Karly’s Law in Oregon requires that whenever an investigator personally observes a suspicious physical injury on a child during an abuse investigation and suspects the injury came from abuse, a designated medical professional must examine the child within 48 hours. The statute is codified at ORS 419B.023 and was enacted in 2007 after the death of three-year-old Karly Sheehan of Corvallis, whose visible injuries went without professional medical evaluation before she was killed in 2005.1Oregon Department of Justice. Karly’s Law The law removes caseworker discretion from that decision and sets a uniform statewide response.
What Triggers the Law
Two things have to be true at the same time. An investigator conducting an abuse investigation under ORS 419B.020 must observe the child in person, and the injury observed must give the investigator either certainty or reasonable suspicion that abuse caused it.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 The clock is tied to what the investigator sees on the visit, not to when the underlying report was made. Days or weeks can pass between a report and a face-to-face contact, and the 48 hours run from the observation.
The statute defines “suspicious physical injury” through a broad list rather than a single test. Qualifying conditions include burns or scalds; extensive bruising or abrasions anywhere on the body; bruising, swelling, or abrasions to the head, neck, or face; fractures of any bone in a child under three; multiple fractures at any age; dislocations, soft tissue swelling, or moderate to severe cuts; loss of normal mobility for the child’s developmental stage; unconsciousness or difficulty staying conscious; multiple injuries of different types; serious disfigurement; impaired organ function; and any other injury that threatens the child’s physical well-being.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 That final catch-all is deliberate. An injury does not have to appear on the list to trigger the law; it needs only to threaten the child’s well-being.
The requirement resets each time. A new observation of suspicious injury during a later investigation restarts the process, even if the same child was photographed or assessed before.
The 48-Hour Assessment
Once the trigger conditions are met, two steps follow. The injuries must be photographed immediately, and a designated medical professional must conduct a medical assessment within 48 hours, or sooner if the child’s condition calls for it.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Laws 2007 Chapter 674 – Relating to Child Abuse Investigations The window matters because bruising patterns fade, swelling recedes, and surface injuries heal. Some injuries are internal and will not be found at all without a hands-on exam or imaging.
If no designated medical professional can be located within 48 hours despite reasonable efforts, the child still has to be examined. The exam can then be performed by an available physician, licensed physician assistant, or licensed nurse practitioner.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 The assessment cannot simply lapse because the preferred examiner is unavailable, a fallback that most often matters in rural parts of the state.
Protective Custody to Complete the Exam
The investigator may take the child into protective custody without a court order for the time needed to complete the photographs and the medical assessment.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 This is a narrow exception to the general rule that removal requires court authorization. It exists because a caregiver who is the source of the injuries is often the same person controlling access to the child, and waiting for an order could put the exam past the statutory window. The authority is limited to what the assessment process requires and does not extend to open-ended custody.
The Child Can Refuse
The obligations under the statute run to investigators and agencies, not to the child. Karly’s Law does not override the rights minors already have under Oregon law, and a minor can refuse consent to the medical assessment.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Laws 2007 Chapter 674 – Relating to Child Abuse Investigations In practice, this matters most for older children and teenagers who can understand and exercise the right.
Who Performs the Assessment
The exam has to be done by a “designated medical professional” as defined in ORS 418.747(9), or that person’s designee.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 These are physicians, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners with specialized training in recognizing injuries associated with child abuse. Distinguishing an inflicted bruise from an accidental one, or identifying fractures at different stages of healing, is pattern recognition that general practice does not build.
Exams typically take place at Child Abuse Intervention Centers or comparable facilities equipped for forensic-quality evaluations. Oregon’s regional network of these centers is supported through the Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Intervention Fund administered by the Oregon Department of Justice.4Oregon Department of Justice. CAMI Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers The centers are meant to be less intimidating than a hospital emergency department while producing findings that will hold up in court.
Extra Step for Children Under Five
When the child assessed under Karly’s Law is under five, the designated medical professional has an additional option. Within 14 days, the DMP may refer the child for screening for early intervention services or early childhood special education.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code ORS 419B.023 – Duties of Person Conducting Investigation Under ORS 419B.020 The referral cannot disclose that the child is the subject of an abuse investigation unless the parent gives written consent for that disclosure. If the child is already receiving early intervention services or is enrolled in Head Start, someone involved in delivering those services is invited into the multidisciplinary team’s review of the case.
What the Law Does Not Cover
Karly’s Law applies only when an investigator personally observes a qualifying injury. Reports that involve emotional abuse or neglect without visible physical injury do not trigger the 48-hour assessment requirement; those investigations follow other protocols. The statute was written to fix a specific failure — a child with visible injuries whose physical evidence was not treated with the seriousness it deserved — and its reach is defined by that scenario. County multidisciplinary teams under ORS 418.747 set the local procedures around how the assessment fits into the wider investigation, so some details of communication and follow-up vary by county, though the core requirements are the same statewide.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 418 – ORS 418.747 County Teams for Investigation