If you are an LPC, LICSW, social worker, therapist, or other mental health professional practicing in Alabama, there is an important change to the state’s mandatory reporting law that you need to know about.
Beginning October 1, 2026, Alabama Act No. 2026-375 amends Ala. Code § 26-14-3, the law governing mandatory reports of suspected child abuse and neglect.
Mental health professionals are among the professionals covered by Alabama’s mandatory reporting law.
In more than 20 years in the counseling field, including years of supervising and training other counseling professionals, I have found that the hardest mandatory reporting questions are usually not the obvious ones. Most clinicians know what to do when a child clearly discloses abuse. The uncertainty tends to show up when the information is indirect, incomplete, or comes from someone other than the child.
That is exactly where this new law deserves our attention.
Three Situations Can Trigger a Mandatory Report
Beginning October 1, a covered professional must report when they:
- Know or suspect that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect.
- Receive a third-party report that a child is or is suspected of being abused or neglected.
- Receive other information that would lead a reasonable person to believe or suspect that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect.|
That second and third category are particularly important for mental health counselors.
A child does not necessarily have to sit in your office and personally disclose abuse before your reporting responsibility becomes relevant.
An adult client may tell you something concerning about their child. A parent may repeat what a child disclosed at home. A client may give you information about a sibling or another child who is not your client.
The information may also build over time rather than arriving in one clear disclosure.
This is where I encourage counselors to think about a different question. Instead of asking, “Do I know exactly what happened?” ask, “Has the information I have received reached the point where the law requires me to report?”
Those are not the same question.
The Reporting Process Is Changing Too
When the reporting threshold is met, the covered professional must make an oral report immediately to Alabama DHR or a law-enforcement official.
A written report must then be submitted within 72 hours of the oral report.
Counselors should not delay a qualifying report while trying to obtain proof, conduct their own investigation, get approval from a supervisor or clinical director, contact a parent first, or complete internal paperwork.
Consultation and supervision remain important parts of good clinical practice. They simply cannot become a barrier to a report that is already legally required.
For practice owners and clinical supervisors, this is also a policy issue. Staff need to know that supervisors are available to support clinical decision-making, but supervision is not a permission structure for mandatory reporting.
What Does This Mean for Confidentiality?
Mandatory reporting has always been one of the places where our legal responsibilities and our responsibilities within the counseling relationship can feel uncomfortable at the same time.
Clients may ask us not to report. We may worry about damaging trust. We may wish we had more information before acting.
Those concerns are real.
But counselor-client confidentiality does not eliminate a mandatory reporting obligation when the legal threshold has been reached.
This is also why I believe counselors should be very clear about the limits of confidentiality from the beginning of treatment. A client should not first learn that confidentiality has limits in the middle of a crisis.
The Biggest Thing to Remember
Mental health counselors are reporters, not investigators.
You are not responsible for proving that abuse or neglect occurred.
You are not responsible for determining whether someone committed a crime.
You are not responsible for deciding whether DHR will substantiate an allegation.
Your responsibility is to recognize when the information you have received reaches Alabama’s legal threshold for reporting.
DHR and law enforcement handle the investigation.
For Alabama LPCs, LICSWs, social workers, therapists, clinical supervisors, and mental health practice owners, now is the time to review policies and make sure everyone understands the changes before October 1.
Want a Deeper Review?
Knowing what Alabama’s mandatory reporting law says is one thing. Applying it in an actual counseling session is where the harder questions usually show up.
Through Brave Play, I offer Alabama Mandatory Reporting: Legal and Ethical Responsibilities for Professional Counselors, a 1-hour Legal & Ethics continuing education training that takes a deeper look at the changes taking effect October 1, 2026.
The training addresses third-party reports, the reasonable-person standard, confidentiality, consultation and supervision, documentation, and real-world clinical examples.
The course provides 1 Legal & Ethics NBCC for eligible counselors.
References
Alabama Act No. 2026-375, amending Ala. Code § 26-14-3, effective October 1, 2026.
Alabama Department of Human Resources. Child Abuse/Neglect Reporting.
Ala. Code §§ 26-14-1 and 26-14-3.
This article is for educational purposes and provides a general overview of Alabama’s mandatory reporting requirements. It is not legal advice.
About the Author:
Dr. Ashley Garrett, PhD, LPCS, RPTS, ACS is the founder of Brave Play and Garrett Counseling. Dr. Garrett has worked in the counseling field for more than 20 years, with extensive experience supervising and training counseling professionals. Garrett Counseling is an Alabama-based outpatient counseling practice serving children, adolescents, adults, and families across multiple locations, while Brave Play provides continuing education and professional training for counselors and other mental health professionals.
