Child Maltreatment: Mandated Reporting

The adoption of mandated reporting statutes in the 1960s marked a cultural shift in how society viewed child maltreatment and our responsibility to protect children from harm. This chapter explores the early efforts of child maltreatment pioneers to raise awareness about non-accidental injuries and build a system for intervention. With the enactment of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA - 1974), all states implemented some type of reporting process, initially targeting professionals who regularly interacted with children (physicians, teachers, counselors, and law enforcement officers) to report suspicions of child maltreatment. Most states developed 24/7 staffed hotline systems for capturing reporter’s information, screening the content and initiating investigations when warranted. Over the years the categories of professions required to report have grown to include numerous disciplines, with some states adopting universal mandated reporting that require all community members to take responsibility for reporting child maltreatment. Research indicates that mandated reporters have encountered challenges with reporting, from concerns about making mistakes to believing that they must have documented evidence of abuse in order to report. Additionally, some reporters are concerned about retaliation for reporting or about lack of response from the child welfare system. Mandated reporter training continues to be a problem across numerous disciplines, many of whom have had little to no training to fully understand the roles and responsibilities of mandated reporters.