Mercer County Children and Youth Services
Mandated Reporting
| MANDATED REPORTERS IN PENNSYLVANIA |
A Mandated Reporter is defined as - A person who, in the course of employment, occupation or practice of a profession, has reasonable cause to suspect, on the basis of medical, professional or other training and experience, that a child under the care, supervision, guidance or training of that person or of an agency, institution, organization or other entity with which that person is affiliated is a victim of child abuse, including child abuse by an individual who is not a perpetrator. It is not necessary for mandated reporters to determine if an individual is a perpetrator under the CPSL and a report shall be made to ChildLine regardless of the status of the individual. The only exceptions to this are in respect to confidential communications made with a member of the clergy or an attorney. A mandated reporter includes but is not limited to a licensed physician, medical examiner, coroner, funeral director, dentist, optometrist, osteopath, chiropractor, psychologist, podiatrist, intern, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, a Christian Science practitioner, member of the clergy, school administrator, school teacher, school nurse, social services worker, day care center worker, child care or foster care worker, mental health professional, and a peace officer or law enforcement official. HOW TO MAKE A REPORT A report can be made to Mercer County Children and Youth Services by calling:
CONFIDENTIALITY The law requires the name of the mandated reporter to be kept confidential except in certain instances specified by law. In most cases, the identity of a person who makes a report of suspected abuse or cooperates in a subsequent investigation is kept confidential and cannot be released by Mercer County Children and Youth Services. If the case must be reported to law enforcement officials by Mercer County Children and Youth Services, the names of the persons who made the report or cooperated in the investigation must be given to law enforcement officials upon request. Law enforcement officials must treat the reporting sources and persons who cooperated in the investigation as confidential informants. Any person outside of Mercer County Children and Youth Services who receives information regarding suspected child abuse is also subject to the confidentiality provisions of the CPSL. They are required to ensure the confidentiality and security of the information and are liable for civil and criminal penalties if they release information to persons who are not permitted access to it. RECENT AND UPCOMING LEGISLATION REGARDING MANDATED REPORTS
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