I know that biting is a fairly common issue with toddlers but my son has a child in his class who is very aggressive and a persistent biter. I’m assuming my son finally got tired of it and bit back. The bite left a terrible bruise on the other child but did not break the skin. Is my child’s childcare center required to report my son for biting? One of the directors insinuated that this was the case, even though the other child is the one consistently harming other children.
Thank you for your question regarding confidentiality of a child’s name in relation to biting. DSS Regulation 114-503G(1), (2), and (3) states the following: the facility shall keep a separate record for each child; the file shall be kept in a confidential manner, but shall be immediately available to the Department, the child’s teacher/caregiver, parent, or guardian upon request; and access to records is limited to the above unless requested by court order. DSS Regulation 114-503I(2) also states a child’s record, emergency information, photograph, and other information about the child or family and information that may identify a child by name or address is confidential and may not be copied, posted on a web site or disclosed to unauthorized persons, without written consent from the child’s parent. Therefore, the center should not make any references to the child’s name, as the biter, due to these regulations regarding confidentiality.