Mandated Reporting
Many professionals and caregivers are considered mandated reporters. When reporters, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, have knowledge of or observe a child who they reasonably suspect has been the victim of child abuse or neglect, they are obligated to make a report.
The mandated reporter shall make an initial report by telephone immediately or as soon as is practicably possible, and shall prepare and send, fax, or electronically transmit a written follow-up report within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident. The mandated reporter may include with the report any non-privileged documentary evidence the mandated reporter possesses relating to the incident.
To make a report, a mandated reporter must contact the appropriate local law enforcement or county child welfare agency, listed below.
- A Police or Sheriff’s Department (not including a school district police department or school security department)
- A County Welfare Department/County Child Protective Services
- Tulare County Child Welfare Services 1-800-331-1585
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- What to Report?
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Under the law, when the victim is a child (a person under the age of 18) and the perpetrator is any person (including a child). This page contains the types of abuse must be reported by all legally mandated reporters.
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- Who is a mandated reporter?
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A mandated reporter, as defined by the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), is someone required to report knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse, obtained while acting in a professional capacity or within the scope of one’s employment.
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- Suspected Child Abuse Report Form (SCAR)
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The mandated reporter shall make an initial report by telephone immediately or as soon as is practicably possible, and shall prepare and send via fax or electronically transmit a written follow-up report within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident.
