Mandated Reporters - in New York State

When Am I Mandated to Report?

Mandated reporters are required to report suspected child

abuse or maltreatment when they are presented with a

reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or maltreatment in

a situation where a child, parent, or other person legally

responsible f or the child is bef ore the mandated reporter

when the mandated reporter is acting in his or her official or

prof essional capacity. “Other person legally responsible”

ref ers to a guardian, caretaker, or other person 18 years of

age or older who is responsible for the care of the child.

Mandated reporters who are social services workers have

expanded reporting requirements. Social services workers

are required to report when, in their of ficial or professional

role, they are presented with a reasonable cause to suspect

child abuse or maltreatment where any person is before the

mandated reporter and the mandated reporter is acting in his

or her of ficial or professional capacity.

What is a Professional Role?

For example, a doctor examining a child in her practice who

has a reasonable suspicion of abuse must report her concern.

In contrast, the doctor who witnesses child abuse when riding

her bike while of f-duty is not mandated to report that abuse.

The mandated reporter’s legal responsibility to report

suspected child abuse or maltreatment ceases when the

mandated

reporter stops practicing his/her profession. Of

course, anyone may report any suspected abuse or

maltreatment at any time and is encouraged to do so.

Reasonable Cause to Suspect

Reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or maltreatment

means that, based on your rational observations, professional

training and experience, you have a suspicion that the parent

or other person legally responsible for a child is responsible for

harming that child or placing that child in imminent danger of

harm. Your suspicion can be as simple as distrusting an

explanation for an injury.

Summary Guide for

Mandated Reporters

in New York State

This material provides mandated reporters with an overview of their obligations and some basic information about the New York

State Child Protective Services (CPS) system.

Who Are Mandated Reporters?

New York State recognizes that certain professionals are specially equipped to perform the important role of mandated reporter

of child abuse or maltreatment. Those professionals include:

✶

Physician

✶

Resident

✶

Social services worker

✶

Employees of a health home or health

home care management agency

contracting with a health home, who are

expected to have regular and substantial

contact with children.

✶

Registered physician's

assistant

✶

Intern

✶

Employee of a publicly funded

emergency shelter for families

with children

✶

Psychologist

✶

Surgeon

✶

Registered nurse

✶

Medical examiner

✶

Social worker

✶

Director of a

- children's overnight camp,

- summer day camp or

- traveling summer day camp

✶

Coroner

✶

Emergency medical technician

✶

Dentist

✶

Hospital personnel engaged in the

admission, examination, care or

treatment of persons

✶

Employees who provide home and

community-based services under a

Social Security Act §1115 demonstration

project, who are expected to have regular

and substantial contact with children.

✶

Dental hygienist

✶

Day care center worker

✶

Osteopath

✶

Christian science practitioner

✶

School age child care worker

✶

Optometrist

✶

School official, including (but not

limited to):

- teacher

- guidance counselor

- psychologist

- social worker

- nurse

- administrator or other school

personnel required to hold a

teaching or administrative

license or certificate

- full or part-time compensated

school employee required to

hold a temporary coaching

license or professional coaching

certificate

✶

Provider of family or - group

family day care

✶

Chiropractor

✶

Podiatrist

✶

Licensed creative arts

therapist

✶

Employee or volunteer

in a residential care facility

for children

✶

Peace officer

✶

Police officer

✶

Licensed marriage and

family therapist

✶

District attorney or

assistant district attorney

✶

Any other child care or foster

care worker

✶

Licensed mental health

counselor

✶

Investigator employed in the office of the

district attorney

✶

Mental health professional

✶

Licensed psychoanalyst

✶

Substance abuse counselor

✶

Any other law enforcement official

✶

Licensed behavior

analysts

✶

Alcoholism counselor

✶

All persons credentialed by the

NYS Office of Alcoholism

and Substance Abuse Services

✶

Certified behavior analyst

assistants

The entire current list can be found in Article 6, Title 6, and Section 413 of the New York Social Services Law. The website can be accessed

online through the New York State Legislature's Website (http://public .leginfo.state.ny. us/menuf.c gi). Click on Laws of New York to access

Social Services Law.

What Is Abuse and Maltreatment?

Abuse

Abuse encompasses the most serious injuries and/or risk of

serious injuries to children by their caregivers. An abused

child is one whose parent or other person legally responsible

f or his or her care inflicts serious physical injury upon the child,

creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury, or commits

a sex offense against the child. Abuse also includes situations

where a parent or other person legally responsible knowingly

allows someone else to inflict such harm on a child.

Maltreatm ent (Includes Neglect)

Maltreatment means that a child’s physical, mental or

emotional condition has been impaired, or placed in imminent

danger of impairment, by the f ailure of the child's parent or

other person legally responsible to exercise a minimum

degree of care by:

✶ f ailing to provide sufficient food, clothing, shelter,

education;

✶ f ailing to provide proper supervision, guardianship, or

medical care (refers to all medical issues, including

dental, optometric, or surgical care); or

✶ inf licting excessive corporal punishment, abandoning

the child, or misusing alcohol or other drugs to the extent

that the child was placed in imminent danger.

Poverty or other financial inability to provide the above is not

maltreatment.

Note: The definitions of abuse and maltreatment are different

for children in residential facilities operated or licensed by the

state.

How Do

Recognize Child Abuse and

Maltreatment?

The list that f ollows contains some common indicators of

abuse or maltreatment. This list is not all-inclusive, and some

abused or maltreated children may not show any of these

symptoms.

Indicators of Physical Abuse Can Include:

✶ Injuries to the eyes or both sides of the head or body

(accidental injuries typically only affect one side of the

body);

✶ Frequent injuries of any kind (bruises, cuts, and/or burns),

especially if the child is unable to provide an adequate

explanation of the cause. These may appear in distinctive

patterns such as grab marks, human bite marks, cigarette

burns, or impressions of other instruments;

✶ Destructive, aggressive, or disruptive behavior;

✶ Passive, withdrawn, or emotionless behavior;

✶ Fear of going home or fear of parent(s).

Indicators of Sexual Abuse Can Include:

✶ Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases;

✶ Injury to genital area;

✶ Dif ficulty and/or pain when sitting or walking;

Sexually suggestive, inappropriate, or promiscuous

behavior or verbalization;

✶ Expressing age-inappropriate knowledge of sexual

relations;

✶ Sexual victimization of other children.

Indicators of Maltreatment Can Include:

✶ Obvious malnourishment, listlessness, or fatigue;

✶ Stealing or begging for food;

✶ Lack of personal care—poor personal hygiene, torn and/or

dirty clothes;

✶ Untreated need f or glasses, dental care, or other medical

attention;

✶ Frequent absence from or tardiness to school;

✶ Child inappropriately lef t unattended or without

supervision.

Summary Guide for

Mandated Reporters

in New York State

Where Do I Call to Make a Report?

As soon as you suspect abuse or maltreatment, you must

report your concerns by telephone to the New York Statewide

Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR). The

SCR is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to receive

your call. The timeliness of your call is vital to the timeliness of

intervention by the local department of social services’ Child

Protective Services (CPS) unit. You are not required to notify

the parents or other persons legally responsible either before

or af ter your call to the SCR. In f act, in some cases, alerting

the parent may hinder the local CPS investigation and

adversely affect its ability to assess the safety of the children.

The telephone numbers to report abuse or maltreatment by a

parent, f oster care or day care are:

Mandated Reporter (800) 635-1522

Public Hotline (800) 342-3720

For Abuse by Institutional Staff:

1-855-373-2122

Oral reports to the SCR f rom a mandated reporter must be

f ollowed within 48 hours by a written report to the local

department of social services’ CPS unit on form LDSS-2221A.

A copy of this f orm and the local mailing address can be

obtained by contacting your local department of social

services, or by visiting the New York State Office of Children

and Family Services (OCFS) website at ocfs.ny.gov

. Click

on “Forms”, then click on “Try a keyword search…”, enter the

f orm number in the box and click “Find”.

To contact your local department of social services, click here:

https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/localdss.asp

What Happens When I Call the SCR?

There may be times when you have very little inf ormation on

which to base your suspicion of abuse or maltreatment, but

this should not prevent you f rom calling the SCR. A t rai ned

specialist at the SCR will help to determine if the inf ormation

you are providing can be registered as a report.

The LDSS-2221A Mandated Reporter f orm can be used to

help you organize the identifying or demographic inf ormation

you have at your disposal. Be sure to ask the SCR specialist

for the "Call I.D.” assigned to the report you have made.

If the SCR staf f does not register the child abuse or

maltreatment report, the reason for their decision should be

clearly explained to you. You may also request to speak to a

supervisor, who can help make determinations in difficult or

unusual cases.

Local CPS Role and Responsibilities

When a report is registered at the SCR, the local department

of social services is immediately notified for investigation and

follow-up. A local CPS caseworker will initiate an

investigation within 24 hours.

CPS intervention consists of an evaluation of the child and

other children in the home and the development of a plan to

meet the needs of the child and f amily. If there is an

immediate threat to the child's life or health, CPS may remove

the child f rom the home.

Upon request, CPS may obtain f rom the mandated reporter

those records that are essential to a f ull investigation of

alleged child abuse and maltreatment for any report made by

the mandated reporter. The mandated reporter must

determine which records are essential to the full investigation

and provide those records to CPS when requested to do so.

Within 60 days of initiating the investigation, CPS will

determine whether the report is indicated or unf ounded.

Mandated reporters may ask to be inf ormed of the outcome

of the report.

Law Enforcement Referrals

If a call to the SCR provides information about an immediate

threat to a child or a crime committed against a child, but the

perpetrator is not a parent or other person legally responsible

f or the child, the SCR staf f will make a Law Enf orcement

Referral (LER). The relevant information will be recorded and

transmitted to the New York State Police Information Network

or to the New York City Special Victims Liaison Unit. This is

not a CPS report, and local CPS will not be involved.

Summary Guide for

Mandated Reporters

in New York State

What Protection or Liability Do I Have?

Source Confidentiality

The Social Services Law provides confidentiality for mandated

reporters and all sources of child abuse and maltreatment

reports. OCFS and local CPS are not permitted to release to

the subject of the report any data that would identify the source

of a report unless the source has given written permission for

them to do so. Information regarding the source of the report

may be shared with court of ficials, police, and district

attorneys, but only in certain circumstances.

Immunity from Liability

If a mandated reporter makes a report with earnest concern

f or the welf are of a child, he or she is immune f rom any

criminal or civil liability that might result. This is referred to as

making a report in “good faith.”

Protection from Retaliatory Personnel Action

Section 413 of the Social Services Law specifies that no

medical or other public or private institution, school, facility or

agency shall take any retaliatory personnel action against an

employee who made a report to the SCR. Furthermore, no

school, school official, child care provider, foster care provider,

or mental health f acility provider shall impose any conditions,

including prior approval or prior notification, upon a member of

their staf f mandated to report suspected child abuse or

maltreatment.

Penalties for Failure to Report

Anyone who is mandated to report suspected child abuse or

maltreatment—and f ails to do so—could be charged with a

Class A misdemeanor and subject to criminal penalties.

Further, mandated reporters can be sued in a civil court for

monetary damages for any harm caused by the mandated

reporter's failure to make a report to the SCR.

Who Provides Training for Mandated Reporters?

The New York State Education Department (SED) Office of

the Prof essions oversees the training requirements for

mandated reporters. Some categories—including teachers,

many medical professionals, and social workers—need this

training as part of their licensing requirement. The training may

be included in their formal education program.

The New York State Of fice of Children and Family Services

(OCFS) is proud to be a certified provider authorized by SED

to of fer mandated reporter training and has developed a

comprehensive curriculum with content customized to medical

prof essionals, educators, law enf orcement personnel, day

care providers, and human services staff.

OCFS has shared this well-received curriculum wi t h o t her

certif ied providers of mandated reporter training, as well as

with colleges and universities across the state that provide

educational programming in the fields covered by the mandated

reporter statute.

OCFS provides mandated reporter training through a c

o ntractual

agreement with the CUNY School of Professional Studies.

OCFS of fers a Self -

Directed Online Training f or mandated

reporters. This two-hour web-

based online training course is

available 24/7 and is accessible at:

www.nysmandatedreporter.org.

There is no cost to the participant.

Special Note: Mandated Reporters who require licensure or

certification through the New York State Department of

Education (NYSED) are required to take mandated reporter

training from a trainer who has been approved by the New York

State Education Department. For more information, please go to

https://www.op.nysed.gov

or contact the New York State

Education Department at:

OPPLEUCA@mail.NYSSED.gov.

Conclusion

Protecting children and preventing child abuse and maltreatment

does not begin or end with reporting. Efforts to prevent child

abuse and maltreatment can only be effective when mandated

reporters and other concerned citizens' work together to improve

the saf ety net in their communities.

To be most effective, your local CPS needs strong partnerships

within your community. By getting to know the staff in your local

CPS unit, you will gain a better understanding of how your local

program is structured, and CPS will better understand how to

work more effectively with you.

By working together, we can better protect our vulnerable

children.

New York State Office of Children & Family Services

Capital View Office Park, 52 Washington Street

Rensselaer, New York 12144

To report child abuse and neglect,

call: 1-800-342-3720

For information on the Abandoned

Infant Protection Act, call:

1-866-505-SAFE (7233)

Mandated Reporters Hotline for

making child abuse and

maltreatment reports:

1-800-635-1522

Justice Center for Institutional

Abuse: 1-855-373-2122

For additional copies of this pamphlet

visit our website at: ocfs.ny.gov and

click on

“P

ublications.”

htt ps: //facebook.com/nysocfs

https://mobile.tw itter.com/nysocfs

ht tps://mobile.tw it t er.com/nysocf s_espanol

Pub-1159 (Rev. 04/2021)

Summary Guide for

Mandated Reporters

in New York State