Mandated Reporting

The Internet report will replace the initial phone call and will eliminate the need to follow up in writing. In late 2017, Los Angeles County voted to allow implementation for its Department of Child and Family Services to develop this type of pilot program. Agencies may want to explore whether their county’s agency has implemented this pilot program, as the Internet reporting may be more convenient in cases where imminent harm is not feared. If the programs are deemed effective and successful, there is the possibility that the Legislature will move to expand them after 2020. F. C ONFIDENTIALITY OF I DENTITY OF R EPORTER Child abuse reports are confidential and should be disclosed only to personnel who are a part of the reporting procedure stated above. 59 Child abuse reports should be kept in a separate, confidential file either by the reporter or an administrator. A reporter should never give a copy of the report to the parent of the child involved, or to anyone else who does not specifically have legal permission to receive the report. 60 The confidentiality provisions under CANRA apply to the police and child protection workers in their capacity as the agencies in charge of investigating the known or reasonably suspected case of child abuse. 61 Police and investigators must keep the identity of all persons who report confidential, and they may not disclose the identity of the reporter to the reporter’s employer unless the employee consents or the court orders the disclosure. 62

It is a misdemeanor for anyone – including a police officer – to disclose child abuse reports, except in very limited circumstances. 63 For example, disclosure may be made to:

 An investigator from an agency or the agency investigating a report of child abuse, though the identity of the person who reports shall be kept confidential, disclosed only among the agencies receiving or investigating the mandated reports, or county counsel as applicable, and shall not be disclosed to the reporter’s employer except with the employee’s consent or a court order; 64  Department of Justice disclosures to agencies authorized to receive the information;  Persons or agencies responsible for the licensing of facilities which care for children;  The State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency which has contracted with the state, when an individual has applied for a community care license or child day care license, or for employment in an out-of-home care facility, or when a complaint alleges child abuse or neglect by an operator or employee of an out-of-home care facility;



Coroners and medical examiners;

Mandated Reporting ©2020 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 16