Reporting Child Abuse
K.S.A. 38-2223 — doctors, teachers, counselors and police must report promptly, and failing to is a class B misdemeanor
Medical providers, licensed mental health professionals, teachers and school employees, licensed child care providers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and law enforcement officers, among others, who have reason to suspect a child was harmed by abuse or neglect report it promptly.
Who handles this in Kansas: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Kansas directory.
- Reports go to the secretary for children and families, and to the local law enforcement agency when the department is closed.
- A report may be made orally, followed in writing if requested.
- Willfully and knowingly failing to make a required report is a class B misdemeanor, and it is no defense that another reporter made one.
- Knowingly making a false report is also a class B misdemeanor.
Anyone who, without malice, takes part in making a report or in the investigation or court case that follows is immune from civil liability.
Sources for this section (1)
- K.S.A. 38-2223 — Reporting of certain abuse or neglect of children; persons required to report; reports, made to whom; penalties; immunity from liability
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Kansas attorney.