An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 11 – Mandated Reporting

whether their county’s agency has implemented this pilot program, as the Internet reporting may be more convenient in cases where imminent harm is not feared. If the programs are deemed effective and successful, there is the possibility that the Legislature will move to expand them after 2020. F. C ONFIDENTIALITY O F I DENTITY O F R EPORTER Child abuse reports are confidential and should be disclosed only to personnel who are a part of the reporting procedure stated above. 1893 A mandated reporter will not be protected by the law if he or she discloses a copy of the actual report to an unauthorized recipient. 1894 Child abuse reports should be kept in a separate, confidential file either by the reporter or an administrator. The confidentiality provisions under CANRA apply to the police and child protection workers in their capacity as the agencies in charge of investigating the known or reasonably suspected case of child abuse. 1895 Police and investigators must keep the identity of persons who report confidential, and they may not disclose the identity of the reporter to the reporter’s employer unless the employee consents or the court orders the disclosure. 1896 It a misdemeanor for anyone – including a police officer – to disclose child abuse reports, except in very limited circumstances. 1897 For example, disclosure may be made to:  An investigator from an agency or the agency investigating a report of child abuse, though the identity of the person who reports shall be kept

confidential, disclosed only among the agencies receiving or investigating the mandated reports, or county counsel as applicable, and shall not be disclosed to the reporter’s employer except with the employee’s consent or a court order; 1898  Agencies authorized to receive the information from the Department of Justice;  Persons or agencies responsible for the licensing of facilities which care for children;  The State Department of Social Services or any county licensing agency which has contracted with the state, when an individual has applied for a community care license or child day care license, or for employment in an out-of-home care facility, or when a complaint alleges child abuse or neglect by an operator or employee of an out-of-home care facility;  Coroners and medical examiners;  Personnel from an agency responsible for making a placement of a child;  Out-of-state law enforcement agencies conducting an investigation of child abuse or neglect under certain circumstances; and  Each chairperson of a county child death review team.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 425