Mandated Reporters

A Mandated Reporter is a person who is required to report when, while acting in their official or professional capacity, they are presented with information that gives them reasonable cause to suspect a reportable incident has occurred.  

Certain employees and human services professionals are mandated reporters and are required to report reportable incidents involving people receiving services to the Justice Center.   

Employee Types

Individuals who are employed by, or volunteer at, state-operated, licensed, or certified facilities or agencies under the Justice Center's jurisdiction are mandated reporters.

Mandated reporters may include, but are not limited to, the following types of employees, volunteers, and consultants:

• A direct care or support staff person, including a consultant or contractor who is permitted to have regular and substantial contact with a person receiving services.
• A custodian, as defined in Social Services Law Section 488 (2), which may include a director, administrator, or a direct care or support staff person employed by a facility or provider agency subject to the Justice Center’s jurisdiction.
• An individual employed by, or a volunteer at, a facility or provider agency subject to the Justice Center’s jurisdiction who has a duty to provide care, treatment, or supervision to a person receiving services. 

Human Services Professionals

Human services professionals are those who may not see a service recipient every day, but who interact with the individual while providing professional services.  

Human services professionals may include:

• Medical/clinical professionals, including physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers, and other professionals.
• Law enforcement personnel, including police officers, district attorneys, or any other law enforcement official.
• Education professionals, including teachers, school nurses, school social workers, or other school personnel. This also includes foster care workers.  

You do not have to be a Mandated Reporter to make a report.  

Anyone – including a parent, advocate, or guardian – can make a report to the Vulnerable Persons Central Register (VPCR) hotline. You are encouraged to make a report when you have knowledge or have reason to believe that a person receiving care from any agency or provider under Justice Center jurisdiction has been abused, neglected, or mistreated. 

Mandated Reporters must immediately report reportable incidents involving people receiving services. There are three types of reportable incidents:

• Abuse: Abuse can be physical, sexual, or psychological, as well as the deliberate misuse of restraint or obstruction of an investigation.  
• Neglect: Any action, inaction, or lack of attention that breaches a custodian’s duty and results in, or is likely to result in, death, physical injury, or serious or protracted impairment.
• Significant Incident: A significant incident has the potential to result in harm to the health, safety, or welfare of a person receiving services.

Remember that even if someone cannot fully explain that something is troubling them, it does not mean that it isn't. Always report, even if you are uncertain if it’s reportable. 

• Call the toll-free Vulnerable Persons Central Register (VPCR) 24-hour hotline at 1-855-373-2122.  
• For individuals using the New York Relay Service, dial 7-1-1 and provide the operator with the phone number 1-855-373-2122.  
• You can also make a report online using the Justice Center’s secure web form.  

Visit the How To Make a Report page to find further information regarding making a confidential report to the Justice Center.

The Justice Center offers video training sessions for mandated reporters.  Here you can learn about your responsibilities as well as hear an example of a recorded call being made to report an incident.

• Reporting Requirements for Custodians
• Reporting Requirements for Custodians (Closed Captioned)
• Reporting Requirements for Human Services Professionals
• Reporting Requirements for Human Services Professionals (Closed Captioned)
• Recorded Call Example for Custodians
• Recorded Call Example for Human Services Professionals