STATUTORY REPORTING PROCEDURES

Reporting Procedures

• Recognising and reporting child abuse
• The role of mandated persons (see below)
• The responsibilities of organisations working with children to safeguard children
• The role of designated liaison persons

Statutory report via Tusla: Mandated Person

If you are a mandated person and have a concern about a child, it is your legal responsibility to decide whether the concern meets the threshold for a mandated report under the Children First Act 2015. If you are satisfied that this threshold has been reached, you should clearly identify on the report that it is a mandated report made under the Children First Act.

If you are unsure whether your concern meets the legal definition of harm for making a mandated report, you can discuss the concern with a Tusla social worker. However, the responsibility for the decision rests with you as a mandated person under the Act.

If you are a mandated person, you cannot submit a mandated report anonymously.

The Children First Act 2015 requires mandated persons to report a mandated concern to Tusla “as soon as practicable”. Tusla must appoint authorised persons to receive mandated reports. These authorised persons are obliged to acknowledge in writing all mandated reports they receive.

If urgent intervention is required to make the child safe, you may alert Tusla in advance of submitting a written report. You must then submit a mandated report via the report form or the web portal within three days.

Tusla provides two forms for reporting child protection and welfare concerns:

• Child Protection and Welfare Report Form (CPWRF) – for concerns about children under 18. Mandated persons can securely submit CPWRFs through a web portal.
• Retrospective Abuse Report Form (RARF) – for adults disclosing childhood abuse. RARFs cannot be submitted through the web portal and must be downloaded.

Statutory report via Tusla: Joint Reporting

As a mandated person, you may make a report jointly with another person, regardless of whether they are also mandated.

You can also share a copy of a mandated report submitted to Tusla with a designated liaison person for their information.

The legal obligation to report mandated concerns under the Children First Act 2015 remains with you as the mandated person, not with the designated liaison person.

Where multiple mandated persons are aware of the same concern, only one needs to report it, or a joint report can be submitted.

What if my concern does not meet the threshold for a mandated report?

If your concern does not meet the threshold for mandated reporting but still represents a reasonable concern for a child’s welfare or protection, you should report it to Tusla under the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children.

Informing the family

It is best practice to inform a family when making a report. Families are entitled to know what is being reported about them, which helps them understand the reasons for the report. However, in exceptional circumstances where informing the family may:

• Put the child at further risk
• Interfere with Tusla’s assessment
• Put you at personal risk

It is not necessary to inform the family.