Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect

Series Title:  State Statutes
Author(s):  Child Welfare Information Gateway
Year Published:  2022
Current Through:  November 2021

To access the statutes for a specific State or territory, visit the State Statutes Search.

This publication discusses State laws and regulations that specify the procedures that State child protection agencies must follow when responding to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. The issues addressed include individual responsibility to report, content of reports, screening reports, investigation procedures, timeframes for completing investigations, and classification of investigative findings. Special procedures for handling child fatalities and substance-exposed children also are addressed. This publication presents a general overview of this aspect of child welfare law. Summaries of laws on this topic for all individual States and U.S. territories are available from the Statutes Search page.

Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2022). Making and screening reports of child abuse and neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/repproc/

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.

We also recommend the following Information Gateway publications:

Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2022). Making and screening reports of child abuse and neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/repproc/

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.