child abuse or neglect or the person has pled guilty or has been found guilty of a crime pursuant to section 565.020, 565.021, 565.023, 565.024, 565.050, 566.030, 566.060, or 567.050 if the victim is a child less than eighteen years of age, or any other crime pursuant to chapter 566 if the victim is a child less than eighteen years of age and the perpetrator is twenty-one years of age or older, a crime under section 568.020, 568.030, 568.045, 568.050, 568.060, 568.080^*, 568.090^*, 573.023, 573.025, 573.035, 573.037, 573.040, 573.200, or 573.205, or an attempt to commit any such crimes. Any persons placed on the registry prior to August 28, 2004, shall remain on the registry for the duration of time required by section 210.152;

(4) "Child", any person, regardless of physical or mental condition, under eighteen years of age;

(5) "Children's services providers and agencies", any public, quasi-public, or private entity with the appropriate and relevant training and expertise in delivering services to children and their families as determined by the children's division, and capable of providing direct services and other family services for children in the custody of the children's division or any such entities or agencies that are receiving state moneys for such services;

(6) "Director", the director of the Missouri children's division within the department of social services;

(7) "Division", the Missouri children's division within the department of social services;

(8) "Family assessment and services", an approach to be developed by the children's division which will provide for a prompt assessment of a child who has been reported to the division as a victim of abuse or neglect by a person responsible for that child's care, custody or control and of that child's family, including risk of abuse and neglect and, if necessary, the provision of community-based services to reduce the risk and support the family;

(9) "Family support team meeting" or "team meeting", a meeting convened by the division or children's services provider in behalf of the family and/or child for the purpose of determining service and treatment needs, determining the need for placement and developing a plan for reunification or other permanency options, determining the appropriate placement of the child, evaluating case progress, and establishing and revising the case plan;

(10) "Investigation", the collection of physical and verbal evidence to determine if a child has been abused or neglected;

(11) "Jail or detention center personnel", employees and volunteers working in any premises or institution where incarceration, evaluation, care, treatment or rehabilitation is provided to persons who are being held under custody of the law;

(12) "Neglect", failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, the proper or necessary support, education as required by law, nutrition or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child's well-being, except that neglect shall not be found by virtue of the sole fact that a person allows a child to engage in independent activities without adult supervision including, but not limited to, traveling to or from school or nearby locations by bicycle or on foot, playing outdoors, or remaining at home for a reasonable period of time, provided such activities are appropriate based on the child's age, maturity, and physical and mental abilities, and the lack of adult supervision does not constitute conduct that is so grossly negligent as to endanger the health or safety of the child. Victims of neglect shall also include any victims of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking as those terms are defined in 22 U.S.C. Section 7102, as amended;

(13) "Preponderance of the evidence", that degree of evidence that is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence which is offered in opposition to it or evidence which as a whole shows the fact to be proved to be more probable than not;

(14) "Probable cause", available facts when viewed in the light of surrounding circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe a child was abused or neglected;

(15) "Report", the communication of an allegation of child abuse or neglect to the division pursuant to section 210.115;

(16) "Those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child", includes, but is not limited to:

(a) The parents or legal guardians of a child;

(b) Other members of the child's household;

(d) Any adult person who has access to the child based on relationship to the parents of the child or members of the child's household or the family;

(e) Any person who takes control of the child by deception, force, or coercion; or

(f) School personnel, contractors, and volunteers, if the relationship with the child was established through the school or through school-related activities, even if the alleged abuse or neglect occurred outside of school hours or off school grounds.

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(L. 1975 H.B. 578 § 1, A.L. 1982 H.B. 1171, et al., A.L. 1985 H.B. 366, et al., A.L. 1994 S.B. 595, A.L. 2000 S.B. 757 & 602, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1453, A.L. 2005 H.B. 568, A.L. 2016 H.B. 1877, A.L. 2017 S.B. 160, A.L. 2018 S.B. 819, A.L. 2019 H.B. 604, A.L. 2025 H.B. 737 & 486)

*Section 568.080 was transferred to section 573.200 and section 568.090 was transferred to section 573.205 by S.B. 491, 2014, effective 1-01-17.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 112 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: In the Interest of: J.P.B. M.R.S. v. Greene Cnty. Juv. Off., 509 S.W.3d 84 (Mo. 2017).

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In the Interest of: J.P.B. M.R.S. v. Greene Cnty. Juv. Off., 509 S.W.3d 84 (Mo. 2017). · cites it 6× “5(6)(a), and Father's argument pertaining to a lack of evidence on the types of abuse described in § 210.110 is misplaced. The dissent suggests that the protection provided by § 211.”

State Ex Rel. Scott v. Goeke, 864 S.W.2d 411 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 17× “Section 210.110(1), RSMo 1986 defines abuse as "any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for his care, custody, and control except that discipline including spanking, administered in a…”

Rombach v. Rombach, 867 S.W.2d 500 (Mo. 1993). · cites it 7× “423, we can look to the definitions given in § 210.110. Child “abuse” is defined as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by.”

In the Interest of: J.A.R., D.K.R., & A.E.R., Child. Under Seventeen Years of Age, Greene Cnty. Juv. Off. v. D.G.R., 426 S.W.3d 624 (Mo. 2014). · cites it 3× “Because there is substantial evidence to support the circuit court’s determination of neglect as defined in § 210.110(12), this opinion does not require that his challenges to the findings of abandonment and failure to rectify be addressed.”

Doe v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Div. of Fam. Servs., 71 S.W.3d 648 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 15× “as defined by section 210.110, RSMo 2000, and in holding that the term “lack of supervision” was a “subcategory of neglect defined by case law.”

Jamison v. State, Dep't of Soc. Servs., Div. of Fam. Servs., 218 S.W.3d 399 (Mo. 2007). · cites it 3× “Betty Dotson in their declaratory judgment action seeking to have the Missouri Child Abuse Act, section 210.110 et seq., RSMo 2000, 2 (“the Act”) held unconstitutional, facially and as applied, under the due process clauses of the United States and Missouri constitutions.”

Querry v. Querry, 382 S.W.3d 922 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 6× “Section 210.110(1), RSMo Cum.Supp.2011, defines “abuse” as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, *927 custody, and control, except that discipline including spanking,…”

C.S. v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div., 491 S.W.3d 636 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 3× “The legal definition of abuse Under § 210.110(1), abuse is defined as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and- control,” 14 .”

State Ex Rel. D.M. v. Hoester, 681 S.W.2d 449 (Mo. 1984). · cites it 4× “140 provides: Any legally recognized privileged communication, except that between attorney and client, shall not apply to situations involving known or suspected child abuse or neglect and shall not consti *451 tute grounds for failure to report as required or permitted by…”

Dent v. Dent, 965 S.W.2d 230 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 8× “Section 210.110, RSMo specifically allows parents latitude in disciplining their children so long as the discipline is administered in a “reasonable manner.”

Valentine v. Valentine, 400 S.W.3d 14 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “Section 210.110(1) RSMo (Cum.Supp.2011) defines abuse as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and control, except that discipline including spanking,…”

Young v. Pitts, 335 S.W.3d 47 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 4× “" We assume she meant the report of alleged abuse pursuant to section 210.110(15) and documents developed during DSS's investigation of the report.”

Show all 112 citing cases →

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(1) — 31 cases

In the Interest of: J.P.B. M.R.S. v. Greene Cnty. Juv. Off., 509 S.W.3d 84 (Mo. 2017). “5(6)(a), and Father's argument pertaining to a lack of evidence on the types of abuse described in § 210.110 is misplaced. The dissent suggests that the protection provided by § 211.”

State Ex Rel. Scott v. Goeke, 864 S.W.2d 411 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). “Section 210.110(1), RSMo 1986 defines abuse as "any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for his care, custody, and control except that discipline including spanking, administered in a…”

Valentine v. Valentine, 400 S.W.3d 14 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013). “Section 210.110(1) RSMo (Cum.Supp.2011) defines abuse as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and control, except that discipline including spanking,…”

Rombach v. Rombach, 867 S.W.2d 500 (Mo. 1993). “423, we can look to the definitions given in § 210.110. Child “abuse” is defined as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by.”

Querry v. Querry, 382 S.W.3d 922 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012). “Section 210.110(1), RSMo Cum.Supp.2011, defines “abuse” as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, *927 custody, and control, except that discipline including spanking,…”

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(11) — 1 case

State v. Pasteur, 9 S.W.3d 689 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(12) — 16 cases

In the Interest of: J.A.R., D.K.R., & A.E.R., Child. Under Seventeen Years of Age, Greene Cnty. Juv. Off. v. D.G.R., 426 S.W.3d 624 (Mo. 2014). “Because there is substantial evidence to support the circuit court’s determination of neglect as defined in § 210.110(12), this opinion does not require that his challenges to the findings of abandonment and failure to rectify be addressed.”

In the Interest of J.M., 328 S.W.3d 466 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010).

In the Interest of: S.F.M.D., Juv. Off. v. F.D., (Father), & R.R. (Mother), 477 S.W.3d 626 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).

In re the Interest of A.M.W., 448 S.W.3d 307 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(13) — 1 case

Thomas Hernandez v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div. (Mo. Ct. App. 2025).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(15) — 1 case

Young v. Pitts, 335 S.W.3d 47 (Mo. Ct. App. 2011). “" We assume she meant the report of alleged abuse pursuant to section 210.110(15) and documents developed during DSS's investigation of the report.”

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(2) — 1 case

In the Interest of: G.c., F.c., M.c., & S.c., Minors, A.C. v. Greene Cnty. Juv. Off., 443 S.W.3d 738 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(3) — 10 cases

Melody FRYE, Respondent, v. Ronald J. LEVY, Dir., State of Missouri, Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.’s Div., Appellant, 440 S.W.3d 405 (Mo. 2014).

Hessel v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div., 400 S.W.3d 813 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013).

C.S. v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div., 491 S.W.3d 636 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016). “The legal definition of abuse Under § 210.110(1), abuse is defined as “any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and- control,” 14 .”

Melody Frye v. Ronald J. Levy, Dir., State of Missouri, Div. of Soc. Servs., Child.'s Div., 440 S.W.3d 425 (Mo. 2014).

In Re Wbm, 690 S.E.2d 41 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(4) — 4 cases

In Interest of ES, 851 S.W.2d 676 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Aaron Birdsong v. Child.'s Div., Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., 461 S.W.3d 454 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).

R.S. v. Juv. Off. of Cole Cnty., 851 S.W.2d 676 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(5) — 11 cases

Barancik v. Meade, 106 S.W.3d 582 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003).

Marriage of S.K.B. v. J.C.B., 867 S.W.2d 651 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Frazier v. Frazier, 845 S.W.2d 130 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Osmun v. Osmun, 842 S.W.2d 932 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(8) — 4 cases

Chapin v. Chapin, 985 S.W.2d 897 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

Ludvik v. Ludvik, 969 S.W.2d 284 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998).

Kierst v. L.L., 989 S.W.2d 673 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

Manns v. Chapman, 990 S.W.2d 102 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 210.110(9) — 4 cases

Doe v. Missouri Dep't of Soc. Servs., Div. of Fam. Servs., 71 S.W.3d 648 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). “as defined by section 210.110, RSMo 2000, and in holding that the term “lack of supervision” was a “subcategory of neglect defined by case law.”

L.R.K v. Greene Cnty. Juv. Off., 103 S.W.3d 319 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003).

Castaneda v. Castaneda, 121 S.W.3d 324 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003).

In Re Bck, 103 S.W.3d 319 (Mo. Ct. App. 2003).

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