State Board of Pharmacy Child Abuse Reporting Requirements

The State Board of Pharmacy (board) amends its regulations to include child abuse reporting and training requirements. Other boards in the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (bureau) began to amend their existing regulations on the topic of the mandatory child abuse reporting requirements as a result of amendments that were made to the  Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2019, including the requirement imposed on all health-related boards to require training in child abuse recognition and reporting for licensees and certificate holders who are considered ''mandated reporters'' under the CPSL.

The training requirements apply to all persons applying for a health-related license or applying for renewal of a health-related license on or after January 1, 2015, and were implemented bureau-wide as of that date. In June of 2015, the laws were amended to permit pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children 9 years of age and older. This development and the duty to report in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6311(b), which includes circumstances that would occur outside of the course of the practice of the profession of pharmacists, led to the need to promulgate these regulations.

Thus, these regulations are necessary to incorporate the mandatory reporting requirements under the CPSL into Chapter 27 (relating to State Board of Pharmacy), including the mandatory training requirements required by Act 31 of 2014.

For more information, please review the November 29, 2025 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.