Rural Health Voices

Unique challenges of universal mandated reporting of rural child abuse

• Author: Erika Stone-Burnett & Daniel Pollack
• Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020

Being a mandated reporter is often the first point of contact a layperson or even a professional may have with the child protection system. Universal mandated reporting (UMR) in these states extends beyond the requirements of medical professionals, teachers, and social workers to include every adult citizen of the state. Such mandated reporter laws pose a unique challenge for rural child welfare professionals, particularly in rural states such as Idaho, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Oklahoma...