Good Intentions, Harmful Consequences. The Reality of Mandated Reporting.

7.7 million children were referred to CPS. 7% confirmed victims of maltreatment.

For decades, mandated reporting laws have led to the over-surveillance and separation of families. These laws require certain professionals – such as teachers, doctors, and social workers – to contact child protective authorities when they suspect child abuse or neglect. Federal law ties funding to state reporting systems, but states decide who must report, what must be reported, and what happens after a report is made.

Mandated reporting laws were enacted largely in response to a landmark 1962 medical paper, which argued that physicians were failing to recognize and report suspected cases of child abuse to authorities.

In practice today, broad reporting requirements, fear of liability, and institutional pressure have too often made Child Protective Services (CPS) referrals the default response, particularly for low-income families whose financial hardship is routinely conflated with neglect.

In most states, neglect is defined so broadly in the law that the everyday conditions of poverty, such as inadequate housing, a lack of child care, food insecurity, or unmet medical needs, can trigger CPS involvement even when parents are doing everything they can to care for their children.

Fear of liability compounds the problem: mandated reporters can face civil and criminal penalties for not reporting suspected maltreatment, but they receive immunity from liability for a good-faith report, even when it turns out to be unfounded. In other words, the system incentivizes reporting whenever uncertainty exists.

Professionals may submit CPS reports about families who they believe would benefit from supportive services and resources, but whose children are not otherwise at risk. Yet, instead of generating support, each report can bring intrusive questioning, investigative home visits, and forced family separation – commonly without a court order.These harms fall disproportionately on Black, Native American, and under-resourced families.

Nationwide, more than half of Black children experience a CPS investigation before they turn 18, compared with roughly a quarter of White children.

CPS agencies across the U.S. received 4,365,000 referrals alleging child maltreatment in 2024—involving 7.7 million children. Only 7% of those children were later identified as victims of child abuse or neglect. The gap between reports and confirmed cases has drawn growing scrutiny, with overreporting straining CPS agencies and making it harder for them to focus on children who are in danger.

Overreporting may also lead families to disengage from services and professionals who can help address their life challenges. A parent may fear taking their child to a doctor after an accident. A student may not open up to a teacher. A caregiver may not seek mental health care. As trust erodes, parents and youth are afraid to access the very supports that could promote well-being and prevent crises.

Child safety and family stability are strongest when families can access support early and without fear. That’s why Children’s Rights is leading the New York Mandated Reporting Working Group, a collaborative that is advancing policy solutions to reduce the harms of mandated reporting and help professionals connect families to the support they need.