The New Social Worker Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 2013 | Page 18

Making the Tough Call: Social Workers as Mandated Reporters
Part II: Whose Responsibility Is It? Reporting in the Workplace by Kathryn S. Krase, Ph.D., J.D., MSW
Editor’s Note: In Part I (Spring 2013), we looked at what it means to be a mandated reporter. Whereas the agency can be held legally liable for an employee’s failure to report suspected child maltreatment under Respondeat Superior, the employee is also liable for the failure, even if his/her supervisor said not to make the report.

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n some states, all adults are required by law to report suspicions of child maltreatment (they are mandated reporters), but in most cases, the legal obligation to report suspicions of child maltreatment is related to the professional role of the reporter. This article will discuss how the social worker should navigate his/her responsibility as a mandated reporter in the workplace. Many social workers work in private practice, or aspire to. In private practice, the social worker is the ultimate authority on decisions related to his/her work, including the decision to report suspected child maltreatment. However, most social workers, especially those early in their professional careers, work in an agency setting. In the agency setting, social workers’ responsibilities are further prescribed by agency policy and supervisors. In agency settings, the decision to report suspected child abuse and neglect can be a point of stress or contention. The agency is responsible for actions taken by employees through the expected course of practice. This responsibility is defined in legal doctrine by the Latin phrase Respondeat Superior. Under Respondeat Superior, if social workers fail to make a report of suspected child maltreatment related to a case that they were assigned by the agency, the agency AND the social worker can be sued for failing to protect the child from future harm. As a result of this extension of liability to agencies for the actions of their employees, agencies usually have written policies that prescribe responsibilities of employees related to various obligations, including mandated reporting. It is your responsibility to identify, read, and study these agency policies. Although your agency employer is ultimately responsible for what you do

Conferring with Colleagues
As social workers, we appreciate the benefits of processing our thoughts and feelings about our practice with supervisors and colleagues. Our professional practice related to mandated reporting should be no different. Social workers should confer with supervisors and colleagues about treatment options for clients, as well as about our concerns related to the decision to report suspected child maltreatment. Especially early in professional practice, a social worker may have suspicions of child maltreatment related to a client, but not be sure if the suspicions are warranted, or whether a report to child protective services (CPS) is necessary. This is why the social worker should always talk to a supervisor prior to making a decision about reporting to CPS. When a social worker talks to a colleague or supervisor, the social worker may receive feedback that reinforces his/ her concerns. This process may help the social worker realize that his/her concerns are actually suspicions of child maltreatment that he/she is legally required to report to CPS. The opposite is also possible. When a social worker talks to a colleague or supervisor about his/her concerns, the social worker may receive feedback that helps the social worker determine that he/she does not have actual suspicions about child maltreatment. It may happen that instead, the social worker determines that his/her concerns were related to differences in experiences and expectations related to his/her own upbringing or parenting. In this case, conferring with

on the job, merely informing a supervisor or colleague about your suspicions of child maltreatment DOES NOT discharge your legal duty as a mandated reporter to make a report to child protective services (CPS). You must make the report yourself, or insure that the report is made on your behalf (depending on the state in which you work). In some states, agencies are allowed to designate a particular staff member who makes the actual calls to CPS, even if he/she does not have firsthand knowledge about the suspicions. These individuals are usually called the “designated reporter” or “agency reporter.” Some states have recently changed their laws away from this model. In states that allow the “designated reporter” to make the report, it is important for the social worker to know that his/her responsibility to report is not satisfied merely by informing the designated reporter of his/her concerns. The social worker does not discharge his/her legal obligation to report until the actual report is made to CPS. However, no matter what setting you work in, the ultimate responsibility to report lies with you as the individual mandated reporter, not with the agency.

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The New Social Worker

Summer 2013