Effective March 1, 2003, Michigan law makes all clergy mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse and neglect.

Clergy must immediately telephone suspected cases to the Family Independence Agency, and submit a written report within 72 hours.

Child abuse is defined as harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare through nonaccidental physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or maltreatment, by a parent, a legal guardian, any other person responsible for the child’s health or welfare, a teacher, a teacher’s aide, or a member of the clergy.

Child neglect is understood to be the failure to provide a child with adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care, as well as the failure to intervene to eliminate an unreasonable risk to a child’s health or welfare when one is able to intervene and either knew or should have known of the risk. 

While the law protects privileged communications made to the clergy in the context of the confessional, the law also specifically states that all other legally recognized privileged communications are “abrogated and shall not constitute grounds for excusing a report…or for excluding evidence in a protective proceeding resulting from a report…”

The law further provides that should a member of the clergy be suspected of child abuse or neglect, a county Family Independence Agency is required to turn over the allegation, written report, and results of any investigation to law enforcement.