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Arizona

Who is mandated to report?

Are all health clinicians mandated to report?

  • Yes.

Who else is a mandated reporter?

The following persons are required to report:

  • Physicians, physician’s assistants, optometrists, dentists, behavioral health professionals, nurses, psychologists, counselors, or social workers
  • Peace officers, child welfare investigators, or child protective services workers
  • Members of the clergy, priests, or Christian Science practitioners
  • Parents, stepparents, or guardians
  • School personnel or domestic violence victim advocates
  • Any other person who has responsibility for the care or treatment of minors

For more information, refer to Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

When is the reporting duty triggered?

What is the standard?

  • A report is required when a person reasonably believes that a minor is or has been the victim of physical injury, abuse, child abuse, a reportable offense, or neglect that appears to have been inflicted on the minor by other than accidental means or that is not explained by the available medical history as being accidental in nature.

For more information, refer to Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

What must be reported?

How does state law define child abuse and neglect for reporting purposes?

  • Mandated reporters must report physical injury, abuse, child abuse, a reportable offense, or neglect as defined by Arizona statute 13-3620 and legal guidance interpreting the statute.
    • "Abuse" has the same meaning prescribed in section 8-201.
    • Child abuse" means child abuse pursuant to section 13-3623.
    • "Neglect" has the same meaning prescribed in section 8-201.
    • "Reportable offense" means any of the following:
  • A report is not required under this section either:
    • For conduct prescribed by sections 13-1404 and 13-1405 if the conduct involves only minors who are 14, 15, 16, or 17 years of age and there is nothing to indicate that the conduct is other than consensual.
    • If a minor is of elementary school age, the physical injury occurs accidentally in the course of typical playground activity during a school day, occurs on the premises of the school that the minor attends and is reported to the legal parent or guardian of the minor and the school maintains a written record of the incident.

Are child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, statutory rape, incest, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and/or trafficking of a minor reportable as child abuse or neglect and if so, how are they defined and what is reportable?

For the most current definitions of child abuse and neglect, please refer to Statute 13-3620 at the Arizona Legislature website.

How to report:

What is the method of reporting?

  • Reports shall be made immediately either electronically or by telephone.

For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

What is the timeline in which to report?

  • Any mandated reporter who reasonably believes that a minor is the victim of abuse or neglect shall report immediately to a peace officer, to the Department of Child Safety, or to a tribal law enforcement or social services agency for any Indian minor who resides on an Indian reservation. If, however, the report concerns a person who does not have care, custody, or control of the minor, the report shall be made to a peace officer only.

For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

To whom are reports made?

  • Reports may be received by a peace officer, to the Department of Child Safety, or a tribal law enforcement or social services agency. When reports are received by a peace officer, the officer shall immediately notify the department. Notwithstanding any other statute, when the department receives these reports, it shall immediately notify a peace officer in the appropriate jurisdiction.
  • In regulation: The department operates a Child Abuse Hotline to receive and screen incoming communications. If a person calls, visits, or writes a department office other than the Child Abuse Hotline to report child maltreatment, the department shall refer the person or written communication to the hotline.
  • The Child Abuse Hotline is a statewide, toll-free telephone service that the department operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, to receive calls about child maltreatment.

For more information, refer to Making and Screening Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect at the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

State/County Hotline?

  • Arizona Child Abuse Hotline: 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445)

Confidentiality:

What federal confidentiality laws apply to health information collected during a Title X visit?

  • Title X regulations 42 C.F.R. § 59.11
  • HIPPA 45 CFR 164.502

Is there an exception in federal confidentiality law that allows a clinician to comply with mandatory child abuse reporting laws?

  • Yes.