Talking to Teens About
Mandated Reporting

Always tell the client or student up front that you must report abuse. Do this before you ask confidential questions.

Here is one way you might talk about the limits of confidentiality:

“Almost everything you tell me is confidential; there are a few things that must be reported.

• By law and for your safety, we must report possible physical and sexual abuse to a child protection agency. They are trained to help teens who are dealing with abuse.
• Anything else you say or write is kept confidential. We will not share your information with anyone else.”

Remember, the teen has the right to choose what they tell you. They will be more likely to tell you about abuse, allowing you to help them, if they trust you. If the teen tells you anything suggesting that s/he has been abused, or you suspect abuse has happened, you must make a report. If you are under 18 years of age, tell your supervisor about the suspected abuse and s/he will make a report.

Sample Case 1

Shanna is a female client aged 13. She walks in the family planning clinic and seems happy and relaxed. You explain confidentiality and mandated reporting. On her teen survey, she marks that she was forced or pressured to have sex. When you take her history, you ask her about the answer. She looks sad and starts to cry. She hesitates at first, but then tells you that her boyfriend had been pressuring her to have sex, even though she didn’t want to. Last week he told her he was getting tired of waiting, and he went ahead and had sex with her even though she didn’t want to.

Sample Case 2

Lamar, age 14, is a student who has come to the school counseling office. You explain about confidentiality and mandated reporting. He begins to ask questions about how HIV is transmitted and you sense that he is very worried. You ask him if he is sexually active. He looks away and gets upset as he tells you that he was raped in the 8th grade by a teacher at another school.