Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect

STATE STATUTES

CURRENT THROUGH MAY 2023

Mandatory Reporting of

Child Abuse and Neglect

To access the statutes for a specic State or Territory, visit the State Statutes Search.

The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and

Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires each State to

have provisions or procedures for requiring

certain individuals to report known or suspected

instances of child abuse and neglect.

42 U.S.C. § 5106a(b)(2)(B)(i)

For this

publication, information regarding mandatory

reporting laws was collected for all States. The

results indicate that all States, the District of

Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin

Islands identify in statute the professionals and

other persons required to report instances of

suspected child maltreatment. This publication

also discusses training requirements for

mandatory reporters, reporting by other persons,

the responsibilities of institutions in making

reports, standards for making a report, and

maintaining the condentiality of the reporter’s

identity.

WHAT'S INSIDE

Professionals required to report

Training requirements for mandatory

reporters

Reporting by other persons

Institutional responsibility to report

Standards for making a report

Privileged communications

Inclusion of the reporter’s name in the report

Disclosure of the reporter’s identity

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

PROFESSIONALS REQUIRED TO

REPORT

Approximately 46 States,

the District of

Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the

Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin

Islands designate professions whose

members are mandated by law to report

child maltreatment.

The word “approximately” is used to stress the fact that States frequently amend their laws and applies to all data in this

publication. The information in this publication is current only through May 2023. As of this date, Indiana, New Jersey, North

Carolina, and Wyoming are the only States that do not enumerate specic professional groups as mandated reporters but

require all persons to report.

Individuals designated as

mandatory reporters typically have frequent

contact with children. The professionals most

commonly mandated to report across the

States include the following:

• Physicians, nurses, and other health-care

workers (46 States, the District of Columbia,

American Samoa, Guam, the Northern

Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands)

All States except Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Wyoming

• Teachers, principals, and other school

personnel (44 States, the District of

Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the

Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin

Islands)

All States except Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming

• Social workers (41 States, the District of

Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the

Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin

Islands)

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,

Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,

Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South

Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

• Law enforcement ofcers (40 States, the

District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana

Islands, and the Virgin Islands)

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,

Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,

Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota,

Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

• Counselors, therapists, and other mental

health professionals (38 States, the District

of Columbia, American Samoa, the Northern

Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands)

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa,

Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New

Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont,

Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

• Child care providers (36 States, the District

of Columbia, American Samoa, the Northern

Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands)

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York,

North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,

and Wisconsin

• Members of the clergy (29 States and

Guam)

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts,

Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,

Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

• Medical examiners or coroners (26 States,

the District of Columbia, and American

Samoa)

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,

Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

Additional professionals who are mandated to

report suspected or known maltreatment by

some States include the following:

• Directors, employees, and volunteers at

entities that provide organized activities for

children, such as camps, day camps, youth

centers, and recreation centers (14 States)

Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia,

and WestVirginia

• Substance abuse counselors (14 States)

Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South

Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin

• Probation or parole ofcers (13 States)

California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, South

Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia

• Commercial lm or photograph processors

(12 States, Guam, and Puerto Rico)

Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia

• Faculty, administrators, athletics staff,

or other employees and volunteers at

institutions of higher learning, including

public and private colleges and universities

and vocational and technical schools (11

States)

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa (includes only instructors at community colleges), Louisiana, Oregon,

Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington

• Court-appointed special advocates (11

States)

Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin

• Juvenile probation ofcers (9 States)

Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, and Washington

• Animal control or humane ofcers (7 States

and the District of Columbia)

California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia

• Domestic violence workers (6 States and

the Districtof Columbia)

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, and South Dakota

• Computer technicians (6 States)

Alaska, California, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina

• Child welfare ombudspersons (3 States)

California, Colorado, and Washington

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR

MANDATORY REPORTERS

The laws and policies of 23 States,

Puerto

Rico, and the Virgin Islands require that

mandatory reporters be provided training

to inform them of their responsibility to

report and the process for making reports.

Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and

Wisconsin

This training can be offered by State social

services agencies, departments of education,

or other entities that license or certify

the professionals required to report. In all

these States, the websites of social services

agencies provide information on reporting

responsibilities and resources for completing

the required training. While the laws and

policies of 22 States

and the District of

Columbia do not specically require training

for mandatory reporters, State child welfare

agencies in those States do offer information

and training resources on their agency

websites.

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire,

New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

The topics covered in the mandatory reporter

training typically include the following:

• The legal obligations of a mandatory

reporter

• Denitions of child abuse and neglect

• The signs of child abuse and neglect

• Groups of children who may be at a higher

risk for abuse or neglect

• How to respond to a child who discloses

abuse or neglect

• When child abuse and neglect must be

reported

• The process for making a report

• The information that needs to be included

in a report

• What happens after a report is made

In Illinois, statute

requires that training must

include a section on implicit bias, including,

at a minimum, information on implicit bias

and racial and ethnic sensitivity, with the

goal of ultimately eliminating discriminatory

behaviors.

Comp. Stat. Ch. 325, § 5/4(j)-(k)

In the statute, the term “implicit

bias” is dened as attitudes or internalized

stereotypes that affect people’s perceptions,

actions, and decisions unconsciously and

that exist and often contribute to unequal

treatment of people based on race, ethnicity,

gender identity, sexual orientation, age,

disability, and other characteristics. Statute

in New York requires that the training

provided to mandatory reporters by the

Ofce of Children and Family Services

include protocols to reduce implicit bias in

the decision-making processes, strategies

to identify adverse childhood experiences,

and guidelines to assist in recognizing signs

of abuse or maltreatment while interacting

virtually.

Soc. Serv. Law § 413

REPORTING BY OTHER PERSONS

In approximately 17 States

and Puerto

Rico, any person who suspects child abuse

or neglect is required to report.

Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North

Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming

Of these 17

States, 13 States

and Puerto Rico specify

certain professionals who must report but

also require all persons to report suspected

abuse or neglect, regardless of profession.

Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, NewMexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island,

Tennessee, Texas, and Utah

Four States—Indiana, New Jersey, North

Carolina, and Wyoming—require all persons

to report without specifying any professions.

In all States, Territories, and the District of

Columbia, any person is permitted to report

when they have reason to believe that a child

has been subjected to abuse or neglect. These

voluntary reporters of maltreatment are often

referred to as “permissive reporters.”

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

TO REPORT

The term “institutional reporting” refers to

situations in which the mandated reporter is

working (or volunteering) as a staff member

of an institution, such as a school or hospital,

when they gain knowledge that leads them to

suspect abuse or neglect. Many institutions

have internal policies and procedures for

handling reports of maltreatment, and these

usually require the person who suspects

maltreatment to notify the head of the

institution that abuse or neglect has been

discovered or is suspected and needs to be

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

reported to child protective services or other

appropriate authorities.

Statutes in 33 States,

the District of

Columbia, and the Virgin Islands provide

procedures that must be followed in those

cases.

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine,

Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,

South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

In 18 States,

the District of Columbia,

and the Virgin Islands, any staff member

who suspects maltreatment must notify

the head of the institution when the staff

member feels that maltreatment or possible

maltreatment should be reported to an

appropriate authority.

California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (applies to staff of a licensed hospital), Maine, Maryland,

Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming

In nine States,

the

District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands,

the staff member who suspects maltreatment

noties the head of the institution rst, and

then the head or their designee is required

to make the report.

Georgia, Idaho, Indiana (applies to staff of a licensed hospital), Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Virginia, and

Wyoming

In 10 States,

the person

who suspects maltreatment must rst make

the report to the appropriate child protection

authority and then notify the institution that a

report has been made.

California, Connecticut (the commissioner of Children and Families makes the notication to the institution upon receiving

a report), Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana (applies to staff of a school or other institution), Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania,

Tennessee, and West Virginia

In Arizona, any person

who supervises a mandatory reporter’s work

and believes that a child is being maltreated

must make the report unless they reasonably

believe the other mandatory reporter has

already made the report.

Laws in 17 States,

the District of Columbia,

and the Virgin Islands make clear that,

regardless of any policies within the

organization, the mandatory reporter is not

relieved of their responsibility to report.

Alaska, California, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming

In 12

States,

an employer is expressly prohibited

from taking action to prevent or discourage

an employee from making a report.

Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, and Tennessee

In 17

States,

an employer is expressly prohibited

from retaliating against an employee who

has made a report.

Alabama, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma,

Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

Retaliation is any adverse

employment action, including, but not limited

to, demotion, a reduction in pay or benets, a

negative performance evaluation, suspension,

or termination of employment.

STANDARDS FOR MAKING A

REPORT

The circumstances under which a mandatory

reporter must make a report vary from State

to State. Typically, a report must be made

when the reporter, in their ofcial capacity,

suspects or has reason to believe that a child

has been abused or neglected. Another

frequently used standard is being required

to report in situations in which the reporter

has knowledge of or observes a child being

subjected to conditions that would reasonably

result in harm to the child. In Maine, a

mandatory reporter must report when they

have reasonable cause to suspect that a child

is not living with the child’s family (e.g., the

child has been placed with another family

without judicial authorization).

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

In nine States,

Guam, and Puerto Rico, lm

and photographic print processors must

report when they know of or observe any

lm, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide

depicting a child engaged in an act of sexual

conduct.

Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma

In ve States,

a report is required

when a computer technician knows of or

observes a computer-generated image or

picture depicting a child engaged in any actual

or simulated sexual conduct.

Alaska, California, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma

Mandatory reporters are required to report

the facts and circumstances that led them

to suspect that a child has been abused or

neglected. They do not have the burden of

providing proof that abuse or neglect has

occurred. Permissive reporters, i.e., persons

who are not required to report but may opt

to report, follow the same standards when

electing to make a report.

PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS

Mandatory reporting statutes also

may specify when a communication is

privileged. “Privileged communications”

is the statutory recognition of the right

to maintain condential communications

between professionals and their clients,

patients, or congregants. To enable States to

provide protection to maltreated children,

the reporting laws in most States and

Territories restrict this privilege for mandated

reporters. All but three States and Puerto

Rico currently address the issue of privileged

communications within their reporting laws,

either afrming the privilege or denying it

(i.e., not allowing privilege to be grounds for

failing to report).

Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Jersey do not currently address the issue of privileged communications within their

reporting laws. The issue of privilege may be addressed elsewhere in these States’ statutes, such as in rules of evidence.

The physician-patient and

spousal privileges are the most common to be

denied by States. The attorney-client privilege

is most commonly afrmed. The clergy-

penitent privilege is also widely afrmed,

although that privilege usually is limited to

confessional communications and, in some

States, denied altogether.

New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Guam disallow the use of the clergy-

penitent privilege as grounds for failing to report suspected child abuse or neglect. For a more complete discussion of the

requirement for clergy to report child abuse and neglect, see Child Welfare Information Gateway’s Clergy as Mandated

Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In Louisiana, a

mental health or social services practitioner is

not required to report if an attorney engages

the practitioner to assist in the provision of

legal services to a child.

INCLUSION OF THE REPORTER’S

NAME IN THE REPORT

Most States maintain toll-free telephone

numbers for receiving reports of abuse or

neglect.

For State-specic information about these hotlines, see Information Gateway’s State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting

Numbers.

Reports may be made anonymously

to most of these reporting numbers. Still,

States nd it helpful to their investigations to

know the identity of reporters. Approximately

19 States,

the District of Columbia, American

Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands currently

require mandatory reporters to provide their

names and contact information, either at

the time of the initial oral report or as part

of a written report.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi,

Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Vermont

Connecticut, Delaware,

and Washington laws allow child protection

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov

workers to request the reporter’s name. In

Wyoming, the reporter does not have to

provide their identity as part of the written

report, but if the person takes and submits

photographs or x-rays of the child, their name

must be provided.

DISCLOSURE OF THE REPORTER’S

IDENTITY

All jurisdictions have provisions in statute

to maintain the condentiality of abuse and

neglect records. The reporter’s identity is

specically protected from disclosure to the

alleged perpetrator in 44 States,

the District

of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the

Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.

The statutes in Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and the Virgin Islands do not specically

protect a reporter’s identity but do provide for condentiality of records in general. For more information about this issue,

see Information Gateway’s Disclosure of Condential Child Abuse and Neglect Records.

This protection is maintained even when

other information from the report may be

disclosed.

Release of the reporter’s identity is allowed in

some jurisdictions under specic

circumstances or to specic departments or

ofcials, such as, for example, when

information is needed for conducting an

investigation or family assessment or upon a

nding that the reporter knowingly made a

false report.

In Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia, the name

of the reporter may be disclosed if it is determined that the reporter knowingly made a false report. For more information,

see Information Gateway’s Penalties for Failure to Report and False Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In six States,

the District of

Columbia, and Guam, the reporter can waive

condentiality and give consent to the release

of their name.

California, Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont

This publication is a product of the State

Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare

Information Gateway. While every attempt

has been made to be complete, additional

information on these topics may be in

other sections of a State’s code as well as

agency regulations, case law, and informal

practices and procedures.

SUGGESTED CITATION:

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2023).

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and

neglect.

U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, Administration for Children

and Families, Children’s Bureau. https://www.

childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-

policies/statutes/reporting/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/reporting/.

Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS | 800.394.3366 | Email: [email protected] | https://www.childwelfare.gov