MICHIGAN
MANDATORY REPORTING LAWS
MANDATORY REPORTING LAWS
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Professionals required to report
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.623
Mandatory reporters include the following:
• Physicians, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, medical examiners, nurses, persons licensed to provide emergency medical care, or audiologists
• School administrators, counselors, or teachers
• Regulated child care providers
• Psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, social workers, or social work technicians.
• Persons employed in a professional capacity in any office of the friend of the court
• Law enforcement officers
• Members of the clergy
• Department of Human Services employees, including eligibility specialists, family independence managers, family
independence specialists, social services specialists, social work specialists, social work specialist managers, or welfare
services specialists
• Any employee of an organization or entity that, as a result of Federal funding statutes, regulations, or contracts, would be
prohibited from reporting in the absence of a State mandate or court order
Other persons required to report
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.624
Any other person, including a child, who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect may report.
Institutional responsibility to report
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.623
If the reporting person is a member of the staff of a hospital, agency, or school, the reporting person shall notify the person in charge of the hospital, agency, or school of his or her finding and that the report has been made and shall make a copy of the written report available to the person in charge. A notification to the person in charge of a hospital, agency, or school does not relieve the member of the staff of the hospital, agency, or school of the obligation of reporting to the department as required by this section. One report from a hospital, agency, or school is adequate to meet the reporting requirement. A member of the staff of a hospital, agency, or school shall not be dismissed or otherwise penalized for making a report required by this act or for cooperating in an investigation.
WHAT ARE THEY REQUIRED TO REPORT
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.623
A report is required when a reporter has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect.
PENALTIES FOR FAILING TO REPORT
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.633(1), (2)
A mandatory reporter who fails to report as required is civilly liable for the damages proximately caused by the failure.
A mandatory reporter who knowingly fails to report as required is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by one or both of the
following:
• Imprisonment for not more than 93 days
• A fine of not more than $500
PENALTIES FOR FALSE REPORTING
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.633(5)
Any person who intentionally makes a false report of child abuse or neglect knowing that the report is false is guilty of a crime as follows:
• If the child abuse or neglect would not constitute a crime but would constitute a misdemeanor if the report were true, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $100, or both.
• If the child abuse or neglect reported would constitute a felony if the report were true, the person is guilty of a felony
punishable by the lesser of the following:
» The penalty for the child abuse or neglect falsely reported
» Imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than $2,000, or both
PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS
Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.631
Only the attorney-client or clergy-penitent privilege can be grounds for not reporting.
REPORTER’S IDENTITY
The reporter is not specifically required by statute to provide his or her name in the report.
Citation: Comp. Laws §§ 722,625; 722.627
The identity of a reporting person is confidential and subject to disclosure only with the consent of that person or by judicial process. The identity of the reporter is protected in any release of information to the subject of the report.