Approximately 48 States, the District of Columbia, American
Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands designate professions whose members are
mandated by law to report child maltreatment.1 Individuals
designated as mandatory reporters typically have frequent
contact with children. Such individuals may include:
• Social workers
• Teachers, principals, and other school personnel
• Physicians, nurses, and other health-care workers
• Counselors, therapists, and other mental health professionals
• Child care providers
• Medical examiners or coroners
• Law enforcement officers
Some other professions frequently mandated across the States
include commercial film or photograph processors (in 12 States,
Guam, and Puerto Rico), substance abuse counselors (in 14
States), and probation or parole officers (in 17 States).2 Directors,
employees, and volunteers at entities that provide organized
activities for children, such as camps, day camps, youth centers,
and recreation centers, are required to report in 11 States.3
Seven States and the District of Columbia include domestic
violence workers on the list of mandated reporters, while seven
States and the District of Columbia include animal control
or humane officers.4 Court‑appointed special advocates are
mandatory reporters in 10 States.5 Members of the clergy now
are required to report in 27 States and Guam.6
Four States now have designated as mandatory reporters
faculty, administrators, athletics staff, and other employees and
volunteers at institutions of higher learning, including public and
private colleges and universities and vocational and technical
schools.7
Reporting by Other Persons
In approximately 18 States and Puerto Rico, any person who
suspects child abuse or neglect is required to report. Of
these 18 States, 16 States and Puerto Rico specify certain
professionals who must report but also require all persons to
report suspected abuse or neglect, regardless of profession.8
New Jersey and Wyoming require all persons to report without
specifying any professions. In all other States, territories, and the
District of Columbia, any person is permitted to report. These
voluntary reporters of abuse are often referred to as “permissive
reporters.”...
...The circumstances under which a mandatory reporter must make
a report vary from State to State.
Typically, a report must be
made when the reporter, in his or her official capacity, suspects
or has reasons to believe that a child has been abused or
neglected.
Another standard frequently used is in situations in
which the reporter has knowledge of, or observes a child being
subjected to, conditions that would reasonably result in harm to
the child. Permissive reporters follow the same standards when
electing to make a report....
...
https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.pdf