Mandated Reporting: Federal and State Legal Requirements

Learning Objectives

Learners will be able to describe the variation in federal and state laws related to child welfare reporting for substance exposure at birth.

• Provide a high-level explanation about what CAPTA is (contrast with what people think it is)
• Name the ways that racism and other isms show up in reporting policies and practice
• Recognize that hospital policies are often more restrictive than what is legally required
• List the situations in which reporting is actually mandated
• Name the legal consequences of not making a report
• Describe what happens after a report is made

Reflection Questions

Choose 1 of the 2 sets of questions below:

Set 1:

Describe a time when you helped a patient/client

     -What does it feel like to recall that case?

Describe a time when you may have harmed a patient or client

      What does it feel like to recall that case?

How do you navigate the risk of harm with the possibility of benefit in your work?

Set 2:

What does it mean for your clients if child welfare “services” are unhelpful? What about if they are harmful?

What does it mean for your work if child welfare “services” are unhelpful? What about if they are harmful?