In the United States, a mandated reporter is a person who has a legal requirement to report to Child Protective Services or Adult Protective Services if in their professional judgment, a child or vulnerable adult has been or is at risk of being abused or neglected by their primary caregiver. If the requirement is not fulfilled, the individual can be punished by civil and criminal penalties for failure to report.
The Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA) is a federal law that requires States to have mandatory reporting laws in place to receive federal funding for child welfare but leaves States discretion over which individuals should be mandated reporters. In many states, mandated reporters include people with professions involving children, vulnerable adults, and emergency services (i.e., teachers, physicians, and police officers), while other states consider all adults to be mandated reporters regardless of their profession. While CAPTA only requires mandatory reporting laws for children, states also extend this to vulnerable adults due to a disability, mental illness, or old age.