Mandated Reporter Academy
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How to Report

Arkansas (AR)

Who is required to report?

Citation: Ann. Code § 12-18-402

The following individuals are mandated reporters:

  • Child care, daycare, or foster care workers
  • Coroners
  • Dentists and dental hygienists
  • Domestic abuse advocates and domestic violence shelter employees or volunteers
  • Employees of the Department of Human Services
  • Employees working under contract for the Division of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services
  • Foster parents
  • Judges, law enforcement officials, peace officers, and prosecuting attorneys
  • Licensed nurses, physicians, mental health professionals or paraprofessionals, surgeons, resident interns, osteopaths, and medical personnel who may be engaged in the admission, examination, care, or treatment of persons

 

A full-time or part-time employee of a public school or private school, including, without limitation, the following:

  • A school counselor, official, or teacher
  • A coach or director of a public or private athletic organization, team, or club
  • A coach or director of a public or private nonathletic organization, team, or club
  • A person who is at least 21 and volunteers in a public school or private school as either of the following:
    • As a coach or director of a public or private athletic organization, team, or club
    • As a coach or director of a public or private nonathletic organization, team, or club
    • A person employed as a school official in an institution of higher education
  • Social workers and juvenile intake or probation officers
  • Court-appointed special advocate program staff members or volunteers
    Attorneys ad litem
  • Clergy members, which include ministers, priests, rabbis, accredited Christian Science practitioners, or other similar functionaries of a religious organization
  • Employees of a child advocacy center or a child safety center
  • Sexual abuse advocates or volunteers who work with victims of sexual abuse
  • Child abuse advocates or volunteers who work with child victims of abuse or maltreatment as employees of a community-based victim service or a mental health agency
  • Victim/witness coordinators
  • Victim assistance professionals or volunteers
  • Employees of the Crimes Against Children Division of the Department of Arkansas State Police
  • Employees or volunteers at reproductive health-care facilities
  • An individual not otherwise identified in this subsection who is engaged in performing their employment duties with a nonprofit charitable organization other than a nonprofit hospital
  • A child welfare ombudsman

When is a report required?

Citation: AR Code § 12-18-402 (2024)

Mandated reporters shall immediately notify the Child Abuse Hotline if he or she:

  • Has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has:
  • Been subjected to child maltreatment;
  • Died as a result of child maltreatment; or
  • Died suddenly and unexpectedly; or
  • Observes a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in child maltreatment

What information should the report include?

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 12-18-303; 12-18-606

For an investigation to commence, the report must contain sufficient information to identify and locate the child or the family.
If the alleged offender is a family member, fictive kin, or lives in the home with the alleged victim, an investigation under this chapter shall seek to determine the following:

  • The existence, cause, nature, and extent of the child maltreatment
  • The existence and extent of previous injuries
  • The identity of the person responsible for the child maltreatment
  • The names and conditions of other children in the home
  • The circumstances of the parents or caregivers of the child
  • The environment where the child resides
  • The relationship of the child or children with the parents or caregivers
  • All other pertinent data

Failure to report

Citation: Alaska Stat. § 47.17.068

A person who fails to comply with the laws requiring reports of child abuse or neglect or child pornography and who knew or should have known that the circumstances gave rise to the need for a report is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.