Guidelines on Reporting Child Abuse

From The California Therapist, November/December 2005

Mary Riemersma, Executive Director

The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists

Based upon existing law, and legislation passed in 2005 and taking effect January 1, 2006, the following guidelines have been prepared to assist therapists in making child abuse reports:

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MANDATED REPORTER
Learn to be assertive in making child abuse reports. You are the mandated reporter and you hold the liability if you fail to make a report, even if a worker resists taking your report. Remember that agencies that are required to receive reports of suspected child abuse or neglect may not refuse to accept a report from a mandated reporter and such persons are to maintain records of all reports received.

Reports may be made to (fill in the telephone numbers of these entities in advance so that you have them when you need them):

Police Department: ____________________________________________
Sheriff Department:_____________________________________________
County Welfare Department: _____________________________________
County Probation Department*: ___________________________________
If designated by the county to receive mandated reports

THE RULE: A mandated reporter shall make a report to a specified agency, whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. The mandated reporter shall make an initial report to the agency immediately or as soon as is practicably possible by telephone and the mandated reporter shall prepare and send, fax, or electronically transmit a written follow-up report thereof within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident. The mandated reporter may include with the report any nonprivileged documentary evidence the mandated reporter possesses relating to the incident. Notification and written report are required even if the child has expired. (P.C. §11166)

Reasonable suspicion means that it is objectively reasonable for a person to entertain a suspicion, based upon facts that could cause a reasonable person in a like position, drawing, when appropriate, on his or her training and experience, to suspect child abuse or neglect. (P.C. 11166)

JURISDICTIONAL CONCERNS
These reports are to be taken by any of the agencies listed, even if the agency to whom the report is being made lacks subject matter or geographical jurisdiction to investigate the case. (P.C. 11165.9)

Should the agency refuse, based upon subject matter or geographical jurisdiction, ask to speak with the worker’s supervisor and attempt to impress upon the worker’s supervisor the need to take the report. Resist the suggestion of the worker that you should call another entity, e.g., the worker tells you to call the Police when you have called County Welfare. When an agency takes a report about a case of suspected child abuse or neglect in which that agency lacks jurisdiction, it is the agency’s responsibility to immediately refer the case by telephone, fax, or electronic transmission to an agency with proper jurisdiction. Resist the suggestion of the worker that you should call another county to make the report, the worker has a duty to take your report. Resist the suggestion of the worker who tells you to call an out-ofstate entity when the abuse occurred in another state. As a mandated reporter in California, you are to make child abuse reports pursuant to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) only in California. When you have a reasonable, or greater, suspicion that child abuse or neglect has occurred, do not take “no” for an answer when attempting to make a report. Impress upon the worker that he/she has a duty to take the report, just like you have a duty to make the report.

REPORTING PROCEDURES
Mandated reporters are required to submit reports of child abuse or suspected child abuse by an initial telephone report and a written follow-up report within 36 hours. (P.C. 11166) Initial telephone reports of child abuse or suspected child abuse are the preferred method of initially reporting child abuse because the screener answering the call from the mandated reporter has the opportunity to assess the validity and seriousness of the report for purposes of expediting further investigation. In addition, telephone reporting allows for screeners to ask for additional known information from the mandated reporter that might not otherwise be conveyed in a written report. By allowing reports of child abuse or suspected child abuse to be received by a means that excludes the initial telephone report, the agency receiving the report loses an essential tool in expediting child abuse investigations: the ability to assess the situation through direct contact with the mandated reporter.

You should make every reasonable effort to make the required initial report by telephone. However, if after making reasonable efforts you are unable to submit an initial report by telephone (e.g., receiving a continuously busy signal, a message machine picks up the call and the call is not returned promptly, the worker fails or refuses to take the report), you must immediately, or as soon as is practicably possible, make a onetime automated written report on the form prescribed by the Department of Justice. This report must be made by fax or electronic transmission. You should have these numbers and e-mail addresses in advance so that you are prepared when the necessity to have them arises. You must also be available to respond to a telephone follow-up call by the agency where the report was filed. If you file a one-time automated written report, because you were unable to submit an initial report by telephone, you are not required to submit a written follow-up report. This one-time written report form is to be clearly identifiable so that it is not mistaken for a standard written follow-up report. Such a report is to contain a section for you to state the reason that the initial telephone call could not be completed. Should the form not provide a place to indicate that the telephone report could not be made, write such a note at the top of the form and document your records accordingly.

When two or more persons, who are required to report, jointly have knowledge of a known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect, the telephone report may be made by a member of the team and a single report may be filed by one member of the team. (P.C. 11166) In such case, be sure to document your records accordingly.

If you have questions about whether something is reportable, what your responsibility is in making a report, the willingness or lack thereof of the entity you are calling to take a report of child abuse, or any other details about this or any other legal, ethical or business concern, call CAMFT at (888) 892-2638 as soon as practically possible for suggestions and guidance.

In any event, when you are of the opinion that you have a reportable situation, yet you have a worker unwilling to take the report, document your files accordingly as to the reason the report would not be taken (the act does not constitute child abuse in the mind of the worker or the act is not actionable by the agency), and then submit the written report by mail, fax, or electronic transmission, as required by law. Once again, note at the top of the form the reason the worker refused to take the report, if there is not a special place on the form for such information. If the worker tells you that the reportable situation is not reportable, or that he/she is not going to take the report, what he/she may really be saying is that the report is not actionable by them. You, nevertheless, have a responsibility to file the written report. You may want to ask for a superior to impress upon him or her the agency’s obligation to take the telephone report that you are required to make.

To obtain the most current version of the child abuse and neglect reporting form for California, go to http://caag.state.ca.us/ childabuse/pdf/ss_8572.pdf. Or, should that not work for you, go to www.google.com, and enter “CA Child Abuse Reporting Form.”

REPORTERS, NOT INVESTIGATORS
Mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect have no responsibility to investigate cases of child abuse and neglect following compliance with having made the mandatory telephone and follow-up written report. Once your reporting obligation has been fulfilled, you have no obligation to provide additional information to the entities or individuals charged with receiving child abuse reports. For example, should a worker, investigator or law enforcement officer, responsible for the investigation of your report, contact you for additional information regarding the child or the family under investigation, you have no obligation to provide such information. If however, the investigator is contacting you merely to clarify something you already included in the report, you are permitted to provide such a clarification.

In addition, workers and investigators have no authority to direct you, as a mandated reporter, to investigate or to do anything other than file a report.

This article appeared in the November/December 2005 issue of The California Therapist, the publication of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, headquartered in San Diego, California. This article is intended to provide guidelines for addressing difficult legal dilemmas. It is not intended to address every situation that could potentially arise, nor is it intended to be a substitute for independent legal advice or consultation. When using such information as a guide, be aware that laws, regulations and technical standards change over time, and thus one should verify and update any references or information contained herein.