The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, California Penal Code §§ 11164-11174.3 (CANRA), identifies certain groups of employees as “Mandated Reporters” of child abuse and also imposes various obligations on and extends certain protections to those Mandated Reporters as well as their employees. As a covered employer, the California State University (CSU) is required to comply with the Act. Executive Order 1083 (Revised July 21, 2017) provides additional guidance for employees that are identified as Mandatory Reporters.

Apart from the legal obligations the Act imposes, it is the policy of the CSU System to strongly encourage all other members of the CSU community who are not designated under the Act, to report child abuse and neglect occurring on the CSU premises or at an official activity of, or program conducted by, the CSU.

As a designated Mandated Reporter, whenever you, in your professional capacity or within the course of your employment, have knowledge of or reasonably suspect child abuse or neglect has occurred, you must personally report the incident. It is the individual employee’s legal obligation to report, not the CSU’s.

Procedure for Reporting

Step One - Immediately Call

or as soon as practically possible

Turlock Campus

University Police
(209) 667-3114

Turlock Police
(209) 668-5550

Stanislaus County Sheriff
(209) 552-2468

Stanislaus County Child Protective Services
(209) 558-3627

Stockton Campus

Stockton Police
(209) 937-8377

San Joaquin County Child Protective Services
(209) 468-1333

San Joaquin County Sheriff
(209) 468-4400

Step Two - Complete the Form SS 8572

Within 36 hrs of receiving information concerning the incident

Send, fax, or transmit it to the agency that was contacted by phone (Penal Code § 11166(a)).

NOTE: In case of emergency or if a crime is in progress, employees should always immediately call the police at 911.

Frequently Asked Questions

The California Penal Code §§ 11164-11174.3 (also known as The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, or CANRA) identifies certain groups of employees as Mandated Reporters. In addition to the statute, the CSU requires all Management Personnel Plan (MPP) employees, Executives, and all volunteers to be designated as Mandated Reporters. Categories of CSU employees and volunteers who qualify as Mandated Reporters are identified in Attachment B of the policy.

CANRA identifies two categories of Mandated Reporters, which the CSU has termed "Limited Reporter" and "General Reporter." General Reporters are those who are legally required to report child abuse or neglect no matter where it occurs. Limited Reporters are those who are legally required to report child abuse or neglect only if it occurs on CSU premises or at an official activity of, or program conducted by, the CSU.

Not necessarily, only certain categories of CSU employees are Mandated Reporters. For a list of categories of employees who quality as Mandated Reporters and their specific designation (as Limited Reporter or General Reporter), refer to Attachment B of the Executive Order (EO).

Campus Presidents are covered under the policy and should be designated.

Yes, student employees should be appropriately designated if applicable.

Yes, these student employees should be designated as General Reporters.

Auxiliary employees and other non-CSU employees are not covered under this policy. This includes CSU employees while they are employed by these organizations. For example, a CSU 10-month employee who is employed by an auxiliary or outside organization for the summer months would not be covered under the CSU policy during the 2-3 month timeframe, but would strongly be encouraged to report suspected child abuse or neglect.

Yes, all Student Life/Residence Hall staff will be designated as General Reporters.

Outreach staff who participate in overnight programs will be designated as General Reporters. However, all Outreach staff should be reviewed for possible designation.

Yes, RNs and NPs shall be designated as General Reporters, per CA Penal Code Section 11165.7(a)(21).

This is at the campus' discretion. It may be possible to determine which faculty are likely to be assigned to teach lower-division undergraduate courses in the future based on the faculty employee's tenure status or teaching history. The designation should be periodically reviewed and updated.

Yes, the policy requires all MPPs to be designated as a Limited Reporter, at the minimum. Only non-MPP employees hired before 1/1/1985 are excluded from this EO; however, they are strongly encouraged to report suspected child abuse or neglect.

The employee's designation should be reviewed upon the employee's return. If the employee's job duties fall within those listed in Attachment B, the employee is a Mandated Reporter and must complete the appropriate acknowledgment form.

The supervisor's designation should be independent of their employees' designation, with the exception of those who supervise employees who have regular contact with children. As a reminder, the statute requires reporting child abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities (e.g., campus police, sheriff's department, or Child Protective Services); making a report to a supervisor or manager is not a substitute for making a mandated report (Penal Code § 11166(i)(l)).

The decision to designate all employees as Limited Reporters - at the minimum - is at the campus' discretion. However, campuses are advised to review the designations on a regular basis to ensure that all employees are appropriately designated into the proper Mandated Reporter category.

The Executive Order must be implemented on the campus no later than October 31, 2017.

This will be at the campus' discretion. As a reminder, campuses have the responsibility of implementing the policy on their campuses no later than October 31, 2017.

Employees with "regular contact with children" are employees whose job duties bring them into close physical proximity to a minor once a week or more, on average. Employees who work in a building where minors are likely to enter or the employees who are likely to walk past a minor on campus is not sufficient to have "regular contact with children," as these actions/activities are not associated with the employee's job duties.

Fingerprinting is a separate requirement that does not fall under the scope of this policy. Please refer to the CSU Background Check Policy for fingerprinting requirements.

Existing employees designated as Mandated Reporters who refuse to sign the acknowledgment form within a reasonable period of time, despite being reminded by Campus Human Resources, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal. Existing volunteers who refuse to sign the acknowledgment form within a reasonable period of time cannot continue to serve as volunteers.

Yes, the policy applies to all volunteers, so these volunteers will be required to sign the acknowledgment form prior to providing service. It is recommended that the form be incorporated into the paperwork that volunteers complete prior to the start of their service.

This is at the campus' discretion. However, the acknowledgment form should not be altered.

Yes, campuses may use electronic means to distribute and collect forms, as long as there is a means of retention.

No, the specific designation does not need to be listed in position announcements and position descriptions. However, they must contain language similar to the following: "The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 Revised July 21, 2017 as a condition of employment."

Yes, per the statute and Attachment B, teaching assistants shall be designated as General Reporters and will be required to submit a signed acknowledgment form (Attachment D).

Employees who have an employment status change (e.g., promotion, transfer, reassignment, rehire) should have their designations re-evaluated. If designated as a Mandated Reporter in the new position, the employee should complete the appropriate acknowledgment form and be offered the opportunity to complete the training. As a reminder, the training is strongly encouraged, not required.

Signed forms are placed in the employee's personnel file, and be maintained according to the CSU Retention Policy. If there is no personnel file (e.g., volunteers), the form should be placed where the campus maintains its documents/records for these individuals.

Systemwide Human Resources has plans to update PeopleSoft to track employee Mandated Reporter designation and receipt of a signed acknowledgment form in the future delivery of CHRS (Common Human Resources System). More information will be provided to the campuses once this is completed.

Yes, training is available to volunteers in CSU Learn. Training may be offered to volunteers (as well as other non-CSU employees) through the "Non-State/Non-Member" category. Please contact Systemwide Professional Development for further details.

No, the EO specifically states that the campus may not require training for any employee or volunteer. However, training is strongly encouraged for all Mandated Reporters.

No, Mandated Reporters are legally required to report child abuse or neglect to a police or sheriff's department (including campus police but not including a school district police or security department), a county probation department, or the country welfare department (Child Protective Services). Reporting to a supervisor, coworker, or any other person is not a substitute for making a mandated report to one of the agencies listed.

This depends on the designation of the faculty member and where the alleged abuse occurred:

- If the faculty member is not designated as either a Limited or General Reporter, the faculty member is not required to report, but is still strongly encouraged to report the suspected child abuse or neglect.

- If the faculty member is a Limited Reporter and there is reasonable suspicion that the abuse occurred on the CSU premise or at an official activity of, or program conducted by, the CSU, then the faculty member has a legal requirement to make the report to the appropriate authorities. Where the abuse did not occur on CSU premises or at an official activity of, or program conducted by, the CSU, the Limited Reporter does not have a legal obligation to report; however, the report is strongly encouraged.

- If the faculty member is a General Reporter and there is reasonable suspicion that the abuse occurred (no matter where it occurred), then the faculty member has a legal requirement to make the report to the appropriate authorities.

The employee shall be designated as a General Reporter. Similarly, an employee with two positions where one falls under the Limited Reporter category but the second position is not designated, the employee shall be designated as a Limited Reporter.

No, the employee's position has been re-evaluated and it has been determined that the employee's designation as a Limited Reporter has not changed. However, if the employee's designation has changed to a General Reporter, the employee is required to complete the appropriate form.

No, the forms are specific to the CSU; they refer to CSU's Executive Order 1083 Revised July 21, 2017, and provide links to the CSU-provided training. The auxiliary is responsible for designating their employees and notifying them of their CANRA obligations as an auxiliary employee.

Updated: February 25, 2022