Any employee of the department of children, youth and families, or any employee of any public or private agency with which the department contracts for services in furtherance of the care or custody of children, who shall commit an assault and battery upon a child in the care of the department shall be deemed to have committed a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three (3) years but not more than ten (10) years and a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).