Many states have mandated reporting laws in place to help protect children, dependent adults, seniors, and individuals at risk of intimate partner violence. Reporting requirements can vary significantly from state to state. Understanding the unique laws in the state where you work is crucial.
If you work in the state of Massachusetts, you’ll want to know if and how you are required to report suspected abuse.
Reporting Child Abuse in Massachusetts
Who is Required to Report?
Certain professionals in the State of Massachusetts are required by law to report suspected child abuse and neglect. If you work in one of the following types of professions in the state, you are a mandated reporter of child abuse:
- Persons in charge of a medical or other public or private institution, school or facility or their agents
- Doctors and other medical professionals
- Schoolteachers and other educational and childcare workers
- School attendance officers
- Probation officers and parole officers
- Social workers and foster parents
- Firefighters
- Police officers
- Animal control officers
- Members of the clergy and other persons employed by or performing official duties for a church
- Child advocates
How Do You Make A Report?
If you are a mandated reporter in Massachusetts and suspect a child is being abused or neglected, you must make an oral report immediately. You then need to follow that oral report with a written report within 48 hours. This report, called a 51A Report, should be submitted to the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
If hospital personnel collect physical evidence of child abuse or neglect, notify the local DA and law enforcement in addition to the DCF. Any person defined by law as a mandated reporter is required to assist DCF in its response under Ch. 119, § 51B, even if they are not the filer of the 51A report.
Is Training Available?
Massachusetts provides training to reporters on child abuse and neglect. The training, which is required for all mandated reporters, includes information to
- Help mandated reporters understand their legal obligation
- Know the signs and symptoms of maltreatment
- Understand how to file a 51A report
Learn more about requirements for mandated reporters of child abuse in Massachusetts and other states.
Reporting Abuse of Seniors or People with Disabilities in Massachusetts
Who is Required to Report?
Like reporters of child abuse, certain individuals who work with seniors or people with disabilities in the State of Massachusetts may be required to report suspected incidences of abuse.
Professionals required to report suspected incidents of abuse of the elderly include:
- Doctors and other physicians
- Family counselors
- Probation officers
- Social workers
- Police officers, firefighters, EMTs
- Animal control officers
- Psychologists
- Coroners
- Physical and occupational therapists
- Outreach workers for a Council on Aging
- Executive directors of home health agencies, homemaker service agencies, or assisted living residences
Professionals required to report suspected abuse of people with disabilities include:
- Physicians, doctors, and other medical personnel
- Psychologists
- Teachers, educational staff, and childcare workers
- Guidance and family counselors
- Probation officers
- Animal control officers
- Social workers
- Foster parents
- Police officers
- Persons employed by a private agency providing services to disabled persons
How Do You Make A Report?
Like other mandated reporters in the state, reporters of the abuse of seniors and adults with disabilities in Massachusetts must make a verbal report immediately and follow up with a written report within 48 hours.
If the suspected victim is elderly, that report should be sent to the Department of Elder Affairs.
If the suspected victim is a person with a disability, that report should go to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
Is Training Available?
Training is required for staff of Assisted Living Residences & Long Term Care Facilities under Massachusetts Title 651 and Bill S.379, respectively. Both of these pieces of legislation include procedures and operations regarding the training and reporting instructions of staff to improve the quality and oversight of elderly care organizations.
Learn more about the requirements and resources for reporting the abuse of seniors or people with disabilities in Massachusetts and other states.
Reporting Domestic Violence in Massachusetts
Who is Required to Report?
Massachusetts does not have requirements for solely reporting domestic violence. However, there are certain circumstances in which domestic violence may also be considered potential child abuse or child endangerment, such as:
- The perpetrator threatened to kill the caretaker, children, and/or self, and the caretaker fears for their safety
- The perpetrator physically injured the child in an incident where the caretaker was the target
- The perpetrator coerced the child to participate in or witness the abuse of the caretaker
- The perpetrator used a weapon and made threats to use a weapon, and the caretaker believed that the perpetrator intended or had the ability to cause harm
Massachusetts also requires certain individuals to report specific injuries. For example, some medical professionals such as nurses, doctors, or the manager in charge of a hospital, sanatorium, or other institution must report injuries and victims of violent crimes, including
- Firearm injuries
- Burns affecting 5% or more of the surface area of the patient
- Knife wounds
- Injuries from other pointed objects
How Do You Make A Report?
Firearm injuries should be reported to the colonel of the state police. Relevant burns must be reported to the state fire marshal and local police agencies.
Wounds caused by knives or other sharp instruments should also be reported to the police in the town where treatment took place if the physician believes a criminal act was involved.
Is Training Available?
Training for reporting domestic violence is not currently available or required in Massachusetts.
Learn more about the requirements for reporting suspected domestic violence in Massachusetts and other states.
If you work in the State of Massachusetts, understanding your obligations as a mandated reporter is crucial in helping you understand your duty and how you can help keep vulnerable people safe.
