Mandated Reporter Academy
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How to Report

California (CA)

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Who is required to report?

Citation: Penal Code § 11165.7

Mandated reporters include the following:

  • Teachers, teacher's aides, administrators, and employees of public or private schools
  • Administrators or employees of day camps, youth centers, or youth recreation programs
  • Administrators or employees of licensed community care or child daycare facilities
  • Head Start program teachers
  • Public assistance workers
  • Foster parents, group home personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities
  • Social workers, probation officers, and parole officers
  • Employees of school district police or security departments
  • District attorney investigators, inspectors, or local child support agency caseworkers
  • Peace officers and firefighters, except for volunteer firefighters
  • Physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, residents, interns, podiatrists, chiropractors, licensed nurses, dental hygienists, optometrists, marriage and family therapists, or social workers
  • State or county public health employees who treat minors for venereal diseases or other conditions
  • Coroners and medical examiners
  • Commercial film and photographic print or image processors
  • Computer technicians
  • Child visitation monitors
  • Animal control or humane society officers
  • Clergy members and custodians of records of clergy members
  • Employees of police departments, county sheriff's departments, county probation departments, or county welfare departments
  • Employees or volunteers of a court-appointed special advocate program
  • Alcohol and drug counselors
  • Employees or administrators of public or private postsecondary institutions
  • Athletic coaches, athletic administrators, or athletic directors employed by any public or private schools
  • Athletic coaches, including, but not limited to, assistant coaches or graduate assistants involved in coaching at public or private postsecondary institutions
  • A qualified autism service provider
  • A human resource employee of a business that employs minors
  • An adult person whose duties require direct contact with and supervision of minors in the performance of the minors' duties in the workplace

When is a report required?

Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166; 11165.7

A report is required when the following circumstances apply:

  • A mandated reporter, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the reporter knows or reasonably suspects is the victim of abuse or neglect
  • Commercial film and photographic print processors have knowledge of or observe any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide depicting a child under age 16 engaged in an act of sexual conduct
  • Commercial computer technicians have knowledge of or observe, within the scope of their professional capacity or employment, any representation of information, data, or an image, including, but not limited to:
    • Any computer hardware, software, file, floppy disk, data storage medium, CD-ROM, computer-generated equipment, or computer-generated image,
    • That is retrievable in perceivable form,
    • And that is intentionally saved, transmitted, or organized on an electronic medium,
    • Depicting a child under age 16 engaged in an act of sexual conduct

Definition of "Reasonable Suspicion":

  • "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 their training and experience, to suspect child abuse or neglect

"Reasonable suspicion" does not require:

  • Certainty that child abuse or neglect has occurred, or
  • A specific medical indication of child abuse or neglect
  • Any reasonable suspicion is sufficient

Note: The pregnancy of a minor does not, in and of itself, constitute a basis for a reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse

What information should the report include?

Citation: Penal Code § 11167(a)

Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect shall include the following:

  • The name, business address, and telephone number of the mandated reporter
  • The capacity that makes the person a mandated reporter
  • The information that gave rise to the reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect and the source or sources of that information

If a report is made, the following information, if known, also shall be included in the report:

  • The child's name, address, present location, and, if applicable, school, grade, and class
  • The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the child's parents or guardians
  • The name, address, telephone number, and other relevant personal information about the person or persons who might have abused or neglected the child

The mandated reporter shall make a report even if some of this information is not known or is uncertain to him or her.

Failure to report

Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166(c); 11166.01

Any mandated reporter who fails to report an incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or neglect is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail or by a fine of $1,000, or both. If a mandated reporter intentionally conceals his or her failure to report an incident known by the mandated reporter to be abuse or severe neglect, the failure to report is a continuing offense until an agency specified in § 11165.9 discovers the offense.

Any supervisor or administrator who violates § 11166(1) (that prohibits impeding others from making a report), shall be punished by not more than 6 months in a county jail or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.
Any mandated reporter who willfully fails to report abuse or neglect, or any person who impedes or inhibits a report of abuse or neglect, where that abuse or neglect results in death or great bodily injury, shall be punished by not more than 1 year in a county jail or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.