Making the Tough Call
Inside New York's Updated Mandated Reporter Training
"The question is, has the child been harmed, or is the child in imminent danger of harm as a result of [their living] conditions? If you determine that, you can make a report."
104609 Making the Decision to Report Suspected Child Maltreatment: ADDENDUM to Updated NYS Mandated Reporter Training 2026
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has amended Section 413 of the Social Services Law to require training on recognizing abuse or neglect in children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. As a result, all mandated reporters are now required to complete an updated training workshop by November 17, 2026. This addendum version of the training meets the updated New...
Child abuse wasn't always treated as a social problem.
As Dr. Kathryn Krase explained during her August 6th presentation, before the mid-1800s, American society paid little attention to what happened inside other families' homes: infant and child mortality were so common that childhood itself was rarely the focus of public concern. That began to shift as the country urbanized. But, once people were living in closer proximity in growing cities, what happened to a neighbor's child started to matter in a way it hadn't before.
The Case That Started It All
The turning point came in 1875, with the case of Mary Ellen Wilson, an eight-year-old girl in Manhattan whose abuse at the hands of a foster caretaker became public after neighbors heard her cries but had no one to call: there was no child protective system, and the police of the era focused on property crimes, not family welfare.
Her case led a social worker and a group of lawyers to found the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC), the country's first mechanism for investigating reports of child abuse. It was privately funded, privately run, and (as Dr. Krase was careful to note during the session) shaped by the biases of its founders, whose broader efforts (including the Orphan Train movement) disproportionately targeted immigrant and low-income families rather than supporting them.
From Physical Abuse to a Flood of Reports
Formal mandated reporting laws didn't arrive until the 1960s, and even then, they covered only physical abuse. It wasn't until the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) passed in 1974 that states were required to include neglect. The effect was immediate and enormous: reports nationwide jumped from roughly 100,000 in 1970 to a million by 1980, a tenfold increase in just six years, the majority involving neglect. Today, that number exceeds 4 million reports annually, while substantiation rates have remained low, hovering between 15 and 20% in New York State.
That gap is central to why this training exists: a system built to catch the most severe cases of harm has, over decades, expanded into one where the vast majority of reports don't result in a finding of abuse or neglect, at real cost to families and to the public resources that could otherwise fund direct support.
103196 Advanced Ethical Issues for Mandated Reporters of Child Maltreatment
Health Professionals throughout the United States are mandated reporters of suspected child maltreatment. However, our legal requirement to report is often confusing to navigate in relation to our other professional and ethical responsibilities. This workshop is intended for health professionals who already have a basic understanding of their obligations as mandated reporters, and want to explore areas that are complicated...
Why the Training Is Changing Again in New York
The above is also the backdrop for New York's newest update to mandated reporter training. As of November 17, 2026, the state now requires reporters to be trained specifically on recognizing signs of abuse or neglect in children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, a population historically underserved by generic training models. It's a narrow addition, but it reflects a broader shift Dr. Krase described throughout the session: toward more precise, less reflexive reporting, grounded in an understanding of trauma, bias, and the real (and limited) powers CPS actually holds.
With that context in place, below are some questions from Dr. Krase's August 6th presentation her audience of mandated reporters most wanted to know.
MAKING THE TOUGH CALL:
A Q&A w/ Dr. Kathryn Krase on the Realities of Mandated Reporting
If someone tells me they're aware of abuse or neglect in a neighbor's household, what do you recommend?
DR. KATHRYN KRASE: "Provide them with resources and tell them to engage with those services. They can make a report, they can call the [child abuse] hotline, they can talk to people — you're not required to make that report. Lots of times people try to make us make reports that they don't want to make, but that's a very dangerous thing to do."
Is emotional abuse something I need to report?
"Emotional abuse, while still required to be reported, is not required to be included in the training. 99.999% of emotional abuse cases are unsubstantiated. It's really hard to prove that emotional harm to a child is caused by a parent, because emotional harm happens to children just by virtue of living. So we don't train on it anymore, because when we train on it, we're getting reports that we don't need."
If a sibling is abusing another sibling and the parents know, when does that become reportable?
"The sibling abuse is not reportable unless, number one, the sibling is above the age of 18, or the parent knew of the continuing abuse and did nothing to prevent or protect from further abuse. If the parent knew and did something to protect the child, then a report would not be required."
103667 Ethical Challenges in Reporting Across the Lifespan: Child Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence and Elder Abuse
Mental and Behavioral Health Professionals throughout the United States are mandated reporters of suspected child maltreatment, and are often required to report concerns for intimate partner violence and/or elder abuse, as well. These legal requirements to report are often confusing to navigate, especially in relation to our other professional and ethical responsibilities. This workshop is intended for mental and behavioral...
Will the parent find out that I'm the one who made the report?
"CPS is not allowed to tell the person they're investigating the identity of the reporter, but as a mandated reporter, your identity goes into the record and it could be shared if the case goes to court. Chances are they're going to know who made that report. You're still required to make it when you're required to make it. You're not required to make it when you're not required to make it."
A child's home is very filthy (garbage on the floors, rodents present) but the child is fed, loved, and in therapy. Is this reportable?
"The question is, has the child been harmed, or is the child in imminent danger of harm as a result of these conditions? Again, if you determine that, you can make a report. The challenges are, it's not going to solve the mental health problems. If there's anything you can do to help mitigate the damage to the child and the family, that's the best way to do it."
Is there a rule that you must report abuse within 24 hours?
"No. You're required to make reports as immediately as soon as you've determined that you're required to make that report. You don't have a certain time period. They have 24 hours to start an investigation." ◼
Want to make the most of everything Impact CE has to offer?
The Ignite Membership unlocks unlimited live webinars, hundreds of self-paced courses, a growing library of recorded content, and free e-library access — all in one place, for one low annual price. Learn more about Ignite today.
