19.9 Duty to Report Child|Incapacitated Adult Abuse

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

19.9 Duty to Report Child/Incapacitated Adult Abuse. Mental health professionals must report abuse of children⁴⁶ or incapacitated adults⁴⁷ that they become aware of in their practice. The duty to report is triggered both by information from the victim as well as information from the person who caused the harm. It is not clear whether the duty to report could be triggered hearsay-type information, such as a person who reports that another person abused a child (unless the mental health provider had some contact with the alleged perpetrator or the child).

Although the duty to report abuse generally addresses past conduct, it is also broad enough to encompass situations in which future harm to a child or incapacitated adult is likely to occur. More...