Mandated reporting in Arkansas

The standard for reporting is lower than most people think, and the legal protection is stronger. Both of those facts matter, and most Arkansans have been told neither.

1. What the law says

The Arkansas Child Maltreatment Act, at Ark. Code § 12-18-101 and following, defines child maltreatment as abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, or abandonment. Under § 12-18-402, a mandated reporter must immediately notify the Child Abuse Hotline when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to maltreatment, has died as a result of it, or has died suddenly and unexpectedly — or when they observe a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in maltreatment.

2. Who is a mandated reporter

The statutory list is long and broader than most people assume. It includes, among others:

That last row is why every person who works or volunteers for this organisation is trained on this page before their first session.

If you are not on the list, you can still call. Arkansas allows any person to report suspected maltreatment, and the good-faith immunity is not limited to mandated reporters. The list determines who is legally obliged, not who is welcome.

3. Three provisions worth memorising

• Good-faith immunity. A person who reports in good faith has immunity from civil and criminal liability. Being wrong is not the risk. Staying silent is.
• No privilege or contract blocks a report. Employment agreements, confidentiality clauses, and most professional privileges do not prevent a mandated reporter from reporting.
• Your employer cannot stand between you and the hotline. An employer or supervisor may not prohibit an employee or volunteer from reporting directly, and may not require permission first. A school, Head Start program, or day care cannot make you clear it with the principal.

4. What happens when you call

1-800-482-5964 · 24 hours a day, every day.

• A screener asks what you saw or were told, the child's name and age if you know them, where the child is now, and who else is involved. "I don't know" is a normal answer.
• The call typically takes ten to twenty minutes. Have your notes in front of you — the child's own words if you have them.
• The hotline decides whether the report meets criteria for investigation. That decision is theirs. It is not a verdict on whether you should have called.
• Depending on the allegation, the investigation goes to DHS or to the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division. Serious sexual abuse allegations generally go to CACD.
• Mandated reporters may be asked for identifying information. Reports can be anonymous, but a named report is usually a stronger one.

Document your own call. Date, time, who you spoke to, what you said, and any reference number. Two minutes of writing protects you and helps the case.

5. The four objections that stop people calling

"What if I'm wrong?"

This is the number one reason adults do not call, and the immunity provision is the direct answer to it. You are not accusing anyone. You are handing an observation to people whose job is to determine what it means. Being wrong in good faith carries no liability.

"It's probably nothing, and I'll ruin a family."

Screened reports that do not meet criteria go no further. And the cost is asymmetric: a report that turns out to be nothing costs a family an uncomfortable conversation, while a report not made costs a child years. You are also frequently not the first caller — you may be the one who turns a pattern into a case.

"Someone else will have reported it."

Everyone thinks this. It is the single most common way a child falls through. Assume nobody has.

"I want to be sure first."

Being sure requires investigating, and investigating is the thing you must not do. Questioning a child yourself can contaminate their account and make it unusable; talking to the suspected adult warns them and can escalate the danger. Uncertainty is the normal condition of a reporter.

6. What this does not authorise

Being a mandated reporter is a duty to report. It is not a licence to do any of the following, and doing them causes real harm:

• Interviewing the child. One question — "are you safe right now?" — and then stop.
• Contacting the suspected person to hear their side, or to warn them.
• Physically examining a child or photographing an injury, unless that is already part of your clinical role.
• Telling other staff, parents, or the community. Tell the hotline and whoever your policy requires. Nobody else.
• Promising a child confidentiality. You cannot deliver it, and breaking that promise is its own injury.

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