Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

In the United States and its territories, when a physician, nurse or other medical professional suspects that a child has been abused or neglected, they are legally obligated to report that suspicion to children’s protective services. This paper briefly describes the current state of mandatory child maltreatment reporting laws. It begins with a discussion of the origin and history of these laws before providing an overview of contemporary reporting requirements. This paper will not address in detail permissive reporting, which is available to any individual who is concerned about a child’s safety. Because this discussion aims to summarize the current state of the law, it will not provide a critique of these laws or address the recent, radical calls to eliminate mandated reporting altogether. Rather, this paper provides an overview of child abuse and neglect reporting laws and their operation and is not intended to provide information about specific states or to address a professional’s obligations in specific cases. For specifics applicable to any particular state, individual medical provider, or specific case, it will be essential that the reader consult that state’s laws and local experts.

Keywords: Child abuse, neglect, maltreatment, reporting, legal aspects