Examining Mandated Reporting Policies and Reports Rates and Likelihood of Substantiation

Introduction. The child welfare system relies on mandated reporters (i.e., people who are required to report child abuse and neglect due to their profession) to detect and report child maltreatment. The definition of who is a mandated reporter and the policies governing them have expanded over the years and many states now require all adults over age 18 to report suspicions of maltreatment (e.g., universal mandated reporting). However, little is known about the effectiveness of mandated reporting policies including mandated reporting definitions and related policy characteristics such as training, penalties for not reporting, and the ability to report anonymously. Furthermore, little is known about the effectiveness of these policies and the accurate detection of different forms of maltreatment (e.g., neglect.

Methods. The current study utilizes the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the State Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Policies Database to examine the relationship between aspects of state-level mandated reporting policies and reported incidences of child maltreatment. Multilevel linear regression models were run to examine report rates (DV) and the associated policy characteristics (IV), and multilevel logistic regression was run to examine likelihood of substantiation (DV) and the policy characteristics (IV). Next, we ran the same multilevel models with interaction terms for race/ethnicity and type of maltreatment (e.g., neglect only, neglect and another form of maltreatment, and non-neglect). All models controlled for child race/ethnicity, child age, and previous maltreatment.

Findings. There were no direct relationships between rates of reporting or likelihood of substantiation and any of the policy characteristics (i.e., universal mandated reporting, training requirements, ability to report anonymously, penalties for not reporting, severity of penalties). While there were no direct effects, there were several statistically significant findings from the moderation analyses. When examining likelihood of substantiation, in states with universal mandated reporting, reports that included neglect and another form of maltreatment and non-neglect reports had higher odds of being substantiated than neglect-only reports. Additionally, in states with anonymous reporting, reports of neglect and another form of maltreatment and non-neglect reports had higher odds of substantiation than neglect-only reports. Lastly, in states with training requirements, neglect and another form of maltreatment and non-neglect reports had lower odds of substantiation than neglect only reports.

Discussion. The current study aims to better understand how different mandated reporting policy characteristics are associated with the accurate detection of child maltreatment without overburdening child welfare systems and over-surveilling families. Having better knowledge of how policy characteristics contribute to the accurate detection of child maltreatment allows social workers to advocate for policies that protect children while also preventing unnecessary involvement with the child welfare system. Policy, practice, and research implications will be discussed.