Stecks v. Young

Stecks v. Young (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 365, deals with the issue of immunity under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, it demonstrates a situation where the mandated reporter had no professional relationship with the alleged child abuse victim. There, the plaintiffs' adult daughter, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder, reported to her counselor that, among other things, her brother-in-law may have been molesting her niece and her parents were planning to sacrifice her nephew in a cult ritual celebration. Based on this information, the counselor contacted child protective services. Despite the plaintiffs' argument that the counselor lacked reasonable suspicion to submit the report, the court held that the counselor, as a mandated reporter, was entitled to absolute immunity for complying with section 11166. (Stecks v. Young, supra, 38 Cal.App.4th at pages 372-373.) The court noted: "Typically, mandated reporters base their reports upon personal interviews with or observations of the alleged victim or abuser or upon information derived from other professionals treating or investigating the alleged abuse. By contrast, here the mandated reporter allegedly trusted the accusations of a purportedly schizophrenic patient, who had no personal knowledge that the children were being abused, and conveyed those accusations to the authorities. In circumstances where the mandated reporter is not drawing upon personal professional assessments of the victim or abuser or is not relying upon other trained professionals who have made such assessments, we submit that the application of absolute immunity warrants further reflection by the Legislature." (Stecks v. Young, supra, 38 Cal.App.4th at pages 375-376.)