Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302 (2026)

 Findings and purpose of chapter.

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 6302.  Findings and purpose of chapter.

(a)  Findings.--Abused children are in urgent need of an effective child protective service to prevent them from suffering further injury and impairment.

(b)  Purpose.--It is the purpose of this chapter to encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse; to the extent permitted by this chapter, to involve law enforcement agencies in responding to child abuse; and to establish in each county protective services for the purpose of investigating the reports swiftly and competently, providing protection for children from further abuse and providing rehabilitative services for children and parents involved so as to ensure the child's well-being and to preserve, stabilize and protect the integrity of family life wherever appropriate or to provide another alternative permanent family when the unity of the family cannot be maintained. It is also the purpose of this chapter to ensure that each county children and youth agency establish a program of protective services with procedures to assess risk of harm to a child and with the capabilities to respond adequately to meet the needs of the family and child who may be at risk and to prioritize the response and services to children most at risk.

(c)  Effect on rights of parents.--This chapter does not restrict the generally recognized existing rights of parents to use reasonable supervision and control when raising their children.

(Dec. 16, 1994, P.L.1292, No.151, eff. July 1, 1995; Dec. 15, 1998, P.L.963, No.127, eff. Mar. 1, 1999)

 

1998 Amendment.  Act 127 amended subsec. (b).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 77 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1991–2025 · leading case: Pa. State Sys. of Higher Educ. v. Ass'n of Pa. State Coll. & Univ. Faculties, 193 A.3d 486 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018).
Pa. State Sys. of Higher Educ. v. Ass'n of Pa. State Coll. & Univ. Faculties, 193 A.3d 486 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). · cites it 3× “We agree with PASSHE that a well-defined and dominant public policy exists in Pennsylvania in favor of protecting children from child abuse, including abuse of a sexual nature.”
R. v. Com., Dept. of Pub. Welfare, 636 A.2d 142 (Pa. 1994). · cites it 2× “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302. It is the government's pursuit of this declared interest that creates the deprivation being complained of here.”
G.V. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 52 A.3d 434 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2012). · cites it 3× “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302. In pursuit of this governmental interest, DPW requires substantial evidence to determine whether a name is being correctly maintained on the ChildLine Registry.”
Commonwealth v. Allshouse, 985 A.2d 847 (Pa. 2009). · cites it 2× “23 Pa. C.S. § 6302(b). The Law requires certain individuals to report suspected abuse, including physicians.”
Commonwealth v. Allshouse, 36 A.3d 163 (Pa. 2012). “See generally 23 Pa.C.S. § 6302 (reflecting the design of the *190 Child Protective Services Law as encompassing "involving] law enforcement agencies in responding to child abuse”).”
B.S. Ex Rel. T.S. v. Somerset Cnty., 704 F.3d 250 (3rd Cir. 2013). “11 According to Appellees, however, they 11 Aimed at “encourag[ing] more complete reporting of suspected child abuse” and at protecting children from further abuse, 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6302(b), the CPSL requires child abuse reports to be investigated and permits children…”
Warren Cnty. Human Servs. v. State Civil Serv. Comm'n, 844 A.2d 70 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004). · cites it 2× “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b) (emphasis added). There is no doubt that the governmental interest in ensuring this goal is significant.”
In the Int. of: A.C., Appeal of: D.C., 237 A.3d 553 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020). “§ 6303, adjudicating Child dependent, pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(1), and transferring custody of Child to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (“DHS”).”
G.V. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 91 A.3d 667 (Pa. 2014). “at 450 , citing 23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b) (setting forth the legislature’s purpose in enacting the Child Protective Services Law).”
Patterson v. Armstrong Cnty. Child. & Youth Servs., 141 F. Supp. 2d 512 (W.D. Pa. 2001). · cites it 2× “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(a). The expressed legislative purpose of the CPSL is: [T]o encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse; to the extent permitted by this chapter, to involve law enforcement agencies in responding to child abuse; and to establish in each county…”
C.S. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 972 A.2d 1254 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2009). · cites it 2× “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b). The CPSL is geared more towards reporting perpetrators of abuse, which may adversely affect a perpetrator's reputation and employment opportunities.”
In the Interest of J.R.W., 631 A.2d 1019 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1993). “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b). To the degree possible, the Law also is geared to the stabilization of the family where appropriate.”
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302(1) — 5 cases
In the Int. of: A.C., Appeal of: D.C., 237 A.3d 553 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020). “§ 6303, adjudicating Child dependent, pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(1), and transferring custody of Child to the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (“DHS”).”
In the Int. of: A.C., Appeal of: D.C., 2020 Pa. Super. 203 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020).
In the Interest of: J.L., a Minor (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016).
In the Int. of: A.C., Appeal of: D.C. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020).
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302(a) — 9 cases
Pa. State Sys. of Higher Educ. v. Ass'n of Pa. State Coll. & Univ. Faculties, 193 A.3d 486 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). “We agree with PASSHE that a well-defined and dominant public policy exists in Pennsylvania in favor of protecting children from child abuse, including abuse of a sexual nature.”
G.V. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 52 A.3d 434 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2012). “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302. In pursuit of this governmental interest, DPW requires substantial evidence to determine whether a name is being correctly maintained on the ChildLine Registry.”
Patterson v. Armstrong Cnty. Child. & Youth Servs., 141 F. Supp. 2d 512 (W.D. Pa. 2001). “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(a). The expressed legislative purpose of the CPSL is: [T]o encourage more complete reporting of suspected child abuse; to the extent permitted by this chapter, to involve law enforcement agencies in responding to child abuse; and to establish in each county…”
Picarella v. Terrizzi, 893 F. Supp. 1292 (M.D. Penn. 1995).
Com. v. Krankowski, S., 304 A.3d 1275 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023).
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302(b) — 39 cases
Commonwealth v. Allshouse, 985 A.2d 847 (Pa. 2009). “23 Pa. C.S. § 6302(b). The Law requires certain individuals to report suspected abuse, including physicians.”
B.S. Ex Rel. T.S. v. Somerset Cnty., 704 F.3d 250 (3rd Cir. 2013). “11 According to Appellees, however, they 11 Aimed at “encourag[ing] more complete reporting of suspected child abuse” and at protecting children from further abuse, 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6302(b), the CPSL requires child abuse reports to be investigated and permits children…”
Warren Cnty. Human Servs. v. State Civil Serv. Comm'n, 844 A.2d 70 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004). “23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b) (emphasis added). There is no doubt that the governmental interest in ensuring this goal is significant.”
G.V. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 91 A.3d 667 (Pa. 2014). “at 450 , citing 23 Pa.C.S. § 6302(b) (setting forth the legislature’s purpose in enacting the Child Protective Services Law).”
Pa. State Sys. of Higher Educ. v. Ass'n of Pa. State Coll. & Univ. Faculties, 193 A.3d 486 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2018). “We agree with PASSHE that a well-defined and dominant public policy exists in Pennsylvania in favor of protecting children from child abuse, including abuse of a sexual nature.”
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6302(c) — 4 cases
F.R. v. Dep't of Pub. Welfare, 4 A.3d 779 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010).
P.R. v. Commonwealth, 801 A.2d 478 (Pa. 2002).
Plaunt (M.D. Penn. 2025).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.