Who Reports Child Maltreatment?
In 1997, 81% of all reports alleging maltreatment and referred for investigation came from professionals, including educators, law enforcement and justice officials, social services workers, and medical and mental health personnel. About 18 percent of reports were received from parents, other relatives of the child or the victims themselves, 8.5 percent from friends and neighbors, 12 percent from anonymous sources, and 8 percent from other sources. An estimated two-thirds of substantiated or indicated reports were from professional sources.
