Mandatory State Reporting Laws

An Excel spreadsheet with a listing of state reporting requirements for suspected or observed abuse of a child is available in PDF format (If you wish to print the PDF file be sure to use legal paper).  The states are grouped by type of reporting requirement instead of as a state by state listing.

• The first category is a list of states where any person who suspects or observes abusive behavior is required to file a report.
• The next category is a list of states that do not have a general requirement for all persons, but where there is a specific requirement for clergy.
• Then, there are a few categories where there is no specific clergy reporting requirement, but where some members of the clergy might be required to report based on their particular activities or role.
• Finally, there are those states that do not appear to have any reporting requirement that clergy might fall within.
  

The last column on the chart indicates whether or not a "Clergy-Penitent" privilege exists (or specifically excluded). The privilege, when it exists, is limited to situations where a member of the clergy becomes aware of the abuse through confessions or in her/his capacity as a spiritual advisor. Given the broad spectrum of activities we undertake as clergy, we should not assume that the existence of the privilege is equal to a blanket exemption from reporting requirements. For example, privilege does not apply to knowledge gained during therapeutic counseling sessions unless the person making the disclosure is doing so only to seek penance or forgiveness from God (as opposed to seeking an opinion, venting, confiding in a friend, or "letting your hair down").

Laws change constantly from state to state. In fact, the attached is based on laws that were in effect in 2002. REMEMBER: This information should be used as a tool and not as legal advice.

Laws exist merely to establish the baseline for conduct in our society. They are not all encompassing (no matter how many volumes they fill) nor are they intended to address every possible situation one will face. More often than not, they express only the minimum required conduct as opposed to desired considerations that rise to a higher standard than the legal standard.